Catering to eclectic tastes

OBERLIN -- Into a world of fast food, burgers and fries, and copy-cat menus comes the new Meadowlark Grill in Oberlin, offering something new ... a little different ... unique, with a twist.

Meadowlark Grill owners Steve and Lisa Stacy hope their menu is exciting and eclectic enough to appeal to a lot of people -- satisfied customers who will make the Meadowlark a new favorite eating establishment on the Golden Plains.

"We didn't want to do what everyone else was doing," Lisa said. And the Meadowlark's menu reflects that desire.

The menu states, "Although you may not be familiar with all the items on the menu, we guarantee you will like your selection."

For starters, there's stuffed potato skins filled with cheddar cheese, green onions and bacon bits. There's chicken satay -- skewered chicken served with peanut sauce for dipping.

On the grill, Steve, who does all the cooking, produces eight- and 12-oz. rib steaks, salmon steaks -- fresh, never frozen -- and bacon-wrapped shrimp.

The list of specialities includes fettuccine alfredo, seafood crepes, seafood pasta and pasta primavera. White pizza is made with chicken, bacon and spinach. The fried seafood platter is heaped with shrimp, scallops, clams and whitefish.

The Mexican menu includes chicken chimi-changas, chili rellenos, cheese enchiladas and Steve's Platter -- a chicken chimi, a relleno and a cheese enchilada. (A customer, on his way out the door, leaned over to another on her way in and said, "You have to have the fajitas. They're the best!") Steve said the Mexican menu is very popular. He uses nine gallons of green chili a week.

"If you like chocolate, I have the perfect dessert for you," Lisa said. "Trust me?" The chocolate terrine is pure chocolate indulgence served with raspberry sauce and whipped cream. It's her favorite, said Serena, Steve and Lisa's youngest daughter, although another favorite -- fried ice cream served with honey, chocolate sauce and whipped cream -- actually bears her name. The list of desserts also includes puff pastry apple turnovers and "Lemon Clouds," crispy meringue "clouds" layered with lemon mousse.

"The New York-style cheesecake is very creamy, and very popular," Steve said.

Everything is homemade -- the entrees, the specials, the salads, desserts, muffins -- everything is made in Steve's kitchen.

The Meadowlark Grill is located at the junction of U.S. Highways 83 and 36 in Oberlin. The red-black-and-white decor of a former fried chicken franchise has been replaced with muted shades of Tuscan sunshine and bold splashes of forest green, deep burgundy, yellow and blue.

It's a little bit French country ... Italian, Mediterranean, maybe. Hmmm, a little Mexican.

Steve said, "With our varied menu items, a 'theme' or decor doesn't really matter."

Lisa said Steve could envision the new restaurant when they first walked into the open space of the former chicken franchise. "He could see the colors, the table nook, the half-wall, the private corners," she said. "All of this ... he could see it plain as day."

The Decatur Co-Op Association owns the building, and co-op directors asked Steve and Lisa -- who were operating a catering business in Oberlin, and had catered co-op functions -- if they would be interested in opening a nice sit-down restaurant in the north end of the AmPride convenience store.

"This opportunity came about because of the catering business," Lisa said.

Steve said that 15 years ago, in Colorado and California, he got out of restaurant management after 20 years, and wasn't sure he wanted to get back in. But he got excited about remodeling -- he's also a painting contractor -- and developing his own menu. "The more we did, the more excited we became," Lisa said.

"I really enjoy cooking," Steve said. "Our menu is a reflection of the things I like, the foods that friends and clients have said are outstanding."

He continued, "I wanted to be eclectic enough to appeal to lots of people, and to have them come back often."

The Meadowlark Grill is located at 409 W. Frontier Parkway, at the corner of the two highways in Oberlin, on the north end of the AmPride convenience store.

The Meadowlark is open daily, from 11:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. The phone number is (785) 475-8918.