Bistro on Main
THROUGH THE PASS
Back in the 1980s, when Steve Vining was a self-described “not very good wine salesman” in Boston, Chris Schlesinger’s East Coast Grill in Cambridge was his hangout of choice. The smokiness and big flavors generated by the wood fire grill, as well as the communal atmosphere, were a big draw for Vining. When the opportunity to open his own restaurant in Chatham presented itself, he decided to incorporate an open kitchen with a big wood-fired grill and rotisserie into the design of his space. Marinated spit-roasted chicken in natural juices and fresh-grilled vegetables were signature menu items along with the finest fresh seafood the Cape has to offer.
Vining’s Bistro opened in 1991 and for twenty-three years operated successfully in the second-floor space above the pulse of Main Street where it established a reputation as a gathering space for locals and visitors alike seeking good food and cheer. Vining became a familiar sight, a cigar clenched firmly between his teeth, transporting carloads of split wood in his old clunker station wagon through the streets of Chatham. It seems everyone has a Steve Vining story to share, because as his current chef Tim O’Brien puts it, “He has been entertaining and employing people on the Cape for more years than he cares to admit!”
Vining, with a still enviable thick shock of hair and a boyish twinkle in his eye, has the uncanny ability to remember many who, at one time or another, were on his payroll. His first Cape restaurant venture was in 1976 as owner/operator of the La Grande Rue at the Olde Kemah Inn, now the site of the Hot Stove Saloon in downtown Harwich Port. After a decade of ownership, Vining sold the building (restaurant and 23 rooms).
O’Brien joined Vining’s team in 2009 when his restaurant was in its original location. He remembers working in that small space as “probably the hardest restaurant job I ever had! It was basically a two-man operation with then-chef Miles Hutchington, Jr. and myself. I would have to handle all the hot appetizers, the saute dishes, the pasta, plus expedite the tickets.” Vining chuckles, “During busy times, I would pitch in and I preferred working the ‘vacation station’, which was what I called the grill. I was a whiz at cooking meats to temperature.” Both men look back on the days in the former location with fondness, but both are happy with where Bistro on Main currently resides.
In 2014, the owners of the building converted the upstairs space into condos and offered Vining the restaurant’s current quarters, street level at 593 Main Street in Chatham. The new space has given now-executive chef O’Brien a lot more breathing room. Non-negotiable with the move, however, was the wood-fired grill, as fire regulations would not allow for one with tenants in the space overhead. So Vining put down the ax, designed a new layout, acquired a new name (Bistro on Main) and made some menu adjustments with O’Brien. “I have tried to keep the flavors of what we were doing upstairs and taught it to my staff here along with implementing some new ones,” adds O’Brien.
Some things their regulars would not part with. For one, the ever-popular grilled carrots. O’Brien tried, but failed, to take them off the menu with the move. He laughs and says, “No matter how beautiful a plate is, I have to top it off with a damn grilled carrot! People just love them. We actually have guests that will order sides of them to go.” Other mainstays, including the Portuguese cod featuring a spicy house-made chorizo (the sausage-making torch has been passed from Vining to O’Brien) and the Chicken Milanese, aren’t going anywhere either. O’Brien suggests looking inside the menu for these and other popular Bistro classics. He also recommends the ever-changing specials page showcasing selections featuring fresh local seafood often paired with seasonal ingredients for what “is happening right here and now on Cape Cod.”
In 2015, when the adjoining commercial space became available, Vining took it over and used the expansion to create a full-service, nautical-themed raw bar. Now upon entering, you take a left to enter the area designated for The Raw Bar and a right for The Bistro. The menus for The Bistro on Main and The Raw Bar are available throughout both spaces, as well as at the two full-service bars and at the outside patio. In season, the Raw Bar offers up to nine varieties of local and regional oysters, as well as clams, shrimp and a large selection of crudos.
