River Grille: Better than just ‘Sebastian’s best’
Even though Michele Hennessey has been a finalist in Vero’s Top Chef competition each of the past three years – the only chef to achieve this, not to mention winning the title in 2009 and finishing second in 2010 – her establishment is rarely top of mind in any discussion of our community’s top restaurants.
Why? Probably because the esrestaurant where she presides, the River Grille, is located in Sebastian – not exactly the Mecca of gourmet dining. Plus you won’t happen across the River Grille by driving along Sebastian’s riverfront looking for a spot to enjoy a scenic meal. It sits in a nondescript building on U.S. 1; the only thing this curiously named restaurant overlooks is a parking lot.
But inside the more-attractive-than-you-expect dining room, Chef Michele night after night for the past four years has been serving up some of the most inventive cuisine found in this area. If this restaurant were in Vero, it would be packed. Hardly seems fair.
On our most recent visit on a quiet Friday night, we had another excellent culinary experience.
For starters, I ordered the baked stuffed portobello ($7.95) while my husband went for the port wine cheddar and crab bisque ($6.95). While waiting for appetizers to arrive, we enjoyed a basket of warm sourdough rolls served with a tasty extra virgin olive oil dipping sauce.
I shared the large, asiago-crusted portobello, prepared with cream cheese, pimientos and basil-marinated tomatoes, with a companion. We both agreed it was excellent. But the creamy and flavorful crab bisque chosen by my husband was even better. Not to be missed.
For salads, I enjoyed the River Grille salad ($6.95) – crisp greens, mandarin wedges, pecan, cranberries, gorgonzola and balsamic lime vinaigrette – while my husband and our companion both had traditional Caesar salads ($6.95).
For entrees, I chose the lobster ravioli dinner ($22.95), our companion selected the grilled lump crab cakes ($24.95), and my husband opted for one of the evening’s specials, the diver scallop Wellington ($29.95), which was Hennessey’s entry in this year’s Top Chef contest.
The raviolis, which contained tender bits of Maine lobster, were served in a light parmesan cream sauce. A very nice dish. (An appetizer-sized portion of this dish is also available at $8.95).
The crab cakes were among the best anywhere – made from blue crab, lightly seasoned, very moist. If you like your crab cakes with little to no filler, these are excellent. The diver scallop Wellington, however, was the best of the evening’s entrees – beautiful scallops topped with a puff pastry, atop a duxelle of mushrooms and pecans, in a sparkling rosé beurre blanc. Difficult to understand how this dish did not bring Chef Michele another title.
For dessert, we sampled the homemade butter-rum bread pudding and the chocolate lava cake – each ($6.95) and each served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. While the bread pudding is good, the lava cake is sinfully delicious.
On previous visits, we have enjoyed the sweet and spicy scampi ($21.95), plump shrimp tossed with angel hair pasta, spinach and fresh tomato; the sesame seared ahi tuna ($22.95 served with wasabi sauce, pickled ginger and tropical salsa; and the filet and shrimp skewers ($24.95), a tasty beef and shrimp combination.
Entrées come with a nice choice of side dishes including a twice-baked potato and a delicious spinach soufflé.
We also noted that on this most recent visit, prices of some of the menu items have been rolled back to 2009 levels – a nice recognition of the fact that dining-out-dollars for many are hard to come by in the current economy.
Another interesting development was the inauguration a few weeks ago of a “Taste of Italy” menu every Wednesday night.
Sous chef Patrick and Michele’s husband Gus take the lead on Wednesdays in preparing a variety of Italian specialties that include linguini in a white clam sauce ($18.95), chicken and shrimp marsala ($21.95), and a braised veal chop risotto ($24.95). We plan an early visit.
With Sebastian now officially the largest city in Indian River County, there is every reason to think more fine dining will be found here in the years ahead. But for the moment, the River Grille remains in a class of its own – equal to the top restaurants in Vero -- and an easy drive up Route 1 for barrier island residents who can zip across the Wabasso causeway.
Dinner for two with a modest bottle of wine will run around $120 before tip.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at tina@verobeach32963.com.
The reviewer is a beachside resident who dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.
Hours
Dinner: Monday through Saturday, 4 pm to 9 pm.
Bar
Beer and Wine
Address (MAP)
480 U.S. 1, Sebastian, Telephone: (772) 589-1412
