Back earlier this summer to see friends and family in Central Iowa, we had a night to ourselves where we decided to head over to Grinnell to a steakhouse that I'd heard about, but had never been to - The Peppertree at The Depot Crossing. It was a nice Saturday night so we made the drive over to Grinnell for dinner.
For a number of years, I'd been hearing about a restaurant called The Depot that was housed in an old train station next to where the Iowa Interstate (formerly the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad, or more commonly known as the Rock Island Line.) and Union Pacific railways cross each other just southeast of Grinnell's downtown area. I was told that the Depot closed about four years ago and I was sort of upset that I never took the time to stop in.
Later in 2011, Steve Tibbitts who is the owner of The Peppertree and Pepper's Bar and Grill in Oskaloosa, IA, bought the Grinnell property and kept a lot of the old train station fixtures and decorations in the dining area. He opened The Peppertree at the Depot Crossing in July of that year.
The Peppertree at the Depot Crossing is located at the corner of 3rd Ave. and Park St. in Grinnell. (see map) The building looks almost generic and is very non-descript from the front when you pull into the parking lot. The real star of the place before you even step inside is the old train depot itself. From the parking lot you can't see the ornate round corner that faces the crossing of the two tracks. You actually have to go out onto the tracks and navigate around the building to see it. Or there's a parking lot just south of the tracks where you can park and take a look at the building's southeast corner.
The main dining room is a combination of brick walls and wooden ceilings with wooden beam supports. Large windows let in natural light during the day. A number of booths and tables were interspersed throughout the spacious and comfortable dining area.
The bar area was obviously an add-on to the depot and features a moderate sized bar, wooden floors and large windows. The bar area offers more casual dining and has a patio seating area. For a nice Saturday night we were sort of amazed that there was no one on the patio, even having a drink and enjoying the evening.
In the basement where the restrooms are located is a room that is used for receptions, meetings or parties. Soft canned lighting with brick walls were the highlight of this room that had more of a feel of an old time Elks Club.
We were directed by a hostess to a large booth in the middle of the main dining room and given menus. The main focus at The Peppertree at the Depot Crossing is steaks, seafood, Iowa pork chops, ribs, pasta dishes, chicken entrees, soups and salads. They also have an extensive list of sandwiches and burgers on the menu, as well.
Since it was Saturday night, The Peppertree at the Depot Crossing was featuring prime rib, just as they do on Friday night. I don't get prime rib very often, but it sort of sounded good that evening. They have 3 different sizes of prime rib - an 8 ounce petite cut, the Peppertree-cut which is 12 ounces, and a 17 ounce thick-cut slab of prime rib. I ordered a Peppertree-cut from our young waitress Lexi, who was sort of tentative and unsure of herself as she initially waited on us. She asked how I liked it cooked and I asked her for the rarest piece the chef can cut off the prime rib. And it was a deep pink tint when she brought it to the table. Plus it was a little larger than I expected. If this was the 12 ounce cut, I wouldn't have been able to even come close to finishing the bigger cut.
Cindy went with the petite filet with the deburgo sauce on top. The creamy and buttery deburgo sauce had chunks of mushrooms mixed in with garlic and a red wine reduction. I was sort of surprised that Cindy opted for the sauce on her steak as it contained mushrooms and she's had a problem with mushrooms since she was a little girl. (Something about meals 3 times a week made with cream of mushroom soup as a base.) But in recent months, I've noticed that she will sneak a couple bites of sautéed mushrooms when I order them at a steakhouse. She got a glass of a house merlot to go with her meal. I got a glass of the house shiraz after I had finished with a bottle of Sierra Nevada pale ale before the food made it to our table.
The prime rib was very good - very tender and easy to cut with a rich beef flavor to each bite. The only quibble I had was that it needed more au jus sauce (which I didn't ask for). The prime rib was served on a deep plate in its own natural juices, but they could have put more on the plate with the cut of beef.
My wife was happy with the petite filet topped with the deburgo sauce. The steak was tender and the sauce brought out more of the richness of the taste of the beef. She said there was not a thing wrong with the steak she had.
However, our only major problem with the meal came with the side we both ordered - the cheesy hash browns. I was going to get rice with my prime rib, but Cindy ordered the cheesy hash browns and that got me to change my mind. I wish it hadn't. The cheesy hash browns were just plain bad. They had mixed the cheese in with the hash browns and it had sort of coagulated and they were sticky and didn't have a very good flavor. Almost simultaneously when we took our first bite, we both said, "Ugh!" That was the only bite we took of the cheesy hash browns that evening.
But even with that, the meal we had at The Peppertree at the Depot Crossing was a thumbs up from both of us. The prime rib was very good, my wife was more than happy with her petite filet, Lexi became a little more assured of herself as the meal went along, and the atmosphere of eating in an old restored train depot was exquisite. It was an overall experience that surpassed our expectations and The Peppertree at the Depot Crossing is a place that people in and around Grinnell are lucky to have in their community.
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