Classic Nouvea at The Ebbitt Room

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The Ebbitt Room in Victorian Cape May offers a cheery, jolly holiday adventure — and a creative menu.  

By Frank Gabriel

Add Comment | Comments: 0 | Posted Dec. 26, 2012

Visiting Cape May during the holidays has become a family tradition passed down through multiple generations for locals and visitors alike. 

The town possesses an authentic Victorian atmosphere where each and every year, the season’s wonder is magically nurtured and recreated. 

With the bracing Atlantic Ocean just steps away at New Jersey’s southernmost point, one can almost envisage a windswept coastal English town from Dickensian lore.  

No destination in this still-great food town — don’t buy the hype about Cape May’s dining demise, folks — better represents the distilled essence of that spirit than The Ebbitt Room. 

Housed in the historic, restored Virginia Hotel — itself dating to 1879 — the Ebbitt’s pretty space transforms via an array of lights and decorations into a holiday spectacle. 

Including Santa himself, perched on the front of the building. 

At year’s close there is also big news to report from this prestigious facility. Executive chef Lucas Manteca — an enigmatic Argentinean and former Atlantic City Weekly Top 40 Under 40 honoree — officially parted company in August. His replacement is the equally dynamic, although more understated, Anthony Micari. 

A Mays Landing native, Micari unveiled his initial menu here on Oct. 29. The new executive chef’s body of work is formidable, particularly considering he only celebrated his 28th birthday on Dec. 8. 

After initially working for Susanna Foo, he moved on to New York’s BLT in late 2010, run by famed French chef Lauront Tourondel. A little over a year later, Micari returned home, “to help open Revel,” he says. “It was an easy decision.” 

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