By Frank Sabatini Jr.

Grant Grill’s Sam Burman brings big changes to a historic menu

When he isn’t gawking over purple Brussels sprouts and other distinctive organics at Chino Farms, or plucking fresh lavender and Swiss chard from The US Grant’s rooftop garden, Ohio transplant Sam Burman is mapping out nightly menus for the hotel’s Grant Grill, which he joined as chef de cuisine earlier this year.

Since opening in 1951, the stately restaurant has maintained a tome-like menu of American and European dishes that evolved with modest experimentation over the past decade. Burman, however, who last served as corporate chef for Whisknladle Hospitality, has radically pared down the menu and revised the bill of fare in the face of fleeting seasonal bounties that define his cooking.

While Grant Grill’s famous mock turtle soup and classic Caesar salad remain untouchable, Burman is enticing Downtown diners with a fresh slate of both contemporary and timeless meals tailored for the winter season and beyond.

Having just finalized his prix fixe holiday menus (think hay-smoked beef loin, duck two ways and crispy salmon belly with kale sprouts), the chef revealed to San Diego Downtown News where he earned his chops, plus recipe secrets behind a couple of his top-selling dishes, an opinion about the local restaurant scene and more.

San Diego Downtown News [SDDN] What originally brought you to San Diego?

Sam Burman [S.B.] After working as chef de partie at TRU in Chicago, I took a job here as executive chef at Quality Social Downtown. One of the first things I did was go to Chino Farms with my wife. That kind of sold me on San Diego. I was blown away by the flavor and freshness of the strawberries. To have a year-round growing season as a chef is like a free luxury.

[SDDN] When did you feel the calling to become a professional chef?

[S.B.] I started cooking in Columbus, Ohio with my mother at about 6 years old. We’d do a lot of holiday cookies and then progressed to beef Wellington and seasonal salads using produce we’d buy from outlying farms.

At the age of 14, I began working at restaurants as a busboy, always watching what the guys were making in the kitchen. Then, when I was 17, I took a trip to New York City with my best friend, whose brother worked at Park Café. He took us around to some other New York restaurants and that’s when I started getting serious.

[SDDN] Did you attend culinary school?

[S.B.] No. After my trip to New York I got a job cooking at 55 on the Boulevard in Columbus. I worked there for three years with a really talented chef who beat my ass every day. I learned butchering, sauce making and worked every station.

[SDDN] What was your primary goal when revising Grant Grill’s menu?

[S.B.] We’ve actually changed all of the menus — breakfast, lunch and dinner and aligned them to seasonal changes. The menus before were in books with larger selections. Now we’re doing less items, and very calculated, rather than spreading out the repertoire so widely. For dinner, we no longer have a special tasting menu because that menu changes daily. There’s no guarantee that what you see one night you’ll see the next.

[SDDN] Were the changes a team effort?

[S.B.] Yes, with Executive Chef Mark Kropczynski and nine cooks and mixologist Jeff Josenhans, we all work together. I’m a big believer in not stifling creativity because you never know where the next great idea will come from.

[SDDN] Tell us about some of your top-selling dishes that might stick around for a while?

[S.B.] We recently introduced a dry-aged rib eye for two. The steak was already on the menu, but we would cut the bone out of it and portion it out into separate fillets. Now it’s a steak for two ($98) and weighs in at 20 to 33 ounces. We sear it in cast iron, roast it in the oven and baste it with butter, garlic and rosemary.

[SDDN] Are there any particular organics currently grabbing your attention at the local farms?

[S.B.] Chino Farms have these crazy blue pumpkins that I’ll maybe use for a raw squash salad with pomegranates. Their sweet potatoes are also amazing, which I might use for making dumplings or pasta. Oh, and their purple Brussels sprouts are great, which I’ve been adding to red lentil stew. They have a black pepper taste to them.

[SDDN] What is your overall impression of San Diego’s food scene?

[S.B.] I feel there are great chefs here. But what I don’t see happening is local restaurant owners investing in their talent. I often see chefs asked to cook things they don’t necessarily want to.

[SDDN] What challenges, if any, exist in attracting more San Diegans to the Grant Grill?

[S.B.] The goal is to get people into a hotel for dinner. We’re trying to do that in a grass-roots way by word of mouth without being pigeonholed as ‘fine dining.’ We’re more representative of an elegant dining experience. Whether you want roast chicken or an elaborate meal, we have it.

[SDDN] Where do you hang outside of work?

[S.B.] Usually in my backyard barbecuing with my wife and one-year-old son. I have a large pit smoker, so if you see smoke in Hillcrest, it’s probably us.

Grant Grill is located at 326 Broadway, off the main lobby of the US Grant Hotel. For reservations or more information about December’s prix fixe holiday dinners, call 619-744-2077 or visit grantgrill.com.

—Frank Sabatini Jr. is the author of “Secret San Diego” (ECW Press), and began his local writing career more than two decades ago as a staffer for the former San Diego Tribune. You can reach him at [email protected].