The cuisine is Contemporary American and the menu is à la carte with prices ranging from $6.50 for a minestrone soup to $10 for cinnamon spiced prawn for the first course (appetizer). Entrées during our visit ranged from $18.50 for saffron-marinated-and-braised half chicken in a creamy pomegranate-walnut sauce to $28 for a sweet chili glazed South Texas antelope with candy-striped cheese ravioli, fire roasted corn salsa and Mexican molé. |
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By Tom Crosby
Everyone likes to get in on the ground floor when a new (and possibly renowned) restaurant opens, so here’s a tip:
Four Square Restaurant in Durham has an executive chef/owner who once worked with the likes of Charlie Trotter and Emeril Lagasse (they are still friends) and a co-owner who learned about the finer points of service at the world-famous, AAA rated Five Diamond Inn at Little Washington outside Washington, DC.
And, they are married.
Shane Ingram is the chef/proprietor and his wife, Elizabeth Woodhouse, is general manager/co-proprietor. He handles the menu and the kitchen and she runs the business and works the dining room floor every night checking on service and welcoming guests, an increasing number of whom are repeat guests whom she greets by name.
To top it all off, the restaurant is in the Bartlett Mangum House, which was built in 1908 in the Neoclassical Revival style and is on the US Department of Interior’s list of Historical Places. The combination of excellent food, fine service and a historic setting is a tried-and-true recipe for instant success.
They became a AAA-rated Four Diamond restaurant in 2002 and, when asked their goals, the duo noted that the Maitre d’ and much of the waitstaff had been with the restaurant since it opened and that each year "the talent level increases."
"I would like to contribute to the development of a local cuisine scene, like Charleston," said Ingram. "We want to build the reputation of this city (Durham) as a place of fine dining. We want people to come here (and visit) just because they are looking for a fine place to dine out."
Ingram’s talents were recently featured when he was a guest chef at the famous James Beard House in New York, and the restaurant has been featured in both Bon Appétit and Southern Living magazines.
Massive Doric columns highlight the front of the two-and-a-half story Bartlett Mangum House, which is located at 2701 Chapel Hill Road (where it intersects with Pickett Road). A U-shaped gravel parking lot surrounds the building and can absorb 100 cars. A pair of two-story-high crape myrtle trees frame the entrance with holly trees, cedars, boxwoods and liriope providing additional landscaping greenery.
A second-floor balcony with a white, waist-high banister - unused for dining - adds a touch of architectural history to the outside ambiance. On the left side facing the house, a wrought-iron fire escape reaches to the second floor. A wraparound porch extends from the left side of the house to the right side, with the right portion screen-enclosed for dining.
After climbing five concrete steps flanked by flower boxes and pots, one reaches the front doorway, which boasts beautiful original leaded glass, as do several windows on the first floor of the house. A small entry foyer with carved wooden columns displays the AAA Four Diamond plaque.
Past the foyer, a maitre d’ podium is straight ahead, with an intimate non-smoking bar behind it and to the right. The six stool wooden counter at the bar was built using old wooden doors from upstairs and is backdropped with three illuminated glass shelves supporting bottles of after-dinner drinks.
Through the bar is the only door (embedded with one of the two eye catching stained glass windows in the house) to the screened-in porch. Porch diners overlook a garden of perennials in front of an 8-foot wooden fence topped with white pickets, while ceiling fans keep them cool. An herb and vegetable garden in the rear of the house provides fresh ingredients for daily menus.
 The house has eight coal-burning fireplaces (not used today because of fire safety concerns) with original wood and mirrored mantelpieces, varying in design, and decorated with original Rookwood tile. Burning glass oil lamps in a variety of shapes grace each mantelpiece.
Tables are set with small vases filled with fresh cut flowers, salt/pepper shakers and a cup of butter, all on white linen. Homer Laughlin china, Oneida silverware and Bormioli Rocco crystal are used to complement the dining experience.
Nine- and ten-foot ceilings cap the first and second floor dining areas, which can hold 105 diners (40 downstairs; 65 up). The porch can seat an additional 20 diners. Sliding pocket doors are used to break up the seven distinct dining areas for privacy and smaller groups.
Heavily varnished wood surrounds doorways, windows and baseboards. Wall decorations are simple, with wall hangings of landscapes and modern art by North Carolina artists which can be purchased (a price list can be obtained at the maitre d’ stand). Tear-drop shaped Quoizel chandeliers serve as the primary light fixtures in some of the dining areas, aided by frosted glass wall sconces.
Downstairs rooms have warm ochre and copper colored walls and the decorations are minimal, keeping the focus on the natural architectural beauty of the interior. A diamond patterned gray carpet covers the floors of the downstairs dining rooms. Wooden back chairs with upholstered cushions provide comfortable seating throughout. The bathrooms, which are located on the first floor, are appointed with pedestal sinks and the original hexagonal white floor tiles.