O’Brien uses a variety of local fishermen to supply all his seafood. “Chatham Shellfish has oyster beds in Oyster Pond, which you can practically see from our back windows, and provides us oysters from Brewster, Great Rock (Yarmouth) and Cotuit, too. I also use Big Rock Oyster Company in Dennis for their local varieties as well as some of the Duxbury and Wellfleet ones. I get my clams from North Coast Seafood and, although the company is headquartered in New Bedford, their shellfish is from right here on the Cape. I can text my salesman, and he is always available for drop-offs. Of course, I get the bulk of my seafood from Chatham Fish. I also have a relationship with the weir fisherman. That’s where I usually source my fish for the smoked dip and for most of my rotating ceviches.” During our late June dinner visit, O’Brien informs us the burlap sacks of scallops delivered recently have been so fresh that they have been still moving as they are portioned out in the kitchen!
It’s a good thing we are hungry. Our party of four is seated window-side in the Bistro’s dining room overlooking the patio at the front of the restaurant. Outside, container gardens overflow with fresh herbs that provide garnishes and flavorings for many of the restaurant’s dishes. Bistro on Main offers an impressive lineup of white, red, rose and sparkling wines, including some available as half bottles. O’Brien laughs and glances towards Vining as he remarks, “All the wines in this building have been thoroughly vetted.” Former wine salesman Vining has kept his own extensive tasting notes over the years and, along with his head bartender and restaurant manager, has curated a well-balanced list. Beers on draft include local craft brews by Devil’s Purse (Dennis) and Hog Island (Orleans). A full cocktail menu is also available, boasting mules, margaritas and martinis.
Service begins with a complimentary white bean puree drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. A crusty Iggy’s loaf provides the perfect vessel for tearing and dipping. O’Brien jumpstarts our evening with a serving of “tumbleweed” shrimp: a crunchy crustacean wrapped in shredded phyllo dough, flash fried and presented over a jicama and horseradish slaw. We also order a few appetizers for sharing: a luscious smoked salmon platter (house cured and smoked with capers, cream cheese, fresh herbs and citrus), chicken lollipops (Korean-style drumsticks in a spicy aioli) and a colorful shrimp ceviche (pickled onions, Pico de gallo, lime juice, coconut curry).
Our entree choices include a mix of house specials and menu classics. I am a sucker for a simple linguine and clams done right. Bistro’s presentation of ten of the sweetest, plumpest Chatham littlenecks nestled amongst a mound of pasta sauteed in garlic, chili flakes, lemon, white wine, olive oil and crispy pancetta makes me happy. The perfect ratio of flavors highlights the clams as the star attraction. Recalling O’Brien’s comment attesting to the freshness of the scallops, how can we not give them a try? Pan roasted with a crispy risotto cake, peppery arugula topped with a hint of shaved fennel and a citrusy vinaigrette; this dish measures up to the hype. The grilled local swordfish special with its accompanying saffron risotto, rock shrimp guacamole and asparagus earns raves. (I spy a grilled carrot!) Our meat lovers give two thumbs up to the herb-marinated prime sirloin strip steak. O’Brien explains how he puts equal consideration into his non-seafood entrees. “I don’t have a separate walk-in to dry age here, but I do pull the meat out of its wrapper and hang and turn it so it dries out.” The process yields a nice tender beef with a great saturation of natural flavor. Topped with a mushroom demi-glace, grilled vegetables and hearty Russet fries, this is one satisfying meal. With a warning to make sure we save room for dessert, we reluctantly push away our dinner plates. This is not a restaurant where you will leave hungry. Portions are generous.
We’re glad we saved room. A quartet of sweet confections appears tableside: white and dark chocolate cranberry bread pudding with raspberry sauce and creme anglaise; a creamy straightforward New York-style cheesecake (the only dessert made off-premises by a baker friend in Harwich); white chocolate banana spring rolls with a mango gelato and fresh berries (our favorite); and a decadent molten lava cake. I’m surprised to learn that O’Brien has a pretty extensive resume of pastry making dating back to his five-year stint in the kitchen of James Beard winner and French chef Michel Richard at Citronelle in Santa Barbara, California.
