taste ›› Grazer’s Chop House
P erched just above downtown an upscale farmhouse restaurant that is raising its own cattle as the star of the menu. Whether it’s filet mignon, New York strip, or ribeye, the beef is grass-fed, hand-cut, and prepared right here inWest Virginia. “We raise over 80 cattle—Angus, Holstein, Charolais. We have a mix,” says Kate Padula, who co-owns Grazer’s Chop House and Grazer’s Farm with her husband, Patrick. “The hope is to be able to ultimately fully supply our restaurant with the beef.” Quality is of the utmost importance for the restaurant, whether that’s the housemade sauces, locally sourced vegetables, or best-selling steaks. Morgantown, a new steakhouse is taking its farm-to-fork concept literally. Grazer’s Chop House, located on Fort Pierpont Drive, is “Our beef is born in West Virginia, bred in West Virginia, finished in West Virginia, butchered in West Virginia, and brought to the table in West Virginia,” says Duka Esguerra, the general manager at Grazer’s Chop House. “We control the entire lifespan of that animal so you know where your beef comes from.” The secret to turning that local beef into a delicious steak? It’s an infrared broiler of a kind you typically see only in big-city steakhouses like Peter Luger Steakhouse and Ruth’s Chris
Steak House. The broiler heats to a blistering 1,600 degrees, searing the juices into the steak and creating a mouthwatering meal. Local beef and high-end cooking techniques are just a couple of the ways that Grazer’s Chop House is setting itself apart from the fierce food competition in Morgantown. “A lot of Morgantown’s restaurant scene caters to the student population—especially in regard to location,” says Patrick Padula. “We saw an opportunity to serve a different part of the community. We tried to create a space that incorporated multiple aspects that we enjoy.” That includes a unique bar with a fresh feel, patio dining, an open kitchen, a private area for large groups, along with classic dishes to round out the menu—think pan-seared duck with shiraz gastrique, braised lamb shank, Lowcountry shrimp and grits, and beef and wild mushrooms pappardelle. The theme is reflected in the ambience: concrete floors, hand-crafted barn doors, industrial accents, rustic decorations. “When we looked for a genre, we decided on ‘fine casual.’ It’s a fine dining restaurant that has been moved from a barn to a warehouse. It’s comfortable and higher-end, in terms of food and quality,” Esguerra says. It’s the kind of place where Kate and Patrick envisioned themselves spending an evening together. Without their five kids.
Grazer’s is the couple’s second foray into the restaurant business. Together they purchased the much- beloved Point Marion, Pennsylvania, bakery
and restaurant, Apple Annie’s in 2014 and ultimately relocated it to the Cheat Lake area in 2018. The quick success of the family-style eatery in the new location inspired the Padulas to open Grazer’s nearby. “It was eye-opening how underserved this part of town was,” Kate Padula says. “We knew there was more here. We wanted something to complement Apple Annie’s, so when we were looking for an additional space to showcase the local beef concept, we were drawn to this area.” With two thriving restaurants, the Padulas are looking to cement their establishments as cornerstones in the Morgantown dining scene and are optimistic about what lies ahead. “We’d like to continue to grow, offer more features, cultivate our relationships with local suppliers, produce more of our own beef, and possibly produce other meats,” she says. “We’ve been really fortunate so far, and we can’t wait to see what the future brings.” 200 Fort Pierpont Road, Suite 112, Morgantown, 304.322.4201, grazerschophouse.com
38 wvl • fall 2020
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