Signature Dishes: Filet mignon, crabcakes the JCorks way in Greensburg

This is part of an ongoing series highlighting Signature Dishes at locally owned restaurants in the region. See Trib Total Media’s new online directory of restaurants, Dine Local, at dinelocal.triblive.com.

Michael Stewart knows JCorks in Greensburg is not the only restaurant that serves filet mignon and crabcakes.

But the executive chef, who calls the classic meals the restaurant’s signature dishes, is confident his recipes are a standout among the rest.

For Stewart, the success of the meals boils down to two things: quality ingredients and presentation.

“It’s almost more like a fun experience,” said Stewart. “Dining and coming out, you should be able to have fun from service to whatever cocktails and drinks you’re having, to the event you’re coming out for and then, obviously, you want to have really good food.”

The 8-ounce, center-cut filet mignon is one of two steaks served on the JCorks menu, and is the most popular.

The large cut of steak is served with grilled asparagus and herb-roasted fingerling potatoes. The dish is topped with a neatly spread demi-glace sauce.

“When you order our filet you go, ‘Wow, this is an amazing filet yet they’re not a steakhouse.’ … When you walk out of here you might feel like you’ve had the best steak,” Stewart said. “It’s just a beautiful cut.”

Similarly, the jumbo lump crabcakes are inspired by a recipe Stewart learned while completing an apprenticeship at Seven Springs.

The two crabcakes are filled with large chunks of crab that are pan-seared in olive oil. They are topped with homemade pico de gallo and roasted red pepper aioli.

“We always like to use the best crab for it, so that’s the other thing we also love about the dish is using quality ingredients,” Stewart said.

The classic dishes with a modern twist — as well as the menu, which Stewart describes as a casual take on fine dining — are a reflection of the rich history of the building housing JCorks.

The filet mignon costs $47 and the jumbo lump crabcakes are $39.

The restaurant is located in the former Greensburg Elks Lodge 511, which was chartered in 1899, according to a plaque hung inside the building.

While the lodge eventually disbanded, pieces of its history are scattered throughout the restaurant, including a former beer table filled with the carved initials of former members. According to the plaque, carving initials in the table quickly became a tradition at the lodge and the event acted as a fundraiser for charity programs.

Hung in a back dining room of the restaurant, the black table is highlighted by gold leafing that fills some of the initials. A gold elk is located in the center of the table along with the numbers 511. In addition to the nod to the building’s history, several photos of downtown Greensburg during the 1930s are scattered throughout JCorks, which opened in 2010.

“One of the best ways I like to describe JCorks is, when you look at the building and you see downtown Greensburg, this is a historic building,” he said. “You look at the outside, the outside bones, you say this has been a corner property for a very long time in Greensburg. But when you walk in the doors, you get a more modern take.”

“You come in and you have something that’s got a little bit of old school to it, but you can see what we tried to do in the modern age.”

JCorks (25 E. Pittsburgh St.) is open Mondays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for lunch and Mondays through Thursdays from 4 to 8 p.m. for dinner. On Fridays and Saturdays, the restaurant is open from 4 to 9 p.m. for dinner. See jcorks.com or call 724-691-0434.