Cox: Pub grub that’s a cut above

When the SMART train finally gets running all the way to its northernmost terminal in Cloverdale, it will find the Railroad Station Bar and Grill waiting for it.

But don’t you wait to stop in, because the so-so pub grub that was served by the previous owners is gone. In its place is the same sort of menu, but now worth every word in the title, “American comfort food.”

The new owner is Jangbu Sherpa, originally from Nepal where he guided seven expeditions up Mount Everest, reaching the summit five times and being turned back by bad weather twice. In 1996, he hauled 60 pounds of IMAX camera equipment to the summit - that’s 29,029 feet above sea level - for a documentary in the high-resolution format. So if JB, as he prefers to be called, can do that, he can certainly turn out a good burger.

And what a burger! The Standard Burger ($11.50 ??? ½) is a thick patty of grass-fed beef on a pretzel dough bun. The menu says, “The freshest, juiciest burgers in the land,” and usually, that kind of talk is just menu hype. In this case, it’s accurate. If you ask for the burger to be cooked medium, it arrives medium and juicy indeed.

You see grass-fed beef offered in many restaurants and markets these days, but may not understand why it’s important. Here’s why: compared to beef fattened on grain in a feedlot, grass-fed beef has about two-thirds less fat, about the same as a skinless chicken breast. Because it has less fat, a six-ounce grass-fed burger will have 100 fewer calories than a feedlot burger. It has two to four times more beneficial omega-3 essential fatty acids, and up to five times more CLA, another beneficial fatty acid. Think about it. Cattle are ruminants, and their natural diet is grass.

With the burger comes a small pot of ketchup, of course, but also lettuce, tomato, and grilled onions so you can make it a California Burger, as east-coasters call a hamburger with salad on it. But your platter will also have a handful of seemingly just-picked salad greens and fries hand cut from an actual potato, dusted with paprika before their dip into the hot fat. It’s just a burger platter, but care has been taken with it and, as JB said, “We make everything here. About all we buy is cheese and ketchup.”

And beer. As befits a big open room with seven flat-screen TVs all tuned to sports and a 12-stool full bar, there’s beer. By the bottle, choose from among 14 pilsners and lagers; five Belgian and strong ales; three wheat and golden ales; 11 brown ales, stouts, and porters; three amber, red, and ESB ales; 11 pale ales and IPAs; seven fruity ales and ciders; 12 22-ounce bottles; two gluten-free beers, and two non-alcoholic beers. Not to mention the forest of handles dispensing draft beers and ales.

The tabletops are made of cement. The walls are decorated with oversized photos of Mount Everest. The music runs to Jimi Hendrix. Service is snappy.

On a recent evening, the Soup of the Day ($4.50 ??? ) was fresh tomato, tasting as summery as the early October weather. Parmesan cheese and a pinch of minced parsley are sprinkled on top. An Arugula Salad ($13.50 ??? ) was a big bowl of little arugula leaves, sliced strawberries, sliced Bartlett pear, candied walnuts, and pickled onions. Fruits and nuts were sweet, onions were sour, and the greens were peppery. Nice.

Crispy Chicken Sandwich ($13.50 ??? ½) was a huge sweet roll layered with a crispy chicken filet, cheese, bacon, tomato, Iceberg lettuce, and mayonnaise given a shot of spicy cayenne and served with salad, fries, cucumber slices, and a dill pickle.

Hebrew National all-beef, jumbo hot dogs are usually associated with New York City, but here you can get one Chicago Style ($6 ??? ): laid in a bun and topped with mustard, chopped raw onions, pickled spicy-hot peppers, sweet relish, and celery salt, and served with tomato slices and dill pickle. Good dog.

A scoop of Strawberry Ice Cream ($2.50 ?? ½) was house-made and thickly creamy.

To sum up: If beer and sports and really good pub grub are so masculine, what were all those women doing in there?

Jeff Cox writes a weekly restaurant review for the Sonoma Living section. He can be reached at jeffcox@sonic.net.