At the top of the original walnut staircase to the second floor is a closet reputed to be haunted by one of the two spinster sisters who lived in the house her entire life. Unexplained noises are thought to be her consternation at the strangers in her home.
Heart-pine floors underpin the upstairs where the dining rooms are often used for private functions. A room for ten in the right corner of the house is "one of the most popular rooms," according to Elizabeth Woodhouse, with its cream white fireplace and corner windows. Three other upstairs dining rooms have fireplaces and plaster walls painted with light pastel colors.
One of the restaurant’s "talents" is Maitre d’Hotel Brandon Carr, 31, who has been at Four Square since the opening. As a former wine wholesaler, he buys wine for the restaurant and trains the waitstaff on wine-serving etiquette. With monthly menu changes, the wine list is chosen to harmonize with the food and the seasons. The list is organized by "body": light, medium and full. This allows diners to more expertly match wines with their meal. Carr, who has worked in the restaurant business since he was 15 years old, believes that "the hardest task in putting together a great wine list is to taste and appreciate each wine for what it is, even if I don’t personally like it."
The cuisine is Contemporary American and the menu is à la carte with prices ranging from $6.50 for a minestrone soup to $10 for cinnamon spiced prawn for the first course (appetizer). Entrées during our visit ranged from $18.50 for saffron-marinated-and-braised half chicken in a creamy pomegranate-walnut sauce to $28 for a sweet chili glazed South Texas antelope with candy-striped cheese ravioli, fire roasted corn salsa and Mexican molé.
The focus is on providing the best local and seasonal product whenever available, according to the owners. One element of the owner’s restaurant sophistication shows in a $3 charge for split entrées and the 18% gratuity for parties of five or more.
On nights when the reservation list permits, diners can request a tasting menu that highlights Ingram’s talents as a chef, with a variety of different vegetables, meats and salads with unique and exquisite tastes.
Our sampling included a Black-lacquered Duck on baby pink kale with shaved Old Amsterdam cheese and a pomegranate-molasses sauce. The dish was paired nicely with a glass of Hans Weingut Reisling. Following this was Seared Rare Tuna on roasted garlic polenta with seared foie gras, fava beans and red wine and champagne butter sauces. This dish was accompanied by a glass of Burgundy.
Ingram’s vegetables never taste overcooked but are prepared to their peak of tenderness and flavor, merging easily with whatever meat is being offered. Sauces are so delicate they never overpower any of the food, yet add flavor in unique and taste-tingling ways and serve as a catalyst for the final blend of taste.
Diners come away with an appreciation for Ingram’s ability to flawlessly match the appropriate cooking time of each ingredient before serving. A raspberry sorbet served in a chilled dish cleansed the palate for a finish of carrot cake amidst fresh berries accompanied by a glass of 1990 Fonseca Tawny Port.
Impeccable service showed with the immediate replacement of utensils, removal of food-depleted plates, and prompt attention to beverage and condiment needs. Diners enjoy a steady pace of service, enhanced by the waiters’ considerable knowledge of the menu.
 As smoking is not permitted inside the restaurant, after dinner we retired to the front porch, appointed with a pair of benches, four white armchair rockers and a swing, where cigar and cigarette smoking is allowed. Also, a brief note on the dress code. While most of the male guests on our visit were attired in suit jackets, some with ties, the proprietors insist that they do not have a dress requirement for dining at Four Square.
Ingram and Woodhouse met at the Inn at Little Washington, where she served as pastry chef and he was a line cook for legendary chef/owner Patrick O’Connell. "She would arrive for work just as I was getting ready to go home," said Ingram.
They married October 27, 1998 in Harrisonburg, Va. and began looking for a place to continue their dual restaurant careers. They settled on North Carolina’s triangle region, with it’s rapidly growing economy and burgeoning food scene.
While searching for a venue of their own, Ingram was the Chef de Cuisine at The Fearrington House in Pittsboro, NC - the only AAA Five Diamond-rated restaurant in the state of North Carolina.
When they found the Bartlett Mangum House was for sale, they immediately knew they had found the perfect home for their restaurant. With some financial assistance from a former employer of Elizabeth’s, they banked on their faith in the area’s future and its already strong economic base, which includes nearby Duke University and Research Triangle Park, and opened Four Square in October of 1999.
Woodhouse came up with the name Four Square after learning that the "four square" design of the Bartlett Mangum House, consisting of a central hallway with a room in each corner, was typical of the latter part of the Victorian era. This contrasted sharply with the ornate, turreted, gingerbread-style of Victorian architecture that most of us know.
Shane loves that nearby Carrboro has a Farmer’s Market rated as one of the top 10 organic farm markets in the United States since one of his great passions is mixing fresh vegetables with seafood. "We have great product out here," he said.
In five years, Ingram and Woodhouse "would like to be financially stable, host chef events and be known for being active in our community. We know what Emeril, Charlie and Patrick did. We want to duplicate their success."
It takes only one meal at Four Square Restaurant to become convinced that success is not far away. |
