Sully's

There's something for everyone

by Margaret LeRoux

Sully's
74-76 Parker Street, Gardner
(978) 632-7457
Sun.-Wed. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m.
Thurs. 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
Fri.-Sat. 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
Major credit cards
Full bar
Handicap accessible

I asked two friends who live in northern Worcester County to meet me for dinner at Sully's in Gardner.

"You mean meet for drinks, don't you?" they replied. Added one of them, "I don't think I've ever eaten at Sully's."

That's how I discovered Sully's reputation as a watering hole. A few days later as I waited for my friends at the hostess' table just inside the front door, I noticed the crowd at the bar. I wondered if our beverages would outshine our meals. A couple hours I was happy that, for the most part, Sully's puts on a good spread.

Sully's decor looks like it hasn't changed much since the '70s. Exposed brick and knotty pine walls, heavy tables and club chairs, plastic- encased menus. The ceiling, however, is striking. It's covered with playing cards, and if you look closely you'll notice that each card has a name written on it.

We speculated for several minutes on the origin of the cards -- did they honor loyal customers -- were they from a poker game gone awry? Our waitress enlightened us. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday nights, a magician roams the restaurant, performing at tables. For his trademark trick, he throws a deck of cards into the air; one of the cards, previously signed by a diner, sticks to the ceiling.

We missed the magician but were tricked ourselves by a couple of items on the menu. More about that later.

My friends' pre-dinner drinks, a raspberry margarita ($4.29) and a gin and tonic ($2.62), were very good, especially the margarita's fresh fruit flavor. Since I was driving, I sipped an unsweetened ice tea ($1.50).

From a long list of standard pub-style appetizers, we chose mussels, described as fresh from Prince Edward Island, sautéed with white wine, served with pesto butter. The mussels we received, and there were a generous two dozen or so, were still in the shell. From the texture -- chewy -- and the temperature -- lukewarm -- we surmised they had been prepared ahead of time. Our waitress brought two bowls of steaming hot sauce for dipping, one mussel broth, the other a mixture of wine, basil, and butter. We all agreed that a bath in the mussel broth enhanced the shellfish's flavor better than the wine broth.

On to the formidable list of main courses. Sully's has something for everyone, including steak, chicken, several pasta dishes, and Caesar salad with grilled shrimp. The night's specials seemed a bit more original, and I chose the catch of the day: lemon pepper bay scallops and shrimp ($11.95). One of my companions decided on shrimp and artichokes over penne ($10.95). The other loves veal; she chose veal marsala ($11.95).

Our salads arrived promptly; bowls of mixed greens with tomatoes, black olives, and cucumber slices. I was impressed with the blue cheese dressing. It tasted homemade and creamy.

The veal fan was very pleased with her choice, several thin slices that were tender and tasting sweetly of marsala. There were mushroom slices garnishing the veal, and a mound of homemade mashed potatoes. The vegetable was puréed squash, spiced with cinnamon.

The pasta platter was a generous portion of penne, topped with several large, garlicky shrimp and artichoke hearts sautéed in white wine. This was a very tasty dish, though I would have appreciated a sprinkling of fresh ground pepper and fresh grated Parmesan cheese served with it.

My choice was the trick. Since there was no description other than lemon pepper, I assumed the shrimp and scallops would be served in a sauce. So I was surprised when a large platter of deep-fried shellfish was placed before me. The lemon pepper -- and there was way too much of it for my taste -- was in the batter. On the plus side, the shrimp weren't at all greasy. They were crispy and crunchy. But the poor bay scallops lost their tender texture in the frying. The tough little nuggets on my plate stayed there after I sampled one. I was also served cole slaw; odd, since the meal came with a salad. The rice I'd chosen as a starch, thinking it would be a good sop for the sauce, was tender, but french fries or a baked potato would have been better accompaniments.

The three of us lingered well beyond the normal dining hours, and our waitress checked on us several times; she was polite, not at all pushy.

Our shared dessert, a slice of Mississippi mud pie, was the final trick of the evening. It was, instead, chocolate cream pie, ($2.95) not bad, but the pudding-like filling was unlike any Mississippi mud we'd previously eaten. The total, including drinks and tax but not tip, was $59.57.