Crooked Putter

Line drive at the Westborough Country Club

by Margaret LeRoux

The Crooked Putter at the Westborough Country Club 121 West Main Street, Westborough 366-0207 Lunch Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Dinner Sun.-Sat. 4:30-10 p.m. Closed Mondays Nov.-March MC, Visa Full bar Handicap accessible

On a dreary January night we were in denial over the onslaught of ice, which explains why were dining at a golf course. The Crooked Putter is the name of the new restaurant at the Westborough Country Club, and the new chef-owner Mitch Korab has revised the menu with several vegetarian entrees, salads, and pasta. Best of all, almost everything on the menu is less than $10.

Starting off with a couple of Sam Adams ($3.25 a bottle; $3 a draft) and seltzer water (95 cents), our foursome looked over the list of appetizers. I couldn't summon the group's enthusiasm for spinach and artichoke dip ($5.95), a personal favorite, and most of the other offerings were the usual pub fare: chicken fingers, nachos, and stuffed jalapenos, all in the $5 range. We settled on a plate of fried calamari ($5.75), served with a chilled peppercorn dip. The calamari rings were crispy, but the dip lacked the zing of a peppery marinara. A slow start to the meal -- just a bit under par.

However, the surroundings are pleasant, with ivory colored walls, and lace curtains on the windows. We were more hopeful about the entrees as our enthusiastic waitress, when asked for a recommendation, responded with superlatives.

"The fish and chips are super! I love the sautéed chicken with artichoke hearts! And, if you like steak, you can't go wrong with the sirloin tips," she said.

I was impressed by the non-meat options: grilled vegetable ravioli ($8.95), vegetable lasagna ($6.95), and vegetable scampi ($6.75). Chicken choices include chicken piccata ($7.95), Caribbean pan fried chicken ($7.95), and pesto chicken and pasta ($8.95). Beef selections include a grilled sirloin steak sandwich ($9.95) and Oriental beef and broccoli ($8.25). Besides fish and chips, there are a fried clam plate at market price, baked haddock ($8.95), and baked stuffed salmon ($8.95).

All entrees include salads, a nice mix of chilled greens, served with bottled dressings except for the house dressing, a homemade honey mustard. The menu touts fresh-baked rolls, but ours were neither fresh nor right from the oven. What a shame, especially since the chef made other thoughtful touches like edible garnishes of star fruit and strawberries.

Our selection from the brief wine list, a very serviceable Corbett Canyon merlot ($13.95), arrived just in time to appease me. It went well with all our dinner choices.

I'd ordered the vegetable ravioli: a generous serving of plump pasta squares filled with chopped, grilled peppers, mushrooms, onions, and cheese. The sauce was cream spiked with just enough lemon and garlic to keep it light; fresh parsley sprinkles made the presentation appealing. The chopped vegetables were tasty addition to the filling.

One of my companions chose the chicken artichoke entree recommended by our waitress; his response wasn't quite so enthusiastic, but nonetheless he liked it. The boneless breast of chicken was served atop angel hair pasta, with marinated artichoke hearts, peppers, and olives in a white wine sauce.

The steak fan in our group found the sirloin tips tender and tasty, they were marinated in a teriyaki-based sauce. The sautéed mushroom caps and crunchy green beans that accompanied the steak, though, were even bigger hits. A serving of red pepper-studded rice looked more appealing than it tasted.

Stuffed salmon turned out to be two rings of fish surrounding a filling of haddock, crab meat, and cracker crumbs. It was an unusual presentation of moist, fresh salmon, though I thought the stuffing would have benefited from a bit more lemon juice. Green beans and rice completed the plate.

The portions here are generous, so perhaps few patrons order dessert That could explain why our waitress' response to our query about desserts was a perfunctory: "cheesecake, chocolate cake, carrot cake, and apple pie." Nevertheless, we decided to share a slice of cheesecake with strawberries($2.95) -- very good, firm, not too sweet -- and chocolate cake ($2.75) -- dry, commercially baked.

Our bill totaled $85.59, though you could eat here for a lot less.

We added up the scorecard: pluses for value, considering the amount of food we were served. The minuses in the bread and cake categories were offset by the friendly service. We're planning to return when the greens are green and our putters out of storage.