Dining Area at Main Street Bar & Grill

SUISUN CITY – Our neighbors in Suisun City have reason to rejoice, in that a classy new restaurant has opened on Main Street in a storied brick building that dates from the late 19th century.

There have been restaurants in the building at 627 Main St. for decades but I doubt that any have been better than the current tenant, Main Street Bar & Grill, which, as the name implies, is an informal dining space serving up fresh, tasty California cuisine.

Partners in the new enterprise are executive chef Soo Song - proprietor of the popular Old Post Office Seafood & Grill in Vacaville - and front-of-the-house manager Brad Robinson. Song's wife, Min, is pastry chef and Jason Siebels is chef de cuisine.

Located in the waterfront district, the new eatery is across the street from the site of a planned Hampton Inn, with groundbreaking expected any day now.
Featuring a second story lounge with polished hardwood floor and late 1800s backbar, the Main Street Bar & Grill is an inviting space reminiscent of early 20th century dining rooms around the country - polished rooms with a masculine focus of brick walls, gaslight fixtures, white linens, cozy nooks, banquettes and crisp service.

Served from 5 to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, dinner features an appetizing variety of seafood, meats, poultry and pastas.

Savory braised lamb shanks are served with a stew of diced vegetables and French lentils over scrumptious mashed potatoes, and a grilled pork loin is napped with port tarragon sauce and embellished with cinnamon apples and sautéed garlic mushrooms.

Plates as pretty as those in food magazines feature pan-roasted filet mignon with roasted potatoes and grilled zucchini, New York strip steak with thick country fries, as well as peppercorn-seared ahi with vegetable risotto and wasabi sauce.

Ranging in price from $18.50 for herb-marinated breast of chicken with sliced oranges to $26.50 for rosemary-marinated rack of lamb with roasted vegetables and tarragon demi-glaze, main courses include salmon with lemon saffron sauce; grilled tilapia with arborio rice, beets and roasted red bell peppers; plus orange roughy served over baby spinach and fresh corn.

Soup of the day ($3.50, $5.50) features such rich offerings as a recent velvety lobster bisque. As attractive as it was tasty, the mildly spicy, crunchy Dungeness crab cake is served atop a crisp triangle of fried polenta, topped with a sweet, ripe mango salsa.

Additional appetizers ($6.50-$8.95) range from a baby romaine hearts salad with shaved parmesan cheese and Caesar dressing to a housemade duck paté on garlic croutons, from buffalo mozzarella on a basil-topped tomato to briny oysters on the half shell.

Also works of playful art, desserts ($6.50-$7.50) include classic crème brûlée with caramelized sugar brickle, layered chocolate ganache cake studded with a white chocolate spear, tiramisu with cappuccino mocha sauce, potentially addictive raspberry cheesecake, creamy lemon meringue tart, chocolate fondant cake and both ice cream and sorbet served in a brandy-snap cookie shell.

A compact wine list features a number by the glass, including a couple from nearby Wooden Valley as well as from the more prominent cellars in both Napa and Sonoma counties.

The lunch menu includes several main course salads (ahi niçoise, plus grilled chicken breast, sautéed prawns or crab cakes over a spring salad mix) and several sandwiches (marinated tri-tip with grilled onions, grilled chicken breast with jack cheese, ahi with tomato relish and Niman Ranch burger), all in the $9-$13.50 range.

For reservations, call 428-6270.