Stave & Still
An oversized meatball with a delicious surprise inside. Prime Steak bathing in a bowl of truffle cream. And dessert as dramatic as it is delicious. It’s all served in an unexpected spot, named Stave & Still.
Located in the Central Massachusetts town of Webster, Stave & Still is a 65-seat restaurant, housed inside a 200 year old building, where the kitchen focuses on Classic American cuisine, while the craft cocktail bar boasts more than 150 types of whiskey, bourbon, and rye.
Craig Valby - GM/Owner, Stave & Still: “Stave & Still is a warm place. You can feel it when you walk in. It's vintage industrial. There's metal barstools, there's whiskey barrels, there's glass tops, there's copper, there's pipes, there's gears. There's crazy photos on the wall. There's soft candles, there's leather. It appeals to everybody. It's very warm.”
And according to owners Jessica and Craig Valby, when it opened back in 2020, locals were blown away to have such a nice place in their neck of the woods.
Craig Valby - GM/Owner, Stave & Still: “People walk into the door and they look at it and their chin hits the floor they go ‘this is Webster?’ And we say ‘no, this is Stave & Still.’ But probably the best comment when they walk in and they go, ‘thank you for bringing something here that I'm proud to bring my family to enjoy the food you guys have here because I couldn't get this before you opened.’”
That food includes creative appetizers, upscale entrees, and eye popping desserts, made by Jessica in the restaurant’s ridiculously tiny kitchen.
Jessica Valby – Chef/Owner, Stave & Still: “The kitchen is very, very small. I joke that I get 10,000 steps in a day doing circles in the kitchen. So I have my refrigerator, my workspace, my cooking area and I just do 360 degree turns the whole night.”
While the kitchen may be small at Stave & Still, the dishes coming out of it are anything but; especially when you start your meal with their Meatball, or more accurately…
Jessica Valby – Chef/Owner, Stave & Still: “It is our Big Ass Meatball. It is made from pork, veal and beef and we actually put a whole hardboiled egg into the meatball and bake it in there. It's a very old school traditional way of making a meatball, and then we top it with chilled ricotta cheese and it's a crowd favorite for sure.”
Not only is it a feast for the stomach, it’s also a feast for the eyes.
Jessica Valby – Chef/Owner, Stave & Still: “You know when you're a kid, you had those Jawbreakers and there's all the layers inside, that's really it. So you've got the whole egg, you've got the yolk, you've got the white, you've got all the meat and then you've got that bright red sauce. And then the dollop of ricotta. It really is beautiful inside and out.”
Other awesome apps include big blocks of bacon, with grilled tomatoes, in a Dijon white wine vinaigrette, and roasted red skinned potatoes, topped with duck confit, fig compote, and gorgonzola cream -- a combination of big flavors that some people thought wouldn’t fly in this small town.
Jessica Valby – Chef/Owner, Stave & Still: “There was a comment that was made, like ‘oh, you're never going to serve duck or anything high end in Webster. You're just going to be able to sell potato skins.’ So this was my riff on potato skins. And it is absolutely one of the best things you will put in your mouth.”
Another winner here is the Mac & Cheese Flight, featuring creamy crocks of smoked gouda, white cheddar jalapeño, and truffle cream.
Jessica Valby – Chef/Owner, Stave & Still: “That is ultimate comfort food. That's what we're about.”
And if you want to make your mac extra luxurious, order Stave & Still’s Lobster Mac and Cheese.
Jessica Valby – Chef/Owner, Stave & Still: “It’s a huge healthy portion of the Cavatappi pasta, dressed in the smoked gouda cheese sauce. And then we take our seven ounce lobster tail, and then place that over the mac and cheese with grilled asparagus. So you can see exactly how much delicious sweet lobster you're getting with that dish.”
Seafood options at Stave & Still include seared Sea Scallops atop Squid Ink Pasta, and Grilled Monkfish with Parmesan Risotto. While steak lovers absolutely must order the Center Cut Prime Filet Mignon bathing in a bowl of Truffle Cream.
Craig Valby - GM/Owner, Stave & Still: “In the bowl there's about an inch of truffle cream sauce. We take the filet off the grill, put it right into the truffle cream sauce in the bowl. So when you get your filet, it’s actually taking a truffle cream bath tableside. I mean you’ve got the juice marrying with the truffle cream on every single bite, I’ve seen people take their fork after they’ve cut the last bite, they'll dredge the bowl. It's fantastic.”
When it comes to dessert, there are plenty of tempting choices. And if you want to go big before you go home, order up an enormous slice of Craig's Carrot Cake.
Craig Valby - GM/Owner, Stave & Still: “I make the Carrot Cake from scratch. Each piece weighs about two pounds. There's fresh pecans on it, and this whiskey caramel sauce dripping off the side of it. So right now your mouth is watering, my mouth is watering. I can't wait to have a piece of carrot cake later. And if you ask anybody, they’re like ‘yes, that’s the best carrot cake I've ever had.’”
If you’re interested in a nightcap, Stave & Still makes a perfect Smoked Old Fashioned. And believe it or not, they’ve also turned that classic cocktail into cool creamy ice cream.
Jessica Valby – Chef/Owner, Stave & Still: “Our signature dessert is the Smoked Old Fashioned Ice Cream. It's made with Buffalo Trace bourbon. Luxardo Cherries, a whole navel orange, our old fashioned bitters, and we turn that into an ice cream base. So once all of those flavors have just married together, we scoop it and then we put it under our bell jar, smoke it just like we would the cocktail and that entire entity is brought to the table and it's revealed very dramatically tableside. And it becomes a pretty smoky, sexy, speakeasy feel here at Stave & Still.”
And that cool mood, paired with all the great food, and welcoming attitude keeps people coming back to Stave & Still.
Craig Valby - GM/Owner, Stave & Still: “I want you to feel like you're part of the family. I want you to feel like you never want to leave. You can't wait to come back. And when you get here, it was the smartest decision you ever made.”
