Ted's on Main

The historic downtown strip of Medford, a quaint Victorian village on the fringes of the Pinelands, is about the last place I expected to encounter a "hey y'all!" bowl of Louisiana gumbo.

But there it was the other night, steaming "ya-ya" style around a scoop of rice, with tender morsels of chicken bumping up against smoky moons of andouille sausage in a spice-tingled broth turned chestnut brown by patiently darkened roux.

That it was served in a trendy square bowl is a small soul concession to the striving elegance of Ted's on Main, the year-and-a-half-old bistro where I was eating. But this was the genuine article, lusty and rich, with the fresh crunch of green scallions scattered on top, and I'd happily drive the hour from Center City for a taste when I get a serious Creole craving. With Mardi Gras this week, I feel one coming on.

A legitimate gumbo is that rare around here. But chef-owner Ted Iwachiw (I-watch-you) manages to achieve something even more uncommon: His menu goes beyond the basics to present updated Creole cooking in the way a good contemporary New Orleans chef might, relying on quality local ingredients and deft technique, drawing inspiration from Louisiana flavors without letting them become cliches.

Those are sweet Cape May Salts broiled to within a breath of their oyster life, shined with a garlicky butter that sparkles with Tabasco and lemon. His fried green tomatoes are the best I've tasted in the recent local vogue for fried green tomatoes, their hot cornmeal crusts contrasting the toothsome tang of crawfish tossed in remoulade on top. His succulent pork chop, marinated in garlic and sage, comes with caramelized apples but also a Creole twist: brioche stuffing studded with earthy nuggets of andouille.

Iwachiw, 37, is a native Medfordite - his mom even owns a lighting store nearby on Main Street. But he came by his affinity for Louisiana cooking firsthand, having been opening executive chef at the Loews Hotel in New Orleans, where he worked for two years alongside talented local chefs like Kevin Vizard.

Iwachiw has plenty of other valuable experiences under his toque - a stint at the Atlantis resort in the Bahamas, a spot on the Alison Barshak crew that opened Striped Bass - and each influences this menu.