Eastside Grill
19 Strong Avenue, Northampton, 413-586-3347
Open Mon.-Fri. from 5 p.m., Sat.-Sun. from 4 p.m.
Entrèes $8.50 to $20.95
Eastside Grill has been catering to the movers and shakers in the community since Main Street had a hardware store and Northampton was a glimmer in Tracy Kidder’s eye. When the author penned Hometown in 2000, Eastside Grill had been in business for 15 years. Always considered tony by townies, it’s where many of us had our first taste of raw oyster, pried open right before our eyes at the bar.
There are some foods that everyone loves. Crab cakes are one of them. At all parties, even if they are the sodden disc variety, they are the first to go. At Eastside Grill on Strong Street, the Maryland crab cakes are legend. What makes a legend? For Liza Minnelli, it is five decades of fabulousness. For crab cakes, it’s a succulent center that surrenders willingly. A recent visit revealed better-than-ever crab cakes with a planko exterior that provides extra crunch before you get to the real thing.
What’s new at Eastside is that very good salads come with the entrée and our “fish of the day” was grilled barramundi, farmed in Turners Falls, the single U.S. outpost of the Australian white fish. Much of the menu comprises classics such as gumbo, corn chowder, sirloin burger and shrimp al fresco. The corn chowder is creamy and not at all too sweet. A couple of spoonfuls are a taste of home cooking in your hometown, if your hometown is Northampton. A more complex offering is rack of lamb with mission fig sauce, served with warm polenta cake. Why have fries when you can have polenta cake? This cornmeal disc shares the crispy exterior-soft interior feature of the crab cakes. Delicious.
On this visit, I was accompanied by Picky Eater, who put the restaurant to his personal test: the risotto. When the very charming and efficient server brought his seafood risotto, we sat in tense anticipation.
Would it meet PE’s strict criteria? First, it must be very creamy but not mushy. (To achieve the elusive texture, risotto must be stirred for many minutes in broth over a constant flame—any pre-cooking can compromise texture.) Unlike the Jersey woman in the movie Big Night who ordered hers with meatballs and pasta, PE wants his risotto done old-school. Served with jumbo shrimp, sea scallops and Prince Edward Island mussels, it was cooked in lobster stock with sweet peas and was nothing short of perfection—seafood mingled with rice supported by the rich flavor only lobster can provide.
My grilled barramundi sported a pomegranate-pineapple glaze in addition to the crab and mango topping
My only question is, why get the 50th state involved? I ordered the entrèe because the fish was local, but it was an International House of Pancakes of a dish and you might want to opt for the pan-roasted chicken with fried scallops and smoky red pepper sauce. The scallops are fried in cornmeal, a technique Eastside excels in.
We shared a slab of Key lime pie for dessert; perfect if you’re a fan of the tart-but-not-too-tart, sweet-but-not-too-sweet Key lime flavor. The bread could have had a crustier crust, the vinaigrette, one of several dressing choices, was a bit acidic, and some people may have found the risotto a tad al dente. But in the grand scheme of things, this dining experience was a fine one.•
