Wonderful family fare at Tavern from Tower Square

By GAIL CIAMPA
Journal Food Editor

PLAINVILLE, Mass. -- With prime rib, shrimp appetizers, early-bird specials and homemade desserts, The Tavern from Tower Square is your father's favorite kind of restaurant.

But with moderately priced, well-executed dishes coming complete with potato, vegetable and fresh, crispy salad, an inexpensive children's menu, and a cozy, comfortable atmosphere, it can easily be yours, too. Plenty of people seem to have made it so, especially on Saturday nights.

Our party of four arrived at 8 p.m. on a rainy Saturday.

"Did you do the call-ahead seating?" the hostess inquired.

No, we hadn't, since we were unaware of that attractive option. The wait, we learned, was 45 minutes.

"That's good," the hostess said cheerfully. "It was an hour and a half a little earlier."

I peeked into the lounge, saw the big-screen TV playing a college football game, and was ready to dive for a seat. But my husband and friends, M and T, beckoned to a pair of overstuffed sofas in the large, non-linear and well-appointed entrance space. They didn't want to have cocktails.

We had 40 pleasant minutes for quiet conversation, to catch up on each other's comings and goings. We saw crowds of people leaving functions in dining rooms a level down, and many families saying goodbye to one another.

A few people had gift bags, and a look at the menu showed how easy it would be to find something for everyone at birthday or anniversary gatherings. There are many familiar American dishes, with beef (steaks and slow-roasted Black-Angus prime rib) and pork (tenderloin and chops); lots of seafood choices (shrimp, swordfish and scallops) and some Italian-American specials such as veal and eggplant. Burgers and fajitas; a veggie wrap and artichoke scampi round out the menu.

Lace curtains, and lake views

After 40 minutes, we were buzzed that our table was ready. We walked past two full dining rooms before coming to the space that held our table. There was a fourth room still. All were separated by half walls topped with lace curtains. It was dark but there is a water view out of all the rooms to Turnpike Lake.

The restaurant was still busy but our server Peter was quick to bring water and our drinks: wine (a simple California Pinot Noir) and a Harpoon draft beer.

It wasn't long before we were thoroughly enjoying two perfect appetizers.

Potato-encrusted shrimp ($7.95) features three jumbo shrimp deep-fried with a crust of thin fried potato sticks. They were huge and quite lovely to look at, but the flavor was even more impressive. The thin fries complemented the plump shrimp and the cocktail sauce provided just enough horseradish for a zing when dipping. A cross between cocktail shrimp and French fries is the clever idea of chef/owner Kevin Hodgman.

We also tried the crab cakes ($7.95), which were just how I like them, not too crabby. I like the blend of shredded potatoes these had, reminding me of the ones Mom makes. They were crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, served with a creamy mustard sauce.

We were also served soft, warm rolls with a sweet butter and four crisp, fresh salads that came with our meals.

Interesting entrees, nicely done

While he keeps the menu simple and straightfoward, Hodgman offers a dozen-plus specials each night to supplement the menu. Prime rib is a regular item. The night of our visit, we were too late to get a slab of it. But there were many others from which to choose, including a tempting apple and caramelized onion pork tenderloin.

I opted for the basil pesto chicken alfredo ($13.95). Alfredo sauce is too rich alone for my taste, but the blend with the basil pesto cut down that creaminess to size. The penne pasta was cooked just right, and the chicken was tender, moist and in bite-size pieces easy to enjoy without cutting. There was lots of chicken, too -- no skimping here.

I took a bit home and it was just as good the next day, though there wasn't nearly enough left over, as I hadn't been able to stop dipping into my dish.

The sea scallop entree ($12.95) came with a dozen scallops of various sizes. They are baked just right, firm and served in a casserole dish with lemon butter, white wine and topped with seasoned bread crumbs simple enough to allow the flavor of the scallops to be enjoyed.

Baked haddock and scallops Oscar ($16.95) offers a nice, flaky piece of filet paired with scallops baked in white wine and lemon butter, then topped with asparagus, lobster meat, Swiss cheese and seasoned crumbs. There's also a touch of bearnaise sauce among the bread crumbs.

A 12-ounce sirloin came simply charbroiled ($13.95). The cut was tender and it was prepared medium, as requested. There was absolutely no fat.

Most entrees are served with choice of potato and vegetable. The steak came with butternut squash, which had a nice consistency and lots of brown sugar and maple syrup flavor.

We didn't have our kids with us, but we couldn't help thinking how easy it would have been if we did. The kids' menu includes dishes priced from $3.95 for the penne with marinara sauce or grilled cheese to $6.95 for the six-ounce piece of sirloin, charbroiled just like the adult entree. Chicken tenders are $4.95. All kids' meals are served with a drink and chocolate pudding or vanilla ice cream.

Sweet, warm, soft desserts

When Peter brought over the dessert tray, we all had to have our own. All but one of the seven dessert choices were house made the night of our visit.

Warm gingerbread was moist and served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream ($3.95), and chocolate mousse ($4.95) was rich and creamy. But the day's special dessert, toffee pie, was a thick, yummy blond brownie full of pieces of toffee served with ice cream. It was a gooey delight ($4.95) and nobody wanted to share it, so our table ordered two.

There are a lot of restaurants like The Tavern, serving families with moderate prices. But few and far between are ones that offer the choices, quality, presentation and comfort of The Tavern's dishes.

From appetizers to desserts, every dish we tried was not only comforting but yummy, too.

****

The Tavern from Tower Square, 119 Washington St., Plainville, Mass. (508) 699-7600, www.diningquest.com. Casual. Free parking lot. Handicapped accessible. Highchairs. MC, V, DSC, AE. Reservations for six or more. Call-ahead seating for others. Dinner served Wednesday and Thursday 4-10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 4-11 p.m.; Sunday 2-10 p.m.; Brunch Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Early bird specials Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 4-6 p.m. and Sunday 2-6 p.m. Appetizers $4.95 to $7.95; entrees $6.25-$19.95; desserts $1.95-$4.95. Wines by the glass $4.25 to $5.75. Bottles $15-$39.

****

A dinner for two might look like this:

Harpoon draft .................$4

Glass Camelot Pinot Noir ......$5

Potato shrimp..................$7.95

Baked scallops ................$12.95

12-ounce sirloin ..............$13.95

Toffee brownie ................$4.95

Total food and drink...........$48.80

Mass. tax .....................$2.44

Tip ...........................$10

Total .........................$61.24

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