February 12, 2006

Couple give old building a new life

Buckley's Great Steaks opened just a few weeks ago, but the restaurant is like a well-oiled machine, or, dare I say, well-aged beef.

Buckley's is inside the historic building that once was home to Riddle's Tavern. The structure was built around 1800 by Isaac Riddle. Through the years, it has served as a tavern, boarding house, and private residence. Michael and Sarah Buckley have given the old building new life with rich, earth-toned colors and leather-upholstered armchairs. The tavern does not have one big dining room but has smaller rooms with four to five tables, which makes for an intimate setting.

The bar is opposite the dining area and is what you might expect, with a long bar and stools for those patrons who want to just grab a quick bite. Step three stairs down to the left and you will be in the lounge area, which has three oversized leather sofas and chairs, as well as a fireplace.

The leather-bound menu was perfect -- two pages in length with appetizers and specialty meals on one side and steaks on the other. The appetizers include a choice of salads, seafood, and soup, with prices ranging from $7 to $12. My guests and I skipped over the appetizers to make room for the main course, but we did enjoy the freshly baked bread, served warm.

Our server, LeeAnn, was knowledgeable about the menu and recommended the sugar-cured New York sirloin ($29), which is served with a garlic demi-glace and a choice of starch or vegetable, but not both. We chose the mashed potatoes and paid an additional $5 for creamed spinach. In addition to the steak, we ordered the beef-tip Stroganoff ($22), which is braised with white wine, veal stock, and mushrooms, and served over noodles and sour cream.

With our orders in, we reviewed the wine list. It was laid out nicely with wine by the glass on one side and bottles on the other. We opted to try one of the wines by the glass, the Salmon Creek cabernet ($5.50).

Our dinner arrived shortly thereafter. The sirloin was cooked just as requested, medium rare, and was served with a roasted tomato on the side. The presentation was exceptional, as was the taste. The garlic demi-glace offered a nice complement to the sugar coating. The mashed potatoes were served on the side; the spinach was cooked just right in a thick cream sauce, and both were served hot.
The beef Stroganoff was the perfect comfort food on this not-so-cold winter night. It was served on a bed of thick noodles. Frankly, I would have been happy had there been fewer noodles because, once you mixed the sour cream, gravy, noodles, and beef together, it was hard to navigate. The beef was fork-tender, and the gravy with sour cream took me back to the old country.

We did our best not to overeat and saved room for dessert. We opted to stick with lighter desserts, the raspberry sorbet ($8) and the lemon cake ($7). Both were made in-house. We had no complaints and left nothing behind on our plates.

Buckley's is one of three restaurants owned by Sarah and Michael. The couple also started Michael Timothy's and Surf, both on Main Street in Nashua.

MEG VILLENEUVE
© Copyright 2006 Globe Newspaper Company.