Paul Martin's American Bistro Grand Opening

As we had a good friend in town last night we decided to take him to Paul Martin's American Bistro where we went for the soft opening last Friday (read my review here). This was their first night open to the public and we thought it would be a great opportunity to try out the dinner menu.
We originally had reservations for 7:15 pm, and because we were awaiting a third party we had to change the time. Though they were booked up, the staff was very accommodating to our needs and demonstrated first rate service.

At arrival we sat down in the bar while waiting for our friend to arrive. I was very pleased to see that they had quite a few wines by the glass and not afraid to put some more pricey wines in that category as well. We ordered the Sonoma Coast Vineyards, Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($19), as we had this a while back and really enjoyed it (read my review here). A new bottle was opened for us, and we were not disappointed by our choice. A nice touch is that wines by the glass are served in a small carafe on the side and you fill up your glass as needed.
The wine list over all has a relatively small selection (they all fit on one page), but they are well chosen with something for every wallet. The only negative with the wine list is that it does not display vintages. As someone who knows a little bit about wine I am very interested to know whether I will be receiving a 2002 or 2005... Of course you can ask, but I just prefer to know upfront as I am looking at the wine list, and making my decision.

As our friend arrived we were seated and I ordered a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon that was new to me, Kelly Fleming 2004 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($94). Kelly Fleming is the wife of Paul Fleming (one of the founders of the restaurant) and as I did some research today I found the following facts: The grapes are organically grown on a 12 acre site in Napa Valley with Jim Barbour as the vineyard manager. He is very experienced and highly regarded, and the list of vineyards in Napa Valley he is working with is never ending. Celia Welch Masyczek, formerly of Staglin Family Vineyards, is the consulting winemaker, and works with a limited clientele in Napa Valley such as two other favorites of mine, Hollywood and Vine Cellars, and Husic Vineyards. 500 cases was made of this wine and it is available at the wineries website for $85.
From my mental notes this wine displays a dark ruby color in the glass with hints of purple. The nose displays dark, ripe fruit and berries with notes of fresh bread and vanilla. The dark berries carries on to the palate with dark cherry, blackberry, black currant, vanilla and a slightly earthy note. Great acidity and young, firm, but still lush, tannins. I was pleasantly surprised by this wine and really enjoyed it. This is a new favorite added to my list of wines that I will keep my eyes open for in the future.

On to the food. We started with a Butcher's Board ($9.95 per person) for the table that consisted of an orange and fennel salami, pork tenderloin, a third cold cut, Point Reyes blue cheese, a soft Laura Chenel goat cheese drizzled with olive oil, a semi firm aged Gouda, olives, caper berries and whole grain mustard. Well put together and a great start to the meal.
We tried two new entrees not reviewed in my last post. My husband had the New York Steak with Fries and Zinfandel Butter ($29.95). The steak was cooked as ordered, nicely marbled, juicy and had a great flavor. The fries were short of fantastic, crisp almost all the way through, just slightly soft in the center, and perfectly seasoned with salt and parsley.
I had the Mesquite Grilled Tuna with Tomato and Olive Salsa ($19.95), and sauteed yellow and green beans. This was a very fresh dish that felt light and healthy. The quality and cut of tuna was great, and the flavor paired very well with the tomato and olive salsa. The beans just lightly sauteed with a nice crunch to them.
For dessert we had the same dessert as Friday, the Devil's Food Cake ($6.75) and the Pear and Huckleberry Crisp ($6.75). The Devil's food cake has less ganache in the layers this time which was an improvement, but as a true chocoholic I still missed that really intense dark chocolate flavor that I personally prefer in my cake. On the other hand it is chocolate so I can't really complain...

Two highlights of the evening were that Paul and Kelly Fleming was there, and Mr. Fleming came up to our table and chatted briefly. A very pleasant and charming man.

The second surprise was that the executive chef Peter Serantoni came up to our table and recognized me as reviewing the restaurant Friday. Turns out he is Swedish as well, originally from Stockholm, and came here when he was twenty years old, and has since then moved around in different states and now lives in California. It was certainly exciting to speak Swedish, and a great pleasure to meet a fantastic chef.

The service throughout the night was excellent. The attention to our, and all other tables as well, was great, with managers, several servers etc., coming up to make sure that everything was ok. Was there anything we needed? A great effort from the whole staff on grand opening night!

I can really recommend this restaurant as the reasonable prices are surpassed by the quality of food and service.

Go there, eat, and let me know what you think. I would love to hear your thoughts and feedback!

Paul Martin's American Bistro

1455 Eureka Rd

Roseville, CA 95661

(916) 783-3600

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Paul Martin's American Bistro, Roseville

Paul Martin’s American Bistro is having its grand opening tomorrow, Monday, at Eureka Rd in Roseville. I got a preview and tasted their food at the soft opening Friday at lunch with my husband and a friend.
The restaurant is a joint venture by Brian Bennett and Paul Flemming. Executive chef is Peter Serantoni and the Day-to-Day Head Chef is Scott Rose that has previously been at Spataro Restaurant and Bar, and Paragary's Bar and Oven, among others. The goal for the restaurant is to concentrate on seasonal, sustainable, and organic ingredients, sourced from local farmers/producers.

