Stagecoach Crossing

Reviving a popular spot in Paxton Center

by Margaret LeRoux

Stagecoach Crossing 687 Pleasant Street Paxton 753-7763 Hours Tues.-Thurs. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m. Fri.-Sun. 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Major credit cards Full bar Handicap accessible

A few years ago we found ourselves in Paxton at dinnertime. There weren't too many choices, so we headed to the former Paxton Center Grille, a restaurant -- unfortunately -- on its last legs. The building itself was quaint; one of my companions, a fan of Revolutionary War-era architecture, raved about the wide floorboards and low ceilings. The place had potential; too bad it went out of business.

Recently, new owners took over, and the place has been revived. Stagecoach Crossing is the new name, and it's a perfect name: now when you enter, you get a sense of the old country inn it once was. Nice touches have been added throughout: a pretty display of Limoges china plates adorns the wall behind the hostess station, a bouquet of silk flowers in the ladies room.

A friend and I arrived just after the dinner hour on a midweek night and were surprised to see the large dining room was more than a third full. We spotted one of Worcester's business leaders who had a smile on his face as he finished dinner; we were encouraged.

Appetizers are what you'd expect to find in a pub: nachos ($4.99), Buffalo wings (99 cents), mozzarella sticks ($4.50), potato skins ($5.50), and lots of fried food, including a strange combo, fried broccoli and cheese ($5.50). We took a pass. Instead, we shared the peel-and-eat shrimp cocktail ($6.99) and were astounded. Twelve very large, perfectly cooked and chilled shrimp surrounded a bowl of cocktail sauce. A bargain, considering how many shrimp we got, plus they were fresh and sweet.

We were under-whelmed, though, by the wine list: Inglenook is the house wine, and the by-the-glass selections include Lambrusco, a throwback to the '70s.

While we waited for the shrimp, our friendly waitress brought a small loaf of focaccia-style bread, still warm from the oven. It was delicious. We made short work of eating the entire loaf.

Salads that came with our meals were a fresh and crisp mixture of romaine, tomatoes, cucumbers, and carrots. The dressing, though, was too liberally applied.

The menu is extensive, including everything from pizza ($4.50 for a basic cheese, 10-inch pie; $7.50 for 15 inches) and several imaginative sandwiches like turkey with melted Swiss cheese and bacon on grilled bread ($5.29) and super sandwich ($5.99), ham, turkey, roast beef, three cheeses, and all the trimmings. Then there's a selection of grilled steaks ($11.99 for sirloin; $14.99 for twin 12 ounce T-bones). There are several pasta selections, including veal parmigiana ($9.99), chicken cacciatore ($9.99), and a combo platter with lasagna, eggplant, chicken, a sausage, and a meatball ($11.99).

Shrimp, scallops, and haddock are offered in a variety of preparations, from baked to fried. Veal and most chicken selections are served with pasta.

Dinner-for-two specials are offered on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and feature a dozen choices from lasagna to fried shrimp or baked haddock (both $14.99). There's a children's menu with a half-dozen choices from pasta to hamburger (all under $5).

Early-bird specials (offered before 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday) feature an extensive menu, which includes roast turkey with stuffing and gravy ($6.50), roast beef ($5.99), shrimp scampi ($7.50), fried chicken ($5.99), and ravioli and sausage ($6.99).

So many choices; we wondered how the kitchen kept on top of them all. Our selections, chicken Athenian ($10.99) and haddock bovenzi ($9.99), showed both culinary strengths and weaknesses.

The chicken, boneless-breast medallions, was sautéed with portobello mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, and feta cheese in a wine sauce over linguine. It was very tasty, if a bit oily; nevertheless, my companion made a large dent in his generous portion.

The haddock suffered from the too-many-ingredients syndrome. The fish itself was a fresh fillet, but it was drowned in wine sauce. A thick slice of melted provolone cheese added no flavor, only a mess of cheese drippings. I chose pasta rather than a potato, thinking the fish and sauce would top it. Instead, the penne, which came in a separate dish, was covered with a fresh and tangy tomato sauce. But the pasta was sadly overcooked, and the tomato sauce clashed with the haddock's marsala wine-enhanced sauce.

For dessert, we shared a wedge of chocolate layer cake ($3.99), moist and multi-layered; it was okay but definitely not homemade. Our bill before tip was a reasonable $41.96.