Chomping at the Chophouse
Chef Harold Brown returns with new Water Street digs
St. John’s Chophouse
189 Water St. Phone 754-2667
Harold Brown, a pioneer restaurateur and chef of the St. John’s dining scene, is back at the stove, joined by his daughter Linda. The location is familiar territory for Brown. It’s 189 Water St., where he opened The Cellar so many years ago and helped spark the development of many other Water Street eateries in following years.
This time, things are different. Brown is now executive chef and manager of a new restaurant called St. John’s Chophouse.
As the word chophouse suggests, the new restaurant is a café for meat lovers, be it beef, lamb, poultry or fish. I suspect Brown is very happy in this new eatery. He’s an excellent grill chef and, believe it or not, finding a perfectly cooked steak or lamb chop can sometimes be difficult. That won’t be a problem with a Brown at the cooker.
I did an outdoor grilling segment for television with Brown many years ago and I still remember the self-assurance and skill he displayed when grilling beef, lobsters and oysters. It may sound simple, but having the knowledge to know how long to leave something on a grill, and the confidence to not move it until just the right second is rare among cooks. Fifty-four-yearold Brown, after all, was top of his class at Toronto’s Humber College, and has more than 25 years of professional cooking experience.
Casual classy
St. John’s Chophouse is definitely open for business. Don’t be put off by the scaffolding currently covering the building — situated across from the courthouse at Baird’s Cove. I’m told new second-floor windows are being installed. Inside you’ll find a space that closely resembles the former restaurant, with modest changes.
A word like chophouse suggests a casual, diner-like décor and atmosphere. That’s not St. John’s Chophouse. It’s all candlelit tables with double white tablecloths, white napkins, classy flatware and butter knives. From the carpeted floor to what surely has to be one of the most impressive ceilings and chandeliers in the city, the St. John’s Chophouse spells p-o-s-h.
And yet, it’s not intimidating. The bar, on the right as you enter, now has high bar tables with stools and two flat screens. I also noticed an upright piano in the main dining room and, let’s face it, any restaurant that uses a three-foot pepper mill can’t take itself too seriously.
I found the atmosphere quite relaxing. Everybody there was dressed quite casually. I wore a sweater and jeans.
Sommelier
Our server on the night was Craig Newman. Newman is a new resident of Newfoundland and Labrador. He came to St. John’s from Whistler, B.C. Like many, he came here with the love of his life, a Newfoundlander. Fortunately for St. John’s Chophouse, Newman is a qualified sommelier and appears to know the subject quite well.
Being from British Columbia, Newman speaks quite eloquently on the topic of B.C, wines.
He told me he believes B.C. wines to be the best Canadian wines. He’s biased, of course, but perhaps if we had more Canadian wines available here we might agree with him.
The wine list at St. John’s Chophouse may be low on B.C. wines, but it has a substantial list of international wines ranging in price from $49 to $160 per bottle.
Starters included a brilliant gnocchi Gorgonzola.
The gnocchi was made from Yukon gold potato. The spud’s buttery coloured flesh is a good choice for pasta that craves melted butter or cream. In this case, those pillowy morsels of gnocchi were bathed in the creamiest of sauces, redolent of that wonderful blue cheese that originated in Gorgonzola, Italy, in the year 879.
The usual Gorgonzola bite was subtle, but present with just enough strength to make this one of the best plates of gnocchi I’ve had in a long time.
If you’re not a meat eater and find yourself at St. John’s Chophouse, you should know that all of the pasta dishes — of which there are five — come with or without meat.
They also have salads, of course. We tried the Caesar, a straightforward, quite lemony scented production with romaine, buttery croutons, bacon bits, Parmesan and garlic dressing (although, not overly garlicky).
Substantial
The more substantial salad was the baby spinach, which came with hard-cooked eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms, red onions, bacon bits, blue cheese and ranch dressing.
This was a meal in itself. As with the Caesar, everything was perfectly fresh.
Salads and pastas at St. John’s Chophouse come in small and large portions.
Cioppino is that wonderful fresh seafood stew invented in San Fran- cisco. It sounds Italian and it is, in a sense. It was the Italians living in San Francisco who gave it the name and first made it.
Everything is put in a pot and quickly cooked. In this case, chef Brown included marinara sauce, peppers, shrimp, scallops, a few bits of lobster and mussels. It was delicious.
The aged 12-ounce rib eye steak was well marbled, flavourful and cooked exactly the way I wanted.
A number of sides are available, including shelled lobster, scallops and shrimp.
I opted for the simple steak and frites with a handful of juicy, sautéed mushrooms on top.
And for an ending? Black Forest cake. Although it’s a bit of a culinary cliché, chocolate, cherries and cream seemed the perfect cap on a chophouse meal.
Welcome back, Harold Brown. Rating:
***
Price: Meal for two with wine, tax and tip: $210 (approximately)
Best Points:
Food, service, atmosphere
Sound level: Moderate *Fair **Good ***Excellent
****Exceptional
Karl’s Notebook
CCF competition
Newfoundland and Labrador’s senior and junior culinary teams took second place at the Canadian Culinary Federation’s Atlantic Culinary Competition recently. The event was held at the Akerley Campus of the Nova Scotia Community College in Dartmouth, N.S.
Senior team members were Brian Piercey, Robert Piercey, Jillian Lake and Andrew Hodge.
Roary MacPherson managed the senior group.
The junior group was managed by Roger Andrews and included Brittany Piercey, Chris Mesh, Brittany Oram and Michael Coffin.
For regular updates on “One Chef One Critic,” my Telegram Dining Out column and the latest developments on the local culinary scene, please follow me on Twitter @karl_wells.