For many Hampshire County diners, Springfield and other Hampden County cities south of the Holyoke Range are pretty much unknowns. Certainly, when my only connection with the area was the colleges, Springfield sometimes seemed like an Amtrak station surrounded by dragons and sea monsters like some 15th-century map of the New World. After working all over the Pioneer Valley for nearly 20 years, it is no longer mysterious.
Certainly, the downtown has its share of empty storefronts that predate the current recession. Clubs, restaurants and hotels vie with adult entertainment and some urban decay. The 350 GRILL (350 Worthington St.; 439-0666; www.350grill.net) takes this mix one step further by sharing its parking lot with the Mardi Gras, a large adult entertainment club. There is valet parking for the 350 Grill and the outdoor patio has walls high enough to keep those hot summer nights private. It turns out that if you are in the Mardi Gras at lunchtime, you can order from the 350 Grill, which arrives on plates, not in tacky takeout containers. 350 Grill owner Sherri Via says that the two places coexist nicely and without trouble.
She’s right. When I told my friend Betsy that we were eating in downtown Springfield at a restaurant that shared a parking lot with an adult entertainment establishment, her first comment was, “We’re not going to get shot, are we?” I told her not to be so prejudiced, we#d be fine. We had a great time and left without incident. The next morning, an email from Betsy let me know that the night before had seen Springfield’s first murder of the year # at the Mardi Gras. Let’s hope that was a random occurrence.
The menu leans toward steak house and that’s where its strength lies. There are two rib eyes # one a bone-in 20-ouncer, the other a smaller boneless cut # plus a sirloin with Gorgonzola cheese and a tenderloin filet. The 350 Grill also serves veal, lamb, pork chops, chicken, duck, seafood and pasta.
Rib eye is my favorite cut, and, eschewing the server’s recommendation of the sirloin, I immediately went for the bone-in. Touched with some Caribbean spice and cooked medium-rare as ordered, it was a tasty steak that proved large enough to take home for lunch. My wife had the sirloin, which was chewier but still good. The sides that night were mashed potatoes and butternut squash. At our request our server substituted sautéed spinach for the squash, which was agreeably garlicky and a trifle oily. Our friend Betsy had the veal chop, a large cut with a thin jus that she liked a lot. We found a Murphy-Goode zinfandel by the glass that complemented the meat nicely.
350 Grill is a comfortable place to eat, with large banquettes along one wall like giant scallop shells. The rugs absorb the sound so that you get a background buzz of conversation that still lets you hear your table mates. The lighting, too, is nicely balanced between low enough for privacy and light enough to read a menu.
The menu lists tapas instead of the more familiar appetizers and I went back with a friend for a tapas lunch. Truth be told, they are mostly typical appetizers, like coconut shrimp or fried calamari. However, like some “Top Chef” Quick Fire challenge, where the competitors are given standard appetizers and told to make them more contemporary, these have been goosed past the boring. For example, the coconut shrimp, three large shrimp, came grease-free with a sweet sauce touched with some Chinese mustard. Three ocean scallops, dusted with hot pepper and served with a hot chutney, were also tasty. The mushroom-risotto balls, arancini and veal meatballs all came in a good tomato sauce, the last inexplicably enhanced with a scoop of ricotta cheese. The standout was two small pork shanks cooked in a sweet Thai sauce served over angel hair pasta. We followed our server’s recommendation to order the pork shanks rather than the sliders (mini hamburgers) and I’m glad we did.
The 350 Grill is something of a family affair. Owner Sherri Via, who grew up in Monson, has worked in the bar and liquor business since she was 16, most recently with a holding company that owns other area restaurants. She herself owns the building where the 350 Grill is located, and for a time she ran a bar there. But Via always wanted a restaurant. So she talked her sister Doreen into joining her as executive chef for a place she envisioned as just a lunch spot. The sisters are foodies and Via says they got a little carried away, abandoning their original plan of featuring simple fare like burgers and designing a menu that reflected all the foods they like.
They use local ingredients and vary the menu seasonally. In the summer, Via said, a local farmer might drop off a load of corn or tomatoes that go into the day’s specials. An expansion designed to open this May will add a banquet room and increase the size of the kitchen. I have to say that, small kitchen or not, the food comes out timely and hot.
Given the easy parking and comfortable yet interesting menu, the 350 Grill is a good choice for an expedition to Springfield, preceded perhaps by a visit to one of the museums in the nearby Quadrangle or a club visit after dinner.
Tapas range from $5 to $12 (for the signature lobster/shrimp ravioli). Seafood is $16 to $24, pastas $14 to $20, and other entrees $17 to $28 (for the 20-ounce rib eye). Lunches run from $6 to $10.
Originally published, Daily Hampshire Gazette, February 20, 2009.
