It's All About the Food at this Hidden Gem in La Porte

Main 101 Grill and Bar is a hidden gem nestled between two vibrant towns, Seabrook and Baytown. This freestanding building is an oasis on Main Street at the Five Points intersection in the quaint downtown area of La Porte (101 E. Main Street). A fine dining restaurant with a casual atmosphere, Main 101 offers a unique and gourmet cuisine while striving to coordinate the perfect dining experience. 

Owner and culinary creator, Joseph Bertuglia has been entrenched in the food industry for more than 50 years, “I was born and raised in the food industry”, Bertuglia said, “My dad owned a prime meat shop. I grew up picking out meats, and I learned how to grade them."

Bertuglia is persnickety about every single ingredient and every product he offers to his guests. He only uses the freshest produce and the highest quality of seafood. All of the beef is USDA Prime, the steaks are all hand-cut in house, the sauces are made at the time they are ordered, and each piece of meat is cooked with a very specific technique to enhance and showcase it's flavors. 

“We handpick everything. Our restaurant quality is that of which you'd find up in Houston. But we are much more affordable”, said Bertuglia, “It's the same with wine. We choose the wine because of the value it has, not because the wine rep says we should buy it”.

Main 101 specializes in combining flavors that are not ordinarily paired together to create unique dishes. Bertuglia, starts with a specific ingredient when coming up with new menu items, he then starts combining flavors, trying different ones to pair with the special ingredient until he comes up with a dish he thinks his clientele will love as much as he does. While the extensive menu offers a variety of items, daily features are also offered to tantalize the taste buds; such as, the Boiled Salmon (topped with tarragon tomato sauce and jumbo lump crab, served on a bed of chickpea puree, drizzled with cucumber mint fruit salsa, served with zucchini towers stuffed with cremini mushrooms, spinach and feta cheese.) All of the sauces are made at the time they are ordered. 

There’s definitely something for everyone on Main 101’s menu, such as, Stuffed Mushrooms, Spinach & Artichoke Dip, Beef Wellington, a variety of salads, Pan Seared Chicken, Broiled Crab-Stuffed Shrimp, Fish Wraps, Seafood Pasta, steaks and pork chops, Chicken Carbonara, House-Made Italian Grilled Hot Sausage, Pork Tenderloin, Thin-Crusted Pizza, Burger and Seafood Pasta.

Bertuglia is just as particular about the service as he is the food that is served at his restaurant. “When I train my servers,” said Bertuglia, “I tell them that they are not servers. I say, ‘you are a coordinator of the perfect experience’ whether it's a romantic date, a business meeting, or a reception.” But don’t call him a perfectionist, his philosophies are inspired by his favorite quote from the late Vince Lumbardy, “perfection is impossible, but excellence is the goal."

Taught to have respect for the food and respect for the customer, Bertuglia will often cut conservation short with a customer as soon as their food arrives.

"The conversation can wait. It's all about the food, said Bertuglia, "The food has to be eaten at the optimum time. It's very important. Conversation is going to happen at any time. The food is at this moment."

Main 101 is the ideal location for a business lunch, a business dinner or a romantic dinner. Three nights a week they have live music playing softly in the background to enhance the ambiance. Bertuglia’s goal is to create an environment of absolute guest satisfaction, and it is the highest priority of the entire staff to achieve that goal. Based upon their deep-rooted principles of good service, high-quality cuisine and excellent value, this fine dining contemporary grill was designed and built with the customer in mind.  

INSIDER TIP: If you enjoy good wine, visit Main 101 on Wine Down Wednesday when they offer 20% off select bottles of wine or on Thursday when they offer $5 wine by the glass, as well as ½ off alcohol (excluding top shelf).