Post 390: a preview

Post 390, a restaurant from Himmel Hospitality Group, is set to open in early October in the Clarendon building (corner of Clarendon and Stuart). The space will be quite big, with two floors, three fireplaces, and more than 300 seats. "It will be very high energy, very high volume," says Kenneth Himmel, founder of the restaurant group. "It's a restaurant really geared for people who want to think young." You'll be able to eat for $35 or for $85, depending on what you're in the mood for, he says. He adds that wine will be a good value, particularly at the higher end.

In the kitchen, you'll find chef Eric Brennan, formerly of Harvest and Excelsior. The restaurant's concept is "urban tavern." What does this mean? "It definitely has the comfort of a tavern, but it's a lot sleeker, more modern," Brennan says.

The food sounds more tasty than groundbreaking. Just about everything will be made in house, including the root beer that will go into the barbecue sauce and floats. Tentative menu items include Peking duck potstickers, grilled flatbreads, a fried haddock po'boy, a carved roast beef sandwich, a Kobe beef hot dog, turkey pot pie, ribs, grilled liver, beer and bacon macaroni and cheese (all the major food groups in one dish!), a lobster clambake, meatloaf stuffed with ham and fontina (a tweak on Brennan's mother's recipe), and for dessert, house-made pies, an ice cream sundae, and chocolate cake. (You'll be able to get a whole slice, or just a sliver, an option I've long dreamed of at restaurants.) There will be daily specials such as pot roast, fried chicken, and leg of lamb.

Brennan says his aim is not to surprise people, but to turn out very good versions of standard dishes, using high-quality ingredients. "It's food people that like to eat," he says.