Firehouse Grille

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By JEFF KORBELIK / GZO

Editor’s Note: Ground Zero is embarking on its road trips to area restaurants during July.

Six years ago I journeyed to Murray after hearing great things about a small-town restaurant with big-city food.

Nola’s was run by a former Ritz-Carlton Hotel food and beverage director and featured the talents of a former sous chef from Omaha’s reputed Flat Iron Cafe.

View Slideshow

Chef de Cuisine at Firehouse Grille, Donovan Merrill, displays two of his signature dishes blackened Tilapia with wild rice and vegetables, left, and NY strip with mash potatoes and vegetables. The understated restaurant in Murray, NE provides a taste of the classics in addition to unexpected menu items. (Eva Barajas)

It lived up to its billing.

I received a call a couple of weeks ago to come back and check out the restaurant, which had undergone several changes over the years.

The restaurant is no longer Nola’s. It is now called Firehouse Grille after Nola’s owner sold the place to the local fire chief, who turned it into a bar and grill. Fire helmets decorate the walls.

In February 2005, Nola’s former chef, Nathan Newhouse, bought the restaurant, revamped the menu and hired Donovan Merrill to run it for him.

It doesn’t disappoint.

Last Friday evening, I enjoyed one of the chef’s specials, a bone-in pork chop with a peppercorn sauce, garlic mashed potatoes and green beans wrapped in bacon. The entree boasted not one, but two, sizable pork chops for just $12.95. It was fabulous.

My companion had the night’s other special, one of Merrill’s specialties, a beef tenderloin marco polo. The pasta dish, featuring a red wine sauce, was even better,  and cost just $13.95.

Add in the scrumptious artichoke dip with flour tortilla chips ($6.95), a decadent raspberry chocolate torte ($4.95) and two glasses of wine, and the 50-mile drive didn’t seem far at all.

Newhouse has done well for himself since making Nebraska his home at the beginning of the decade. Originally from Perth, Australia, he came to the state because his wife is from here.

In addition to the restaurant, he operates a catering business, Attitude on Food, in Omaha.

We went for the specials, but the decision to do so wasn’t easy. Newhouse’s menu features several enticing selections, ranging from a grilled Atlantic salmon served with a white wine, dill and dijon mustard glaze ($14.95) to homemade beef enchiladas ($8.95) to penne pasta tossed in the restaurant’s signature alfredo sauce with portabella mushrooms ($10.95).

You can’t go wrong. Entrees are served with side salad or choice of soup. We suggest Nathan’s famous clam chowder, which, unlike most chowders I’ve had, wasn’t heavy.

Firehouse Grille is located on Nebraska 1. It’s a small restaurant, with seating for about 60 to 70 people.

The statewide smoking ban isn’t in effect yet, so be prepared. The smoke hits you as soon as you open the door. There is non-smoking seating at the back of the restaurant.

I recommend going early or late or calling ahead for reservations, especially on the weekends when the grill does brisk business.

And, yes, the restaurant will be open Friday for the holiday from noon to 9 p.m. with a limited menu. Check it out. If not today, then head up when the full menu and Merrill’s specials are available. It’s worth the drive.

Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.