Past perfect

A trip to the Bull Run is a trip through time

Rt. 2A, Shirley 425-4311
Lunch Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
Dinner Mon.-Wed. 4-9 p.m., Thurs.-Sat. 4 p.m.-midnight, Sun. 10 a.m.-10 p.m.
Major credit cards
Full bar
Not handicap accessible

by Jim Johnson

For casual fine dining in a historic setting, the Bull Run Restaurant is the place to go. Indeed, as you cross the portals of the red clapboard building, you pass a sign proclaiming "Famous for Food and Spirits Since 1740." You've just entered another time.

The old tavern, built originally as the Stagecoach Inn 257 years ago, was the first stop on the Boston to Albany route. During the Civil War, the stage brought word that the North was not faring well in the Battle of Bull Run. A brawl broke out, and only the burly bartender was left standing. Looking over the human debris, he exclaimed, "We just fought the Battle of Bull Run right here." The next day, someone painted "Bull Run" on a sign board and hung it in the tavern. The Stagecoach Inn quickly became known as the Bull Run.

While brawls are unlikely today, the flavor of the past lingers. Dark plank wood makes up the walls and floors. Thick beams stretch overhead between well-worn wagon-wheel lights. Old charred brick fireplaces are reminders of winters before oil, gas, or electricity. Many of the wooden tables are set atop old oak kegs.

Joined by a friend and her seven-year-old son, I visited the Bull Run on a frigid January evening. Like the setting, the service made us feel warm and comfortable. Seeing a youngster in our midst, our server brought out crayons and drawing paper with the crackers and dip. Throughout our dinner, she could not have been more accommodating or cordial. Water glasses never remained empty, she paced our meal perfectly, and she made us feel like personal guests rather than paying customers.

Appetizers, although the restaurant stuck to the basics, were executed perfectly. The baked mushrooms ($6.25) were fresh and moist, filled with crabmeat and cracker-crumb stuffing, and topped with a thick layer of gooey cheese. The scallops wrapped in bacon ($6.95) were sweet, smokey, and fresh with minimal grease. The hot garlic toast ($1.65) consisted of toast rounds coated with a touch of butter and saturated with garlic.

For my entrée I wavered between broiled double-thick pork chops ($11.95), Cajun blackened whitefish ($11.95), and sautéed boneless breast of chicken ($10.50). When I asked our server for advice, she pushed the prime rib ($16.50 for senior size, $14.95 for junior) so strongly, I tossed cholesterol concerns aside. My friend had less trouble; a vegetarian, her choices were limited. She happily ordered the tortellini marinara ($8.95). Her son ordered spaghetti and meatball ($2.95) from the children's menu.

When our server arrived with the tortellini, we gasped at the huge portion. "You ain't seen nothin' yet, sir," she joked. When she returned with a huge prime rib, she said, "And that's the junior size!"

It was delicious: served au jus on the bone with hints of salt and garlic, aged, and slow roasted just right. It was so tender, my steak knife was superfluous. It came with a choice of potato, pasta, or vegetable of the day, and the asparagus tasted surprisingly fresh for this time of year.

The tortellini were also superb, cooked al dente, filled with cheese, and served with a chunky marinara sauce fragrant with onions, garlic, oregano, and basil. Her son made nary a sound as he chowed on firm spaghetti and a massive, flavorful meatball.

For dessert, we fully enjoyed rich tapioca ("made fresh this morning"), delightful Indian pudding with warm corn bread laden with molasses and with vanilla ice cream melting over it, and a strawberry sundae.

Expect to pay $15 to $18 per person, excluding drinks and tip.

The lunch menu offers lighter fare as well as priced-down evening entrées. A separate children's menu includes hamburgers, grilled cheese, and peanut butter and jelly. Also, from 4 to 7 p.m., the Bull Run offers early-bird specials such as Texas rib steak for $7.75 and open-faced tuna-salad-sandwich melt for $5.50

Especially if you brings kids along, make sure to look above the tap-room fireplace for the massive trophy head of egopantis, "once extremely rare and now extinct." Legend says the beast was killed years ago on a nearby river embankment. My young tablemate said it looked like "old tree bark with fur." You be the judge.