River Room Events & the Buffalo Grill

Please note: River Room Events venue and the Buffalo Grill restaurant are 2 distinct places, both located in the same building. They really should be listed and reviewed separately. This review is of the Buffalo GRill restaurant.

If the soft opening is a preview of what's to come from chefs Vincent Waide and Logan McGear, the bar on fine dining in the Four States has just been raised.

Even those who don't like calamari should try the calamari here. The seasoned breading and the complex flavors of the sauce just might make you change your mind.

The pasta dishes are perfect. Going beyond the standard marinara and alfredo sauce usually found in these parts, the Buffalo Grill chefs offer several excellent choices, the most notable being the penne with arrabiata sauce, made just as it should be, with just enough crushed red pepper to add a little heat, and the spaghetti with puttanesca sauce, which -- with its capers, garlic, anchovies and kalamata olives -- offers a true taste of the Mediterranean rarely seen on Midwestern menus.

Among the entrées, the split chicken breast and the line-caught salmon both stand out. Marinated in basil pesto, the boneless, skinless chicken breast is topped with roasted garlic and both red bell and pepperoncini peppers, The North Atlantic salmon is served with tomatoes, capers, onions and olives.

However, the star of the menu is Dean's Bison Melt. Half a pound of ground bison meat is enrobed in cheese and a special sauce and nestled between two pieces of artisan bread (the same bread that graces the tabletops). It so much more than just another burger.

When it's time for dessert, you won't be hungry, but make an effort anyway. The chocolate cheesecake is decadent, and the key lime cheesecake is the perfect balance of sweet and tart. Both are as light as mousse.

All of this is served on tables set with elegant black and white linens in a perfectly restored building located in the Fort Scott historic district, a block from the 1842 frontier fort that is now a National Park.

Without a doubt, owners Dean & Becky Mann have a hit on their hands.

The Buffalo Grill is open for dinner only, Tuesday thru Saturday. Reservations are accepted. Carry-out is available. There is a full bar, and several wines are available by the glass and by the bottle.