A couple of new restaurants in town have local foodies buzzing
that Morgan Hill might be on its way to becoming the area’s next
new culinary hot spot.
A couple of new restaurants in town have local foodies buzzing that Morgan Hill might be on its way to becoming the area’s next new culinary hot spot.
The new eateries – Ladera Grill and Odeum – add a new variety of epicurean dining options to a restaurant scene that has cried out for something different, according to the restaurants’ owners and customers.
The restaurants replace former dining establishments at each of their respective sites, building on what one of the new owners described as a downtown that has become more of a “destination” in recent years.
Gary and Nancy Edwards, a Morgan Hill couple who eats out regularly, cited the two restaurants as their local favorites while having an early dinner at Ladera Grill one afternoon last week – and they haven’t even been open for a full summer. The couple said they were “pleased” to see more choices for high-quality noshing when they recently moved back to Morgan Hill, where they lived about 13 years ago.
They’ve already lost track of how many times they’ve eaten at Ladera Grill, which opened May 27 after an extensive remodeling at the former site of Ragoots.
“We’ve tried every restaurant (in Morgan Hill),” said Gary, 49. They like Ladera Grill for its “nice atmosphere, friendly people and great food that’s consistent,” said Nancy, 52.
Specifically, Gary praised Ladera Grill’s steaks – a simple item yet one that Morgan Hill restaurants have notoriously lacked until now, and Nancy’s favorite dish so far is a linguini prawn scampi.
“It’s so comfortable here,” she added.
The couple also praised the unique abilities of chef Salvatore Calisi at Odeum, a more “upscale gourmet” option, as Gary described it.
Other customers noted that the new restaurants add to well-established independent restaurants in town such as Maurizio’s, Fuzia, Rosy’s, Huntington Station and Sicilia in Bocca.
At Ladera Grill and Odeum, both kitchens are run by professionally trained, accomplished executive chefs, and both specialize in original recipes using fresh meat and seafood, though the ethnic styles of the food and the way it’s served up at the two establishments couldn’t be more different.
A trio of business and restaurant experts are responsible for Ladera Grill, at the corner of Monterey and Third streets. General manager Jim Hayter ran the Lion & Compass, an upscale Cupertino restaurant that caters to the Silicon Valley executive set, for about 12 years. Partner and longtime businessman Dan McCranie is a former customers of Hayter’s who is making his first foray into the food industry with Ladera Grill. And executive chef Tony Garcia went to culinary school in San Francisco during his 30-year career as a cook in various restaurants in the South Bay. He sold his Morgan Hill restaurant Giancarlo’s in April to partner with Hayter and McCranie.
Their interior redesign includes a new spacious bar just inside the restaurant’s front door.
All three are Gilroy residents, and they hope to turn Ladera Grill into a landmark.
“We are dedicated 100 percent to making this a great restaurant for Morgan Hill,” said Hayter.
They emphasize their menu has something for everyone at a wide price range, “from $8 to $40” for entrees that include burgers, sandwiches, salads and a 22-ounce “cowboy steak,” McCranie said. Garcia specializes in original seafood and pasta recipes – as well as a unique “pork osso bucco” dish.
But it’s clear from talking to their customers that the steaks are among the most popular items.
“Ever since I’ve been in Morgan Hill – 1980 – we’ve always heard that what Morgan Hill needs is a restaurant that serves a wide range of food, up to good steaks,” McCranie said.
Kim Enamait was sipping on a cucumber gimlet cocktail while waiting for dinner with husband Jason at one of Ladera Grill’s dozen or so outdoor sidewalk tables Sunday afternoon when she raved about the “petite filet” steak she had the first time the couple dined at the new restaurant.
“They have great food, great service, great cocktails, and that’s exactly why we’re back,” said Kim Enamait. “We’ll be back many more times.”
And Morgan Hill resident Tina Triano has already eaten at Ladera Grill numerous times with her husband, daughter and friends since it opened. She said Sunday the restaurant “brings a level of class to Morgan Hill that’s been missing, and it has good food.”
Across town, Odeum’s menu has a more focused ethnic theme – Mediterranean with Spanish, Greek and Italian influences.
The restaurant occupies a more intimate space at the Granary on Depot Street. Calisi, 41, the chef and managing partner, acquired the restaurant from Maurizio Cutrignelli, a Morgan Hill restaurateur who ran Mangia La Pizza there for about two years.
From New York City, Calisi has worked in expensive restaurants his entire life, he said. He was a partner at Dio Deka restaurant in Los Gatos – an upscale South Bay mainstay that specializes in Greek food. That spot earned a prestigious Michelin star while Calisi was running the kitchen. Before that, Calisi worked in restaurants in Italy.
Now having lived in Morgan Hill for about four years, Calisi wanted to open a place that’s closer to home and allows him to spend more time with his two small children. He hopes to open a bakery in the same building soon, and eventually plans to open more restaurants.
On the pricing scale, Odeum is a noticeable step up from other Morgan Hill restaurants, but Calisi said it’s still “reasonable” considering the quality of the food, which he strives to make the highest.
Focusing on “artisinal, more creative” recipes with a dashing presentation, Odeum imports seafood from Scotland, Italy and Spain – “the best octopus in the world comes from Spain,” Calisi said. The menu also features cheeses, honey and olive oil imported from Greece. All the vegetables and produce are local, though.
“We have a private orchard (outside the Granary) where we grow all our herbs, figs, plums, zucchini, and it’s organic,” Calisi said.
The chef is a stickler for the quality and the visual presentation of his food, and he tastes everything before serving it, he said.
“I care a lot about what I’m serving,” Calisi said. He chose the restaurant’s namesake, Odeum, the Greek word for a theater, based on his view of the process of creating the dishes on his menu. “The whole restaurant business is kind of like a theater, or an orchestra.”
Two customers eating lunch at Odeum last week commented on the “masterpiece” dessert they had just finished – a statuesque display that included fresh fruit. Jane Unland and Rigmor Munkvold, both in their 50s, decided to lunch at Odeum just to try the new restaurant.
“You can tell a lot of thought went into the presentation,” Munkvold said.
They added it’s fitting that a restaurant that serves organic food and local produce is found in the “sustainable” Granary building, which uses solar electricity.
The new restaurant scene looks to be sustainable as well, as McCranie described downtown Morgan Hill as having become more active as a night-time destination in the last decade, when the city has seen the base of local jobs grow too. Ladera Grill has already seen significant walk-in traffic since it opened.
“We’re very picky, but Morgan Hill is getting very special when it comes to restaurants,” Munkvold added while leaving Odeum, vowing to return.
