Border Grille

North in the county, south of the border

by Jim Johnson

Border Grille & Bar, 246 Mill Street (Searstown Mall), Leominster
(978) 840-0194
Sun. 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
Mon.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.-11 p.m.
Major credit cards
Full bar
Handicap accessible

Tex-Mex options abound in the Central Massachusetts area. For folks who want to stay local, I recommend Cactus Pete's. If you want authentic Mexican, nothing beats Rosamaria's. But if you want some variety and don't mind a 20-minute drive up I-190, you'll find the Border Grille quite worth the trip.

You enter the restaurant through an open-air courtyard. It has a definite faux-cienda feeling, complete with faux-dobe walls. It's like the overture to an opera, setting the mood for what's inside. Indeed, the Southwest theme continues inside, with stucco walls and enough Aztec suns and the like to make the point without crossing into kitsch.

My guests -- a couple and their young son -- and I were greeted with a smile that put those Aztec suns to shame. We felt this same sense of enthusiastic cheer from the complete waitstaff throughout our visit. The Border Grille has a neighborhood feel to it, right down to a coloring contest for kids. One whole wall looked like a third-grade classroom, with dozens of drawings. The best, a sign said, would win a bike, and our young tablemate immediately set crayons to paper.

By then our server had arrived with a basket of warm, crisp, corn tortilla chips and some three-star salsa. Upon request, refills continued through the evening.

The list of appetizers was predictable, right down to the cute names like "Mud Bug Shrooms," "Armadillo Eggs," "Bunk House Chili" (Don't make me sleep there!), and "James Gang Skins." There were also nachos, chicken fingers, popcorn shrimp, and -- apparently from the New Orleans corner of the Southwest -- Cajun bread sticks and chicken gumbo soup.

We started with an order of Border Wings ($4.95), a pile of 10 meaty pieces coated with napkin-drenching, tastebud-slapping sauce -- a sort of tangy, garlicky, Southwest variation of Buffalo wings.

The Skins ($4.95) were an equal delight. Rather than the usual greasy potato skins served with cheddar cheese and bacon bits, these were skins with an attitude: just as greasy but topped with chicken, sausage, beef, cheese, and sliced jalapeños.

I tend to scribble my notes during dinner, in part because I'm so busy eating and in part because I don't want nosy servers to be able to read what I'm writing. Unfortunately, sometimes later I can't even read my own notes to save my life. Here's what I wrote next: "Even if you don't like room, fish butt. Stuffing kills. Cracker ale. Crayfish. Crap. Fresh mint herb broth." I have no idea what it means, but I think I liked it. What's the frequency, Kenneth?

I think what I meant to write is that the entrees are varied. Vegetarians have plenty to choose from, whether the spinach mushroom enchilada, the spinach quesadilla, or the fresh veggie fajita. Pizzas are also available, most with a Mexican theme like chicken taco and grilled-chicken fajita.

As expected, Tex-Mex fare is plentiful with choices like soft tacos, bean and cheese burritos, chimichangas, enchiladas, and several styles of fajitas. But there's a whole "Bayou Favorites" section as well, with jambalaya, ribs, Key West chicken, catfish, blackened chicken, and Cajun sirloin tips. For more straightforward tastes, choices include New York sirloin, prime rib (served blackened, Dijon, "BBQ," sweet-and-spicy, or au jus). And, though few of these items top $9, you can get off even less expensively with a salad, a beer-basted burger, or a sandwich (like grilled chicken, Southwest tuna, or French bread fajita) for under $6.

We split our entrees family style and fully enjoyed Monroe's Famous Ribs ($10.95), chicken Monterey ($8.95), fresh vegetable quesadilla ($4.95), and Ragin' Cajun Jambalaya ($9.95). The ribs had been slow-cooked, letting the slightly sweet and tangy sauce reach deep inside. The chicken was moist and tender, with a layer of Monterey Jack cheese oozing over the edges and with slices of tomato, avocado, and onion on top.

The jambalaya was classic New Orleans, complete with shrimp, smoked ham, red and yellow peppers, and andouille sausage in a tomato base. The ham and sausage added smoky fullness cut with the slight sweetness of the peppers. The quesadilla was superb with plenty of spinach, tomatoes, scallions, peppers, squash, and other fresh-tasting veggies that were cooked just past firm. Melted cheese bound them together between layers of crisp flour tortillas. Some refried beans and sliced jalapeños added to an already overflowing platter.

When we asked about desserts, our server beamed, "You guys are gonna be loving it." She was right, as demonstrated by the mere crumbs we left behind of Kentucky Derby pie (lots of chocolate-chip cookie dough), mudpie (coffee and chocolate ice cream served in Oreo cookie crust), and fried ice cream (coated in cornflakes, flash fried, and drizzled with chocolate sauce). A couple should plan on spending $25 to $35 plus drinks.