‘Weeks' of music at the Muir House

MILFORD — Ray Weeks is a longtime favorite in town, so it is quite a coup for the Muir House to have him playing the piano on Saturday nights. Weeks, himself, is delighted to be in this supportive and exciting atmosphere. He loves the idea that the piano is in the front room with the bar because there is a lot of interaction with people, rather than just playing background music while people eat. Ray plays a large repertoire of jazz, Latin, and light rock and everyone loves Ray. More than twenty of his loyal fans showed up his first night at the Muir House. Hillary Needleman, the General Manager of the Muir House, is delighted to have Ray on Saturdays. Every Friday night, they have Carl Ferriere and Friends (various local musicians) playing soft classic rock, and music in the style of The Beatles and The Grateful Dead. The signature of the Muir House is “Pairing 19th century charm with 21st century cuisine.” Hillary’s vision is for the Muir House to have the feel of an upscale living room where people can feel comfortable and enjoy a bistro- style menu with excellent food and many diverse choices. They have an eclectic menu of contemporary cuisine with an ethnic flair. Executive Chef Seth Van Benschoten is a 1999 graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and his special talent is to take basic dishes and accent them with ethic flavors or sides. For example, you can find Moules Frites, grilled Moroccan rubbed Quail, Mediterranean chicken breast and Lamb chops with Tabouli. The Muir house also has a variety of sizes and types of meals, such as their light fare section of the menu, or a burger, or a basket of French Fries with various dipping sauces. Hillary is a real hands-on manager. She has a staff of three servers, two bussers, and a dishwasher. Robert Grimm is the bar manager and Bob and Hillary share the same vision. Actually, Hillary started out as Sociology major in college and because of family here, she moved to the area in November, 2001. She started waiting tables at the Brasseria (in Emerson House in Milford) and learned the restaurant business the best way—on the job experience. When Sean Strub reopened the Muir House in ’06, he handpicked Hilary and Bob to be “the New Muir House.” Hillary and Bob are real people persons and many of their customers have also become friends. Hillary says, “I’m in business to make customers happy, not JUST to make money.” Their clientele knows this and responds in kind. For example, in one of her recent weekly emails, Hillary mentioned, somewhat as a joke, that she needed pens because pens kept disappearing. That very week, people dropped off all kinds of pens, groups of pens, pens in bags, and one customer came in with a box of pens with “Muir House” imprinted on them. Hillary felt so touched that people actually cared. In that same spirit, Hillary and Bob have had many benefit events for local community groups such as the Milford Enhancement Committee, Safe Heaven, and GAIT. They also can accommodate small private parties, and even weddings there. If you go to the Muir House for dinner, Hillary and Bob will greet you warmly. Just don’t bring any pens. The Muir House 102 Route 2001 Phone: 570-296-6373 Hours: Wed through Saturday 5:30 till Sunday 5:00 till Closed Monday and Tuesday www.muirhousecom