Best Western
199 Kenmount Rd.
Ph. 722-5540
The Flat Rock Bar ‘n Grill is not in Flatrock,
as many first think. It’s in the Best Western Travelers Inn on Kenmount Rd. and
it’s more bar than grill, at least as far as atmosphere goes. It’s a far cry
from the more spacious separate bar and restaurant - called Abigail’s - that
used to operate there a few years ago. Much of the spaciousness has been
sacrificed to the private, Granite Room - for meetings and groups - and a
former smoking room with tables that still contains five operating video
lottery machines. The main room contains another five of the gambling machines
for a total of ten, and on the occasions I’ve visited all machines were going
“full tilt.” There is something disconcerting about having a group of people
gambling in a dining area, especially when they seem to be in a sort of trance.
Despite the drawbacks of distracting lottery machines and other bar essentials,
Flat Rock Bar ‘n Grill can serve up some very good food. Chef Chris Winter has
created a slate of dishes that make sense for this bar/restaurant venue. You
won’t find anything on his menu that’s the least bit exotic, unless you
consider rice pilaf seasoned with chicken stock and dried basil to be alien.
Winter covered the basics: simple appetizers, soups, salads, pastas, stir-fry
and seafood, beef, chicken and pork dishes.
I guessed they gave the establishment the name “Flat Rock” because it’s a
familiar place name in Newfoundland. However, once I was seated I realized it
was strictly a geological theme they were after. First, there was the sign over
the entrance to their private room that read, “Granite” Room. Then, after
scanning the rest of the space - in hues of green, gray and yellow - I noticed
an actual “flat” rock sitting on every table, as a kind of condiment tray.
Those were the only obvious concessions to the name - Flat Rock Bar ‘n Grill.
Flat Rock Bar ‘n Grill’s four-onion soup tasted very much like a yellow onion
soup. If four different onions were used I couldn’t tell. But it had lots of
good beef and onion flavour, as well as plenty of thinly sliced onion - nicer
than roughly chopped in a soup. Even better, it had a thick, unctuous cap of
cheddar and mozzarella cheese. Melted cheese always makes for great food
involvement as you try to pull taffy-like strands of the stuff to your
salivating mouth, without splattering beef stock and onion all over yourself
and fellow diners.
Cod au gratin, like many casserole dishes, is comfort food for me. It's been a
favourite since I was a tadpole and first tasted it in a local restaurant.
Years ago - around these parts - it was everybody's favourite starter. The good
news is that it’s still a good choice, especially at the Flat Rock Bar 'n
Grill. The dish was not too salty and the fresh and flaky cod held the white
wine sauce beautifully. An aged, nippy cheddar topping was in perfect
counterpoint to the cod and cream.
Flat Rock Bar 'n Grill's daily special on one of the days
I visited was chicken carbonara. The word carbonara usually refers to a pasta
sauce containing some Italian bacon - pancetta - as well as eggs, cheese and
pepper. It's also usual that a carbonara dish be made with spaghetti, linguine
or fettuccine. Flat Rock Bar 'n Grill's chicken carbonara was offered with
fettuccine or penne. The penne was cooked properly - not too long - and held
the creamy, cheesy sauce quite effectively. I also enjoyed the addition of some
fresh sliced mushrooms. Purists would have been disappointed with the omission
of pancetta but, frankly, I was more disappointed with the use of those
uniform, processed chicken breasts that I’m certain inspired the term
"rubber chicken."
I hadn't had a meal of pork chops in a while so I tried Flat Rock Bar 'n Grill's
chops, described as "charbroiled to perfection." They had beautiful
grill marks but they were thin and overdone, not "perfection." I
wasn't surprised because the only way to achieve grill marks like those was to
keep the chops on the grill for longer than they should have been. However, the
stir-fry of vegetables that accompanied the chops was "perfect." It
consisted of cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, red pepper and onion. The plate's
giant potato wedges were fine but undercooked. Is there anything worse than
underdone potato?
As the flowing voice of the great Lou Rawls poured You’ll
Never Find Another Love Like Mine through the sound system, server Carlie did a
very good job of convincing me to try Flat Rock Bar ‘n Grill’s fish and chips.
I was not disappointed. I thoroughly enjoyed two large pieces of fresh cod
covered in a thin, crispy batter that rivaled the best batters in town. The
chips were excellent as well, nicely browned and fried just long enough in good
fat to deliver plenty of fried potato flavour.
The quality of Flat Rock Bar ‘n Grill’s fish and chips was
matched by the quality of their fish platter. A large, clear glass plate - in
the shape of a fish - arrived with a mixture of salmon, scallops, shrimp and
cod as well as vegetables, surrounding a surprisingly good rice timbale
flavoured with chicken stock and dried basil. The fish was cooked and seasoned
expertly, breaking apart into tender morsels in my mouth.
Flat Rock Bar ‘n Grill does not make its own desserts. They
purchase from an outside supplier and I’m certain it’s not one of the few
excellent local bakers who supply restaurants from their small home operations.
It’s a pity, because they obviously have talent in their kitchen that’s more
than capable of producing some good homemade sweets. Consequently, I was left
with limited choice and of the two desserts I tried, one, the chocolate maple
cake was decent - I especially liked the maple cream in the centre - and the
other, a cut of Boston cream pie, tasted slightly stale and even worse, “store
bought.” I would have been so much more pleased to taste a simple bread pudding
produced in Flat Rock Bar ‘n Grill’s own kitchen.
I’m glad I tried the Flat Rock Bar ‘n Grill. Overall I was
impressed with the quality of the food prepared by Chris Winter and his team,
as well as the efficient, friendly service I received. Give it a try for a
quick lunch of better-than-average pub food.
A meal for two at Flat Rock Bar ‘n Grill - including two
glasses of wine and a tip - cost $74.37.
Best Points:
Good cooks and good food.
Areas for Improvement:
Less conspicuous gambling areas and offer homemade desserts.
Ratings Category:
Flat Rock Bar ‘n Grill gets 7.5 points out of 10.