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Mill Street Grill - Worth The Trip
I‘ll admit it. As much as I try to appreciate the subtleties of Carolina Barbecue slow-cooked, smoked for weeks, brought to the table dressed in its juices with the requisite squeeze bottle of runny sauce it doesn’t entice me the way the red sauce barbecue does. I speak of the kind coated with a generous layer of spicy tomato-based sauce while it’s cooking. I have heard it called Texas-style and Chicago-style but why quibble? Just lead me to it and pass the napkins.
I was at an art reception, loitering by a cheese-nut loaf when an acquaintance told me that the barbecue for which I pine is served at the Mill Street Grill in Staunton. Not surprisingly I was there within the week.
Mill Street Grill owes its name (or at least the “Mill” part of it) to the former White Star flour mill where it is housed. Located on the outskirts of town, it is a hospitable looking place, especially at night when the warmly lit windows are one of the few sources of illumination on a street of warehouses. Viewed from the ouside it reminded me of one of those restaurant discoveries one might make while wandering around Boston or Montreal. The interior tums out to be somewhat less evocative. With its motley assortment of vertical and diagonal wood panelling, brickwork and stone beneath low ceilings, it recalls a 1960's "rec" room.
Mill Street’s menu offers three kinds of ribs (beef, baby back, St. Louis pork), chicken and pasta dishes, as well as prime rib. There is not alot for the vegetarian, although the pasta dishes and daily specials offer some options. Most entrees cost between $8.95 and 10.95 and include a choice of potato, fries or rice and bread. The bread varies but is always served in the small clay crock in which it is baked. Warm and soft, it was like a parker house roll, a “comfort food” sort of bread. One peculiar feature is the “flavored butter of the day.” On our two visits we were served strawberry and melon butters, both quite sweet and not really suited to our meals. We tried one of the appetizers, beer batter dipped fried artichoke hearts stuffed with boursin cheese, served with spicy honey mustard sauce. This dish turned out to be as rich as it sounds (two can split this order) and quite tasty with the contrast of texture’s and the pleasing sourness of the cheese and artichokes. As for the entrees, after a half-hearted consideration of non-barbecue menu items we chose the ribs, each of us ordering the Mill Street Platter which includes both beef and babyback ribs. The presentation was straight forward, with two large slabs of ribs and potatoes on plain white plates (‘harmony in white and brown” if you’re James McNeil Whisler). Cole slaw is served on the side, and is quite good, hand-shredded with a low proportion of mayonnaise. Both varieties of ribs had been basted in the same sauce, slightly sweet ,and smoky with a hint of mustard. They had been cooked to the point that the meat came easily off the bone. Both tasted great but the baby backs were rather dry. The larger beef ribs would have been perfect if less fatty. My advice would be to request lean ones.
On our second visit we could not quite wrest ourselves from the temptation of the ribs. (Maybe the reading public would like to know how consistent the ribs are, I told myself by way of justification.) We did, at least, try Mill Street’s skills with barbecued chicken. I ordered a rib and chicken combo while my husband opted for the rib and spiced shrimp special. This time we had the St. Louis pork ribs, which were quite possibly the best of the three varieties; they were meaty and neat as fatty as the beef ribs, Unfortunately, the accompanying barbecued chicken breast was so dry and tasteless that I had to ask the waitress whether it had been a microwaved leftover. While she assured me that it was freshly cooked, she conceded that nothing was as good as the ribs. In that case, maybe Mill Street should play to its strengths. My husband’s shrimp steamed in the shell. They were cooked well but could have been spiced more.
There are some very sweet desserts available including tiramasu and banana chocolate chip cake, which we could never manage to eat apres-barbecue. Still, we made do very nicely with a small dish of complimentary peppermint ice cream.
Mill Street Grill is a nice, casual place to go if you happen to be in Staunton. If you crave this kind of barbecue, it should be a destination in itself.
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