On a Monday night, I sit alone in the Sierra Grille, watching the room. There’s a lot of dark wood, a comfortable glow courtesy of the yellow tones to the lighting, and a relaxing buzz of conversation filling the air. Six women celebrating a birthday, a younger couple on what looks like the second or third date, a professional in a jacket and tie, his companion also dressed like she came directly from the office, and two women and two pre-teen sons fill the tables near me.
The SIERRA GRILLE (41 Strong Avenue, Northampton, 584-1150, www.sierragrille.net) opened in June 2006 in the space previously occupied by the high-end restaurant Brasserie 40-A. At first glance, it looks like a bar, but there’s no TV, and the food is a cut more interesting than standard bar food. While there are small bites and appetizers, panini and salads, the main attraction is the entree category: Not counting specials, there are nine proteins (ranging from chicken and duck to tuna and salmon, steak, pork and tempeh), nine sides (potatoes, rice, mac and cheese, various sautéed and grilled vegetables), and eight sauces (salsas, fruit barbecue, Thai coconut, red wine and mushroom reduction and more). You select your protein, two sides and a sauce # all for the price of the protein.
With 1,296 possibilities by my calculations (9*18*8), you’re likely to hit on a combination that pleases you. One night, I followed my server’s suggestion and paired the smoked pork tenderloin with ale caramelized onions and mushrooms, cheddar and caramelized onion smashed potatoes and the roasted yellow beets on special for a total of $15. The smoke and spice came through the onions pretty clearly, the potatoes were pure comfort, and if the beets seemed more steamed than roasted, well, they were still tasty. It was a nice dinner and I topped it off with a small mocha espresso pot du crème. The size is less decadent and the price # all desserts are $3 # lets you feel that you can always order another if you want more.
Owner O’Brian Tomalin, who also serves as culinary director, wants guests to have lots of choices. He managed the Amherst Brewery when it first opened, and created the burger page on its menu. You could select the basic burger (beef, turkey, buffalo, garden) and then customize it. As someone who sometimes selects an entrée based on the sides, I appreciate being able to mix and match. Not that every pairing is inspired. On another night at Sierra Grille, I ordered duck breast with fruit barbecue sauce. What was I thinking? My companion had the scallop special with the citrus salsa, which worked more successfully. The mac and cheese and sautéed string bean sides were nothing special, but exactly what the simple names suggest. I want to come back for the Belgian fries with aioli or homemade ketchup, which I passed up in some misguided attempt at more healthy dining. Ditto for the dessert beignets.
Sierra Grille is my stepson’s favorite restaurant. “I never get the entrees,” he told me, ever the contrarian. “I get the appetizers and maybe the panini.” It’s that kind of place, with something for everyone. Wine by the glass is offered in 2-ounce samples as well as 6-ounce pours and the beer comes in 8-, 16- and 20-ounce glasses, making it easy to try something new. I don’t spend a lot of time in bars these days, but I can see bellying up to this one, trying a few beers with some appetizers. In Europe, “gastropub” denotes a bar whose food is designed to complement the food. It’s not a popular term in the States, where it sounds more like an intestinal disorder, but the Sierra Grille aims in that direction.
Tomalin’s first food job was pushing a coffee cart when he was 12. His family moved to the Maine coast when he was in high school and he began waiting on tables, graduating to the white tablecloth Porcupine Grill in Bar Harbor. His attitude toward customers began to crystallize there, he told me. A patron sent Tomalin for some A-1 sauce to put on a steak already sauced with a shiitake demi-glace. In the kitchen, Tomalin made a disparaging comment about the customer’s request. The chef took him aside and set him straight: While the dish was the chef’s creation, once it left the kitchen, “if [the customer] wants to put peanut butter on it, he can. It’s his dish.” It’s a refreshing attitude.
After working as a screenwriter, driver, personal assistant and general contractor in addition to his restaurant work, Tomalin followed his daughter and her mother to the Pioneer Valley in the mid-1990s. His stint managing Amherst Brewing and designing its menu led him to open the Sierra Grille in 2006. He doesn’t cook there, but the recipes and the menu are his.
Sierra Grille’s menu is part of a trend known as “accommodating cuisine,” which was featured in a recent American Culinary Federation Quarterly article on the new approach to bar food. In an economy where restaurants are hurting, Sierra Grille is aiming to counter that by offering something for everyone. Plus it’s got another feature I always appreciate: a large window that opens into the kitchen. When you can see the kitchen, I figure, a restaurant has nothing to hide.
Appetizers range from $4 to $6, entrees from $14 to $18, panini from $6 to $8; and all the desserts, again, are just $3. There is an extensive beer and wine list.
Orginally published Daily Hampshire Gazette, December 5, 2008
