Home Away From Home:

 The Rustic Grille

The Rustic Grille offers a country atmosphere designed to help customers shake off the hustle and bustle of the day, and provides the kind of service and food that speaks of home. Owned and operated by John and Sandy Kantzas, who share the cooking, The Rustic Grille, on Main Street in Monroe, is in its sixth year of business. The Kantzases formerly owned J&S Deli & Luncheonette in Bridgeport, but The Rustic Grille is the kind of place they had always dreamed about.

The five-foot-tall stuffed toy bear poised at the entrance may surprise first-time visitors, particularly the very young. “He’s our mascot,” said Ms Kantzas. The friendly bear sets the cabin-in-the-woods feel at The Rustic Grille, as do the rough-hewn log wall covering, and hunting and fishing trophies donated by customers.

The walls also serve as a gallery for the Kantzases’ collection of historical Route 25 Stepney and Monroe photographs. The black and white framed pictures are frequently supplemented by works of area “artists,” most of whom are under the age of 10. Smiling faces of customers flash from a digital photograph frame set atop the gas fireplace in the dining room. Diners seated at the counter or in nearby booths are amused by a case filled with chef statues, including a “John” bobble head and a “Sandy” bobble head. Three overhead televisions situated around the restaurant provide background entertainment.

The restaurant comfortably seats 70 diners at tables situated to one side of the establishment, at booths bathed in the natural light of two large, front windows, or at any of eight bright blue, leather-topped stools at the granite counter. Soft colors of teal and tan and low lighting contribute to a feeling of being at home, which is just how the Kantzases want people to feel.

“The first time you come in here, you’re a customer,” said Mr Kantzas, “and the second time, you’re family.” Happy customers are their goal, and so they strive to offer quality food at reasonable prices. “What we serve is nothing less than we would eat ourselves,” said Mr Kantzas, who began his food service career in a Greek diner in Norwalk owned by friends of his family, at the age of 11.

Open six days of the week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, everything is made to order, using the freshest and finest ingredients. Eggs from a farm in Pennsylvania are shipped within three days of being laid, and the ultrafresh eggs are one reason, said Mr Kantzas, why The Rustic Grille has quickly become known in the area for its “state of the art” breakfast menu, served all day long.

Griddle favorites include nine kinds of homemade pancakes, Belgian waffles, and French toast cooked to order, with a side of pure maple syrup available for an additional $2 charge. Two eggs can also be added, for $2. The restaurant has made a name for itself with the signature three-egg omelets, as well. Choose from the Greek omelet filled with gyro meat (a Greek specialty of spiced lamb and beef), tomatoes and feta cheese; the veggie lover’s omelet filled with a choice of three vegetables; the farmer’s market omelet stuffed with home-fried potatoes, tomatoes, and green peppers; the Roman empire, an omelet of sausage, roasted red peppers, and mozzarella cheese; or any of ten other special omelets, in addition to create-your-own omelets.

The eggs Benedict is served with the Kantzases’ own Hollandaise sauce on an extra large English muffin, or can be ordered “Florentine,” with spinach. “I have one customer who comes all the way from Norwalk just for our eggs Benedict, twice a week,” Mr Kantzas said, “because he says it is the best anywhere.”

Ms Kantzas is responsible for the popular buttermilk biscuits served with extra lean sweet Italian sausage gravy.

Breakfast egg dishes come with a choice of home or french fries or hash brown potatoes. “We go through 400 to 600 pounds of home fries weekly,” Ms Kantzas said.

A restaurant with a bear for a maitre de must pay homage to the species, of course, and The Rustic Grille does so. The Papa Bear breakfast is two pancakes, two eggs, two strips of bacon, and two sausage links; the Mama Bear consists of a short stack (two) of French toast, one egg, one strip of bacon, and one sausage link; or choose the Baby Bear, a single pancake accompanied by one egg and one strip of bacon.

Egg sandwiches on toast or a hard roll, grilled cheese with a fried egg, the TLC breakfast sandwich, or Noe’s breakfast burrito (a wrap filled with scrambled eggs, home fries, green peppers, and melted cheddar cheese, with a side of salsa) satisfy the sandwich eater, morning, noon, or night.

It is not unusual for breakfast customers to surf the lunch and dinner menus while sipping a cup of coffee brewed from beans roasted especially for The Rustic Grille by Boston’s Best. “They are picking out the meal for the next time they come in, already,” Mr Kantzas said.

More than a dozen chicken specialty sandwiches, six sandwiches featuring turkey roasted at The Rustic Grille, nine beef sandwiches, and five fish and veggie sandwiches make it hard for lunchtime customers to choose. Among the more popular choices are the Thanksgiving wrap of roasted turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce in a 12-inch wrap; the Route 25, made of roasted turkey on rye, with Swiss cheese, and The Rustic Grille’s own coleslaw; Johnny’s gyro, seasoned lamb and beef on pita with tomato, red onion, and a Greek cucumber and yogurt sauce known as tzatziki; the Philly Experience, using grilled sirloin steak, mozzarella cheese, and fried onions on a grinder roll with garlic butter; the California chicken pita in pita with cheese, bacon, and honey mustard sauce; the Chicken Souvlaki, with marinated chicken bites, tzatziki sauce, lettuce and tomato in pita; or the fried chicken cutlet tossed in RedHot sauce on a hard roll, with bleu cheese dressing, known as Firehouse Chicken. Hot Italian grinders are also on the sandwich menu. There are so many options, “Even our regulars never get bored,” said Mr Kantzas.

Six-ounce, grilled Black Angus beef burgers are the base for 14 different burgers, or chow down on a turkey burger, a veggie burger, or an all-beef chili hot dog. The perfect complement to the juicy burgers is the traditional fountain milkshake buzzed up in the classic mixer behind the counter.

Regular dinner items (including an old-fashioned liver and bacon meal, and the roast turkey dinner) are supplemented by specials created by Ms Kantzas. These might include her fiery ground pork Bolognese sauce with pasta; lasagna; stuffed peppers; or Greek moussaka or pastitsio, two classic Mediterranean casseroles. Daily soup specials are made on premises, as is the chili, and every salad is prepared to order using heads of lettuce, not bagged greens.

Every day, The Rustic Grille receives a fresh bread order from Chavas Bakery in Bridgeport. Desserts come from trusted vendors, and many of the cakes are made just up the street at DOrazio Sisters Cheesecakes & Goodies.

Wines from around the world, as well as a selection of domestic and imported beers, are available.

“There is something for everyone. It’s good, everyday food, and the kind of food that people want that they don’t have time to cook,” said Mr Kantzas.

The Rustic Grille, 494 Main Street, Monroe, located across the street from the Clock Tower Square, is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 7 am to 8:30 pm; and Sunday from 7 am to 2 pm; closed Monday. Breakfast is served all day. Lunch menu from 10:30 am on, dinner menu after 4 pm. For takeout orders, call 203-445-1811. Daily specials, menus, photographs, and a link to Facebook can be found at www.therusticgrille.net.

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