The restaurant has a modern, sleek, warm, decor with brick wall accent, brown leather, and a lot of wood. The large bar covers a full wall of the restaurant and serves up a long list of specialty drinks made with their own fruit infused vodkas, and more.

We were seated promptly and ordered a bottle of ZD 2006 Chardonnay (a wine we have enjoyed many times), and were served bread and butter. The butter is hand churned in the restaurant from organic cream. A nice touch. Although there was a wide array of great looking starters we went straight for the entrees. I ordered the Cedar Plank Salmon topped with Bacon and Shallots ($17.95) served on top sauteed spinach, criminis, and jus. The salmon was cooked medium just to my liking and the bacon/shallot topping added a big punch of flavor. A really good dish.
My husband ordered the Braised Short Ribs with Mashed Potatoes and Horseradish Sauce (18.95). I am a big fan of short ribs and these make it to my top 3 list of best that I have had. And I have tasted a lot! Succulent, incredibly tender and big flavor. A true rustic comfort dish and the best out of the three entrees we tried.
My friend tried the Grilled Skirt Steak with Maple-Bourbon Glazed Roasted Sweeet Potatoes and Arugula ($17.95). The beef came out as ordered, and this dish with its sweet accents was very tasty as well.
For dessert we ordered the Devil’s Food Cake with Vanilla Whipped Cream and Sour Cherries ($6.75), and the Pear and Huckleberry Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream ($6.75). The cake is a dark chocolate cake with medium dense ganache (I would guess that a semi sweet chocolate was used). It was a little bit to heavy on the ganache and I wish it had been bitter sweet instead. But that is just a matter of taste. It was still very good. The crisp was not to sweet, flawless, warm, and delicious.

The service was really good for being a soft opening and the manager came up to our table several times to check in and make sure that everything was to our satisfaction.

I am leaping with joy that there is finally another quality restaurant in our area. I can’t wait to go here for dinner real soon to try some items from the dinner menu. Two members of the staff independently told us that the Braised Lamb Shank is the best item on the menu. I will have to find out...

Paul Martin's American Bistro
1455 Eureka Rd
Roseville, CA 95661
(916) 783-3600


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Crush 29

Crush 29 just had it's opening night in Roseville, CA two nights ago. Celebrating a birthday last night we decided to try it for dinner. As always when a restaurant opens you do not expect perfect service and this was the case for last night as well. I did not quite expect that bad service however... It was not lack of attention or good will, but the fact that, at least the staff we were serviced by, seemed very inexperienced and pretty much untrained.
We had reservations and got seated promptly (so far so good). We ordered VOSS bottled water, a bottle of wine, and 2 appetizers for the table, and 5 minutes later the bus person showed up with tap water... We explained we ordered bottled water and he corrected the mistake. Our waitress returned and took our order for dinner and explains the wine will be right out. Soon enough one of our appetizers shows up, Seared Ahi with Pickled Cucumbers and a Soy Mustard Wasabi Sauce. Perfectly seared Ahi made an interesting paring with the pickled cucumber, but the sauce had not a real kick and could have had some more spiciness to it. Ten minutes later we are still waiting for our wine and the other appetizer, Sweet Baby Back Ribs, to come out, when suddenly the salad is served. We ask for the ribs and our waitress realizes she forgot about them. Five minutes later the ribs appear and finally the bottle of wine we ordered as well, Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages 2002. A tasting is poured for my husband, or so we thought, but the waitress goes on and pours the rest of us as well before any tasting is performed. She does not walk around the table and pour into our glasses like customary but have us send our glasses across the table for her to pour at the spot she stands, leaving my husband in the end with just the initial little tasting in the glass while the rest of us got the normal amount of a "glass of wine" in our glasses. Interesting...
The wine on the other hand was really good. Dark, ripe fruit on the nose with black cherries and big tannins. A medium bodied wine with a nice long finish. It went perfect with my husbands main course and I enjoyed it on the side of mine (see below).
Dinner is served and my brother-in-law and wife got the Asian Inspired Clove Brined Pork Tenderloin and a Portabello Mushroom Risottos. My husband had the Beef Tenderloin with Crush Smashed Potatoes, Fried Onion Strips, Gravy and Asparagus, and for me, the Snap Crackle Salmon with Crush Smashed Potatoes, Asparagus and Mandarin Orange Sauce. The filet was made as ordered and the salmon was cooked perfectly, a little undercooked for that moist, tender finish. We both really enjoyed our main courses. The pork was just ok but the risotto was really good according to our company. As our plates are cleared the bus person also clears our wine glasses, and for one of us it is still half full and we have to ask him to please leave it as he goes to remove it.
Dessert time came along and nothing to exciting caught our eyes on the menu so we decided to skip it and head home.
We all really loved the decor of the restaurant, and it has a great circular bar in the center of the room with tables for eating in the bar around it. I for some reason had expected a more quite, sophisticated restaurant but the music was blasting in the bar and the place was very loud and lively. A great place for an after work drink with friends. The also have around 50 wines by the glass, which you just have to love...
Despite the lacking experience of the staff, and the service they provided, they were very polite and eager to please, and we will definitely have to return for another dinner in the future. I think this restaurant might just need a little extra time to reach what it was meant to be. In the meanwhile we might just drop by for a cocktail in the bar (they had a great drink menu of interesting house specials) and enjoy the stylish decor.
Check out their full menu at www.crush29.com.

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