Every restaurant kitchen is different, yet alike. Whether big or small, most operate in a similar manner and are staffed by employees who contribute a specific skill set to the equation (from dishwasher to chef ). The back of the house at Bistro on Main is a nicely-sized commercial space with a variety of stations (salad, fry, saute, grill) typical to many with one exception: this kitchen is predominantly staffed by women, and O’ Brien is just fine with it.
“I learned to cook from women...first from my mother and then largely by Mexican women in the kitchens of California, so I have always been comfortable working alongside females. I just find I get along with women really well, there’s generally a lot less drama and certainly a lot less testosterone and ego involved,” O’Brien laughs. He adds, “The guys, including Carlos, my sous chef, that are working back there with me are great, too. Many of the males are staffing the Raw Bar side. I have a loyal crew, most of my kitchen staff may take off-season positions when we close from January to April, but they all seem to come back when we reopen. Vining pays our help well and I think they like me. My philosophy with both my new employees and my veterans is: I am your friend and will be until you make me be your chef, and neither of us wants that, so let’s just remain friends. And this usually works.”
A Santa Barbara native, O’Brien met and married his wife Lori Schiraga, a Brewster native, back in 2000 when they were living and working in California. In 2002, they switched coasts and moved to Cape Cod. O’Brien worked a variety of culinary positions at Cape restaurants, including Pleasant Bay Village, the Brewster Fish House and L’Alouette, before landing with Vining at his first Bistro location. In addition to the long hours he puts in at the restaurant, O’Brien and his wife are owners/innkeepers at Bluefish Bed & Breakfast in Harwich where O’Brien prepares a daily farm-to-table breakfast. They were recently named “most charming small town B&B in Massachusetts” by Reader’s Digest magazine. This seemingly indefatigable chef can sometimes be found baking pastries at 1am and cherishes Monday and Tuesday (when there is no lunch service) as the time to make the Bistro’s homemade soups and stocks.
“All the sauces, soups, salad dressings, all pastries and their sauces, mignonettes, all raw bar items (capriccios, ceviches, etc.), pretty much everything is made from scratch including focaccia bread for some of the sandwiches,” says O’Brien. During the busy summer season, they may do 600-700 covers a day, but O’Brien takes the high volume in stride. “We get really busy for a while and all the overtime I put in is tempered by the fact that in the winter we close and I get three months off. When I worked for years in California restaurants, I literally had no time off and, if I did, they would come find me. It’s nice knowing at the end of this busy season there’s a break on the horizon.”
Vining and O’Brien have an interesting dynamic. There is a lot of good-natured ribbing between the two, but they admit that their relationship for the most part works. O’Brien says, “I feel the responsibility as if this was my own place. Vining is a fair guy to work for. He pays his bill and his help on time, which is really important in this business. I’m the son of a business owner so I was raised to have respect for the person in charge.”
As the fall season approaches, Bistro on Main plans to present more “locals” promotions. The goal is to build a reputation for offering menu selections in all price ranges. When temperatures lower, O’Brien will also introduce more items from his smoker. “In summer, it’s used for smoking salmon and fish dip, but in the fall I like to also use it for ribs and heartier proteins like pork shank.” O’Brien admits he “put down the tweezers years ago” as it’s not his particular style, although he has lots of respect for the guys that do it right. The focus here is on being Chatham’s neighborhood bistro. “I want to give you something that reminds you of good fun things in your life, but maybe a much better version of what you can create yourself,” says O’Brien. Vining adds that the Bistro’s mantra is one borrowed from the great Julia Child, “You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces, just good food from quality ingredients.” Cheers to many more years of this duo delivering just that!
Bistro on Main & Chatham Raw Bar 593 Main Street, Chatham 508-945-5033 / bistroonmainchatham.com
