A Slight Look at the Main Street Grille
By: Sebastian Cruz, Contributor
Whenever I think about Oberlin as a town or community, I consider it in terms of its eateries. If all else fails, a place can rely on the most simple pleasures of a wakeful breakfast, a hearty lunch or a (relatively) show-stopping dinner. Much of Oberlin’s culture is tied to the restaurants and grub vendors dotted around the modest downtown. The twin coffeehouse titans of The Local and Slow Train (though both are owned by the same people. Good pastries, though.) The high-pay high-yield menu of The Feve, which also serves as the de facto local bar, and whose narrow hallways overflow with Long Islands and ravenous twenty-somethings every Wednesday or so. And who could forget the all-purpose slop shop of Gibson’s Food Mart & Bakery, .
The Main St. Grille opened October, 2023 on, wouldn’t you know it, 51 S Main St. A new addition to the rogue’s gallery surely must be the talk of the town. And yet, I haven’t had a single inkling of its existence until the Grape contributor’s meeting brought it to my attention. Its name puzzled me. A grill evoked barbecue, charred meat and the sloppy pleasures of sauce-covered dishes. When visiting, I encountered, instead, a modest, recently-occupied restaurant with a pleasant turquoise and crème paint scheme. The furniture was faux-dark oak and the music played softly, most probably from a local pop station. Across from me, a hallway easily visible from all angles, thus saving me and all other patrons the slight indignity of asking where the bathroom is located.
It’s a modest establishment if that wasn’t clear already. The most vibrant portion of the room was a colorful welcome inscribed on a large chalkboard, with a requisite soup of the day listed at the bottom. The menu was a smattering of sandwiches (corned beef, hamburgers, breakfast sandwiches of every stripe) and the sandwich-esque, including a gyro, complete with tzatziki filling. Then, I took notice of the dessert’s section. A small pool of choices that included homemade baklava. I soon learned from a talkative server that the restaurant was owned by the server’s father, a veteran Greek chef. Though its influences were subtle, its Greek flair is a welcome influence on the otherwise meat and potatoes diner food.
Of course, I learned of this influence only after my meal was delivered.My order reflected the comprehensive test I wanted to put the establishment through: a reuben with fries. I first ordered the soup of the day, their stuffed pepper, and it arrived hot and ready almost immediately after I had requested it. The overall taste was nice and salty—briny, almost. The bell pepper flavor was difficult to locate, and all other flavors disappeared within the broth. The soup was thus a perfect appetizer, as its inconspicuous, unplaceable mix of ingredients warmed the stomach to great effect. It was also quite hot.
The fries were a beautiful oily gold, and were uniquely tender despite their slightly crunchy exterior. I struggle, however, to say something of the reuben. As far as the presentation went, it was a nicely-constructed reuben, the bread evenly toasted and burnt in intricate fashion around the edges and center of the bread. Its inoffensiveness is what I strove for when picking it out, for a truly nice reuben does not stand out from the rest of the roster of sammies, burgers, burritos and gyros. It’s a test to determine how an establishment, a chef, puts it together. Its ingredients are remarkably simple: the rye, the beef, the sauerkraut, swiss and 1000 island. What I can say is that Main St. Grille gave me a sandwich and I ate it without much thought (I had been quite hungry), and when reflecting on my lunch, both then and indeed now, I think: “damn, that was a pretty good sandwich.”
Strangely enough, the highlight of my visit came from an unexpected source. I had it in mind to try out their baklava, for their Greek slant piqued me to no end. However, a woman cleaned them fresh out of the stuff not too long before I attempted to order one, so I settled on their bread pudding. It was massive. It was bigger than my foot (I think.) It was absolutely delicious. It came out hot, gelatinous and melty once past the lips. As a recent convert to the bread pudding cause, it was quite probably the best I’ve had yet.
I don’t have a grand statement to make about the new establishment, and I’m not sure there needs to be one. For all the importance that we lend to food, to those who prepare it, serve it and appreciate it, the culinary world is best exhibited in consistency. The Main St. Grille did not exceed my expectations, but it also did not leave me lonely for a hearty, Oberlin-style lunch.
