Visited July 13, 2011
Written by Greg
Recently, while looking for another place to review, and wanting to go somewhere we didn’t know much about to ensure an unbiased review perhaps, Joe, Drew, Chad, Tyler and I ventured into Brockport to patronize 58 Main, presumably at 58 Main Street, just north of the canal.
It’s not a real big place, and it feels even smaller inside. There is a wooden deck outside to eat at, but we were seated inside in the main dining room, next to a very odd abdomen-high wall separating the bar area from the rest of the room.
The half-wall also had regular plastic window slat blinds hanging from the ceiling to it as a means of further separating the two areas, but it just looked weird and felt awkward with tables immediately on the other side.
There are a few TVs scattered about on the walls, and some memorabilia. There isn’t a whole lot of atmosphere to speak of really.
It’s definitely a restaurant, but I, and did others in our party, didn’t feel like there was a whole lot of character to the place. Tyler described it as feeling like it has an identity crisis; is it a burger joint, bar, somewhat upscale, party house, or a barbecue joint? There is also a somewhat extensive breakfast menu available from 6 a.m. until 5 p.m., further complicating the identity.
I would say its barbecue personality sticks out the most, but the menu is very diverse and doesn’t focus on one particular specialty or genre, if you will.
There are certainly a wide variety of barbecue items, but also general Italian cuisine, and home-style American, dishes too. Nevertheless, we were seated and waited on promptly, and the dining area was of average cleanliness.
Getting down to business, I ordered a Reuben Wrap, but received just a regular Reuben sandwich. I wasn’t upset, so I didn’t bother sending it back.
It was about what I expected it to be: moderate size, served with Thousand Island dressing (a must for a Reuben), and came with sides of coleslaw and fries, which were also both very generic. Altogether it was a run-of-the-mill meal. It didn’t excite me, but it didn’t disappoint either.
Tyler ordered a chicken barbecue platter (surprise), and said the chicken was nothing extraordinary. He did, however, enjoy sampling the various barbecue sauces, which were pretty good.
We all agreed we like when restaurants have numerous barbecue sauces on the table so that you can try each of them and pick your favorite.
Tyler chose sides of cornbread and bakes beans. Of the cornbread, he said it was “Different in a good way,” but thought the portion size was far too small and should have been served warmer, rather than lukewarm. He liked that the baked beans had pork in them, and I did as well, but their flavor in general didn’t stand out.
Drew ordered a pulled pork sandwich, which he found to be very generic compared to those of all the other places we’ve reviewed, including Dinosaur, which continually surfaces in our conversations of having the only exciting pulled pork in the area.
Drew felt like the service was unusually slow, and was put off by the fact he was only given one drink refill. I didn’t think the service stood out by any means, but didn’t consider it below par either.
Concrete Charlie ordered a 58 Main Plate, which pretty much describes itself I would hope. He ordered his with hamburgers, macaroni salad and home fries. It looked pretty well-made, and I finished it for him after he had his fill.
We both agreed that there was far too much diced carrot in the macaroni salad, and it was raw, which made the salad much too crunchy. The hot sauce on it didn’t stand out as an original Garbage Plate’s might, and the home fries were probably a little on the undercooked side, but Chad seemed somewhat satisfied with it.
58 Main won’t reach real high on our rankings. We found it very comparable to Nola’s in Charlotte in terms of food quality, though Nola’s menu is more focused and exciting, and has a much better atmosphere. We all also agreed that 58 Main was on the overpriced side, by maybe a dollar or two.
Ratings:
Atmosphere: It wants to be a barbecue joint, but its diverse menu and lack of stand-out barbecue holds it back.
Service: Average service, a tad on the slow side.
Food: Not great, not offensive. Somewhat generic.
Value: Decent portion size, but a tad overpriced.
Overall: A diverse menu with nothing that really stands out, causing a lack of identity. No complaints, but nothing that will have us rushing back.
Grade: C+
