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09/14/2017 12:00 AMConventional wisdom advises against following the proverbial herd, but in the case of one of Middletown's newest eateries, just go with it.
At Herd, its owners are well aware of the word's connotations, and to them, they're all good. An actual herd is a group that "travels, eats, and spends time together"; the verb form describes those who care for and provide for its members. Herd's staff takes both aspects of the word seriously and have built a business on it, from the foods they source to the atmosphere they cultivate every night.
Indeed, a smaller herd from Middletown created its namesake restaurant, a steakhouse that opened in March 2016. The group of four friends—consisting of a doctor, a lawyer, an artist, and a chef—combined their individual talents to launch a restaurant with a unique mission: At Herd, "the food is complex of flavor but simple and clean in presentation, the beverages are specially created for the interested patron, and the environment is comfortable, joyful, and approached with ease."
For Chef Dan "Serge" Sergi and co-owner Pat Ganino, one easy way to make a customer happy is to source outstanding ingredients from which to create dishes with a twist. That's why Sergi only uses certified Angus beef and produce and other products from Connecticut farms, including Beckett Farms in Glastonbury, Forest City Farms in Middletown, Wild Rooster Farm in Meriden, and Muddy Roots Farms in Wallingford.
"It's about creating an incredible meal using the cleanest, most local foods possible," Ganino says.
Ganino, a muralist and marketing guru by trade, admits he isn't the only resident artist at Herd. "Our chef is the artist actually," he says, noting that it's easy to promote Herd because of the "wonderful things" Sergi creates in the kitchen.
Sergi says he got a "crash-course education" in locavore cuisine when he worked at Basta in New Haven under Claire Criscuolo, known to many for her vegetarian enclave next door to Basta and her strong support for local food producers. In crafting his menus for Herd, Sergi aims to pass that education on to his patrons.
"We want to teach people what good-quality, fresh ingredients are," he says, "and we want people to come in and know they can consistently get good, fresh products here."
Like Criscuolo, he is also proud to support local farms and draws inspiration from the bounty Connecticut's finicky weather produces.
"I like to be at the mercy of the farmers," Sergi says, who communicates directly with each farm, takes what they've got on-hand, and turns it into something delicious. Daily specials at Herd typically reflect an abundance of a given crop.
"It's a lot of improv," Sergi admits.
And that's exactly how he prefers to work. It's Sergi's culinary style to surprise patrons with unique dishes that riff on classic entrees, from sumac-encrusted tuna with macerated berries to New York strip steak rubbed with coffee, drizzled with Incendio tequila, and served with a sauce made from aji Amarillo peppers.
"I like being able to have fun with different ingredients, and make combinations that go together that you wouldn't think would go together...You take risks, try something out, and see if it works."
The improv extends to the pub menu, which offers tasty eats like the Heart A-Quack Burger (a certified angus beef patty topped with house smoked ricotta cheese, duck bacon, and a local egg), meatball lollipops, and The Crunchy Bird sandwich made from fried free-range chicken breast that's topped with asparagus slaw and tomato chutney aioli.
Even a basic brownie a la mode dessert gets a clever update at Herd: imagine a deep dark chocolate brownie prepared like a S'more and served with the wonderful ice cream of your choice (we recommend the coffee ice cream, but other options are available). The excellent list of cocktails gets the same treatment: think gin martinis with lavender syrup; vodka and soda with elderflower liquor and cucumber; and Manhattans with silky smooth vermouth—many made with Connecticut-crafted spirits.
But the benefits of the Herd don't end there. A very full calendar of events draws a steady crowd of regulars to the steakhouse. You've got standbys like Trivia Night and Paint Night, plus more special events like five-course wine dinners, Nurse Appreciation Night (when it's happy hour all night for nurses), and even a recent, sold-out scavenger hunt throughout downtown Middletown.
That sort of community-building is all part of the plan, according to Sergi.
"We want people to come in here and we want to make them happy while they spend time with each other," he says.
Herd is at 200 Main St. in Middletown (in the Metro Square Shopping Center). For more information, visit
http://herdonmain.com or call 860-346-HERD. See Herd's Facebook and Instagram page for a look at Herd happenings and specials.