224 Vintage Way, Novato CA 94945Parking: shopping center parking lot
http://thesouthernpacific.com/
Last Visited: May 5, 2011
Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 4 to 5 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $$ to $$$$
Located in the Vintage Oaks shopping center, Southern Pacific Smokehouse is the result of a partnership between Philip Claypool, country western singer, and former Plumpjack Group CEO, Rick Riess. The place had been open about a week when I visited and you could still see some of the kinks being worked out. The restaurant’s style is reminiscent of a lounge, but it doesn’t have a pretentious feel. The remodeled jewelry store is now filled with dark wood, mirrors, a comfortable bar, an open kitchen including a pizza oven from Italy, and a dedicated lounge for musical acts. One can appreciate the expense spent to give the place a whole new look. A few of my dining companions said it was easily one of the best looking places in Novato. While it’s only been open a short time, Southern Pacific is already getting involved in local activities including hosting a fundraiser for Novato Youth. They have also scheduled a number of bands, both local and more famous musical acts. Their vision is ‘to provide guests with an approachable dining experience.’ I can definitely attest to the friendliness of the owner – Philip came up to our table to introduce himself and thank us for coming in to enjoy his new place. However, I found the hosting staff to be a little less friendly, more stuffy – perhaps it’s their all black outfits or just their demeanor, but they could be warmer and it wouldn’t hurt a bit.
The menu (same for lunch and dinner) is fairly simple. There are a variety of sandwiches, salads, and pizzas as well as wood-fired and smoked options including tri-tip and ribs. All of the sides are a little expensive at $5 each, but I don’t know what kind of quantity they might give you. Upon our arrival, we were given the choice of still water or complimentary sparkling water. The water comes in a clear bottle and the glasses are small mason jars – an interesting way to set themselves apart from the typical Novato restaurant.
They had made an extra pizza, so they gave it to us to sample for free. That was a nice way to start off our visit. Another interesting item of note was that all of their order-taking was done on an electronic device.- Smoked Chicken, Bacon, and Brie Pizza – Breast meat is pulled apart into small chunks and along with bacon and brie, it tops a thin crust pizza. I thought I tasted some sweet onions too, but it wasn’t listed as one of the ingredients on the menu. The pizza crust is cooked through well, but not overly crispy. The amount of toppings are reasonable and the crust is able to hold up to them well. $12
- Dry Baby Back Ribs – Since it’s a smokehouse, I had to order something from the barbecue. This half rack had about six or seven ribs. It’s served with cornbread, coleslaw, and beans. Unfortunately, the cornbread didn’t come until I asked near the end of the meal and by that time, I was pretty stuffed. Two pieces of jalapeno cornbread came with sweetened butter. The cornbread was sweet and good, but if you prefer to see and enjoy the texture of corn in your bread, you won’t find that here. The coleslaw was lightly dressed and still very crunchy. The beans were hot and sweet – I liked this side the best of all of three offered. Now to the ribs – the ribs are crusted with a dry rub giving a blend of spicy and smoky. The meat was very tender and I loved how the smoky flavor rang through each bite. What I didn’t like about this dish was that the flavorful and spicy sauce that came with it was cold as though it had just come out of the refrigerator. I prefer the sauce to be warmed through or hot in temperature. Overall, the ribs were good, but a little on the expensive side for lunch. $17 half rack, $25 full rack
My other dining companions ordered more pizza – they found the bbq pulled pork pizza to be too heavy and the mushroom pizza and tomato/basil/mozzarella pizza to both be very good. Another person ordered the risotto and enjoyed that a lot. While we were eating, we overheard our waitress sharing the specials that weren’t shared with us, so you can tell that they’re still learning the ropes. She was also still familiarizing herself with the desserts which we asked for a list of despite knowing we were too stuffed to enjoy them. While the staff descends upon you when it’s time to serve with at least three or four members serving our plates so that all of the food would arrive together, missing the cornbread shows room for opportunity. Midway through our meal, we also heard the kitchen staff yelling out orders that needed to be fired off. While this may be normal in other settings, it doesn’t seem to fit in well here and caught our group a bit off guard.The food is good, but the prices are too high for Novato, at least for lunch. For dinner, the prices are okay. To survive in this town, Southern Pacific needs to offer a few menu items that will allow patrons to get in and out for lunch for under $12 including tax and tip in order to continue to attract a good lunch crowd once their newness has worn off. Sandwiches at $14 are just too high to sustain regular weekday clientele. They also need to work on their attention to detail in terms of service. They have a promising future, and we’ll be watching how they execute their approachable dining experience vision.
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