Wright's Seafood

Now that's a fish story

by Margaret LeRoux

Wright's Seafood 1 Edgell Road< Framingham (508) 798-8455 Hours Mon.-Fri. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sat. 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sun. 4-9 p.m. Cash only Full bar Handicap accessible

The setting: a busy, suburban seafood restaurant on a steamy (no air conditioning) Saturday night; three friends and I eagerly await our drinks. The waitress approaches with a tray and carefully sets a glass of Pinot Grigio in front of me and a gin and tonic in front of one of my companions. The weight of the tray shifts as she removes a ginger ale, and the glass that had been placed over the long-neck Sam Adams somersaults onto the table and shatters. The beer bottle falls too, spraying its contents all over one of us. Have you ever had a meal start so disastrously?

The poor waitress stood speechless for a moment, then sprang into action with towels and broom. Meanwhile, as two of us brushed glass out of our laps, one in our party had to go outside to shake out pieces of glass from her dress. Another had to retire to the men's room, where he tried to wash away eau de beer.

Minutes later as we regrouped at another table, our waitress brought us another round of drinks. "Obviously these are on the house," she said. Jumping ahead to the end of the evening, the restaurant in question, Wright's Seafood in Framingham, did a first-rate job of smoothing over a potentially bad situation. As we totaled the bill we noticed, besides the free drinks, we were also treated to appetizers, salads, and dessert. Of course I did not reveal I was doing a review; I never let the staff or owners know until well after the meal. In fact, I was afraid if I had told the waitress, who seemed shaken for the rest of the evening, she may have walked right out the door herself.

I hope you have a less-eventful meal when you visit Wright's Seafood because I really do recommend it -- despite the splashy introduction -- for fresh fish and shellfish. Everything I sampled tasted like it was not long out of the water.

Wright's reasonably priced menu is surprisingly extensive, given the relatively small size of the casual restaurant, which is tucked into a small complex of offices and shops. Just about all popular fish varieties are available -- even bluefish with a mustard sauce, a bargain at $8.95. A couple of imaginative sandwiches, grilled-swordfish melt ($7.95) and grilled salmon ($6.95), may tempt those with a smaller appetite. Swordfish, tuna steak, rainbow trout, shrimp, scallops, and haddock are offered broiled, grilled, or blackened and include cole slaw and a choice among rice pilaf, French fries, or oven-roasted potatoes. The night we dined, mashed potatoes with jack cheese were added; they were a delicious change of pace.

There are several seafood-pasta combinations, ranging from calamari Fra Diavolo ($9.95) to an assortment of salmon, scallops, and shrimp ($14.95) in an Alfredo sauce.

Lobster is served boiled, baked, or in a casserole (market price). There are also a limited number of non-fish entrees: sirloin steak ($13.95); grilled chicken breast ($8.95); steak tips ($9.95); and a kids menu with chicken fingers, hamburger, hot dog, and pasta.

For an appetizer, we shared an order of crab cakes ($7.95), three patties that were a little heavy on the breading but served with a tasty honey mustard and horseradish sauce. We split two Caesar salads ($2.50 small; $4.50 large).

For entrees three of us chose from the specials: rainbow trout grilled with teriyaki sauce and two jumbo shrimp ($11.95), baked sole with crabmeat stuffing ($12.95), and an assortment of grilled scallops, salmon, and haddock ($13.95). The fourth member of our group chose fried whole clams (market price, $14.95).

I was delighted with the grilled assortment, especially the number of sea scallops, which were sweet and succulent. Two small pieces of salmon were tender; the haddock was a bit overcooked. Oven-roasted potatoes were browned and crisp; only the rice pilaf served with my friend's sole seemed ordinary. The sole was a little disappointing: the crabmeat stuffing was more of the same we'd had as an appetizer, only served atop the fish so it was dry as toasted breadcrumbs. The trout and shrimp were basted with just enough teriyaki to bring out their natural flavor. The fried clams were good, but we've had better here in Worcester at the Webster House. Cole slaw served in separate bowls was nice and crunchy.

Dessert choices included cheesecake and tiramisu, a large square of coffee liqueur-soaked cake, custard filling, and cocoa-dusted topping. Though we pretended to be too full for dessert, there was not much left on the plate after we each sampled. Our bill, which included only the four entrees, was $56.49 before tip.

The broken-glass incident got me wondering how many other diners have encountered dining-out disasters. If you have a restaurant-disaster anecdote that you'd like to share, please send it along to the Worcester Phoenix, 108 Grove Street, Suite 18, Worcester 01605.