Brian's is swinging, but doesn't knock ball out of the park.Byline: Chris Thompson
Chris Thompson (also known as Chris Hamlet Thompson On a Tuesday evening during the Christmas shopping season, Brian's Place was bustling. My friend and I found the last open space in the parking lot across the street. Expecting to find a wait inside, we were pleasantly surprised to be shown quickly to a booth and provided with menus. The restaurant had a warm and homey feel with brick and knotty pine knotty pine n. Pine wood with a large number of knots, used especially for paneling and furniture. Noun 1. knotty pine - pine lumber with many knots; used especially for paneling and furniture walls, green vinyl padded seats in the booths, and worn Christmas decorations. In a large adjoining room a festive holiday party was going on. Our server, along with the rest of the staff, seemed to be in a hurry. She handed us a printed flier with the specials, took our drink order and flew away to her next task. As we looked over the menu, I was planning to order a house salad with my entree, but the server pointed out that the soup and salad bar was included in the price of the entrees. With that in mind, we decided to order only one appetizer to share, the crab cakes ($7.99). Two golden brown patties with plenty of shredded crab meat were served with a mild horseradish sauce Noun 1. horseradish sauce - creamy white sauce with horseradish and mustard sauce Albert horseradish - grated horseradish root sauce - flavorful relish or dressing or topping served as an accompaniment to food on the side. Definitely a good choice to start the meal. The salad bar was poorly lit and offered little variety, aside from the choices of salad dressings. A few pieces of the iceberg lettuce iceberg lettuce n. A crisp, round, compact head of lettuce with light green, tightly folded leaves. [From its pale color. were turning brown. The cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes and grated carrots were hard to reach. The real gem in this setup was the soup. On the day we visited, Brian's chef had made a delicious butternut butternut: see walnut. butternut Deciduous nut-producing tree (Juglans cinerea) of the walnut family, native to eastern North America. A mature tree has gray, deeply furrowed bark. squash bisque bisque 1 n. 1. a. A rich, creamy soup made from meat, fish, or shellfish. b. A thick cream soup made of puréed vegetables. 2. Ice cream mixed with crushed macaroons or nuts. . I loved the silky texture and nutty flavor. In addition to daily specials, the regular dinner menu offers a wide choice of traditional entrees, such as eggplant parmesan Eggplant parmesan or melanzane alla parmigiana is a common Italian dish which originated in Naples. It typically includes sliced eggplant, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese, layered repeatedly, which are then baked. , chicken Marsala, baked stuffed shrimp and prime rib. I ordered a medium-rare New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of sirloin (priced at $16.99 on the regular menu - I noticed later that my receipt listed this as $12.99). Grilled slightly beyond the medium rare stage, the steak was disappointingly tough. It was served with creamy, well-seasoned mashed potatoes. The baby carrots, however, were inedible, coated in a sweet, goopy sauce that congealed con·geal v. con·gealed, con·geal·ing, con·geals v.intr. 1. To solidify by or as if by freezing: "My aim . . . was to take the Hill by storm before . . . as it cooled. From the list of specials, my friend ordered the gourmet macaroni macaroni: see pasta. and cheese ($9.99). This was the most outstanding dish of our meal. Served in a large ceramic dish, perfectly cooked elbow macaroni was coated with a creamy, very cheesy cheesy (che´ze) caseous. sauce and topped with toasty toast·y adj. toast·i·er, toast·i·est Pleasantly warm. breadcrumbs. This was comfort food at its best, with enough to take home for later. Over the course of the evening, our server did stop by often to check on us. I requested a glass of water with dinner, then had to ask her to replace it because there were floaties in it. She took care of this promptly. Given how busy it was, the quick-stop service was understandable. Although we had both eaten too much from appetizer to entrees, we did order one dessert to share, a triple chocolate layer cake ($5.99) with vanilla ice cream. Our server also gave it a generous topping of whipped cream. It was fudgey, rich and very satisfying. The tab for the two of us was only $46.34, including one appetizer, the salad bar, two entrees, one dessert, my Heineken, and a soda for my friend. With soup and salad included in the price of its entrees, Brian's offers a real bargain for traditional style food. While there were a couple of outstanding dishes, the uneven quality of the food leaves a low impression: great potential but not enough attention to execution. Brian's Place 91 Providence Road, Linwood (Route 122, Northbridge) www.briansrestaurant.com * * Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays; 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays; 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturdays. (Reservations: needed for parties of six or more.) Phone: (508) 234-9256 Parking: Large lot directly across the street Credit cards: MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover Prices: A bargain, entrees $8.99 to $17.99 Pluses: Great macaroni and cheese, butternut bisque Minus: Uneven quality of food About the Stars Perfection: * * * * Very Good: * * * Good: * * Below Par: * Serious Flaws: No stars Etc. restaurant reviews are the opinions of reviewers based upon at least one visit to the restaurant. The reviewer is accompanied by at least one companion. Recommendations from readers about restaurants they would like to have reviewed are welcome. |
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