With Paul Martin's American Bistro in Roseville, California, Brian Bennett of nearby Rocklin, restaurateur Paul Fleming and their partners, have realized a long-nurtured dream to create the restaurant "we've always wished was in our neighborhood." Eager to share their concept, the team is planning a second location, which is currently under construction in El Segundo, California and is slated to open early 2009.
At the heart of all great food is fresh, local, peak of the season ingredients. Paul Martin’s aims to take diners back to the farm with meat raised in a humane and wholesome way, locally sourced organic produce, the best of both wild and farmed fish, artisan cheeses and cured meats from small local purveyors. Brian and Paul spent more than a year handpicking the sources for Paul Martin’s menu. The thorough search produced 40 partnerships with thoughtful, local farmstead producers, 80 percent of whom are located in Northern California.
“Eat organic. Believe in sustainable. Buy local.” is the mantra of Paul Martin’s. As much as possible, that’s what Paul Martin’s aims to deliver, and at accessible prices, with plates priced mostly between $10 and $22. The menu promises such mouthwatering dishes as: Cedar Planked Salmon baked with shallots and bacon, sautéed spinach and crimini mushroom jus; brick chicken from Petaluma Farms with mashed potatoes and fresh herb jus; and braised lamb shank from nearby Solano County with white beans, artichokes and cipollini onions. The rich and varied menu also encourages sampling and sharing, with an assortment of small plates, a seafood platter with the freshest oysters, shrimp and crab; and over 50 wines offered by the glass.
The restaurant’s focus on local, sustainable and organic extends to the bar, which features seasonal fruit-infused vodkas made in house, an interesting array of local craft beers and a wine list that offers more than 80 bottles of mostly California wines.
Surveys show that 78 percent of American consumers value regional and local food for home cooking. Why? For health, taste and to preserve the rural landscape. Embracing this concept, Paul Martin's believes it's their responsibility to carry these values into the restaurant kitchen.
From the kitchen to the dining room, Paul Martin’s emphasizes the little things that set a gold standard for hospitality and dining. The fresh prime chuck chosen for the Bistro Burger and the lamb from nearby Dixon typify Paul Martin’s emphasis on local whereas the fresh Gulf hoppers in the Shrimp Scampi and Shrimp Cocktail show how far the chefs will go to source the best.
The restaurant interior is at once comfortable and sophisticated with a kind of elegant rusticity carried out in old brick, wood, zinc, polished concrete floors, soft lighting and hospitable furnishings.
