My Place

In the mood for a home-cooked meal? Go to their place.

by Margaret LeRoux

My Place 631 Franklin Street, Worcester 752-4556 Mon.-Tues. 6 a.m.-2 p.m., Wed.-Fri. 6 a.m.-9 p.m., Sat. 6 a.m.-4 p.m., Sun. 6 a.m.-1 p.m. Cash only BYOB Handicap accessible

This place reminds me of Seinfeld," one of my companions commented as we dined recently at My Place, a pleasant little restaurant on upper Franklin Street. Jerry, Elaine, George, and Kramer practically lived at the "restaurant"(viewers never saw a name on the sign). It seemed like many of our fellow diners were as comfortable at My Place as the fictional characters were at their restaurant.

My companion was again reminded of his favorite situation comedy when our dinner salad ($2.25) arrived, an oversized plate heaped with mixed greens, tomato slices, peppers, olives, shredded cheese, and real bacon bits.

"Just like the big salads at the restaurant on Seinfeld," he commented.

My Place has had many past lives, including Johnny M's and Eleni's Midnight Cafe. Its new owners, Maureen Powers and "Butch" Frongillo, improved the decor with fresh paint and pretty, lace curtains and a garden mural on the dining-room wall.

"I've always wanted to have a restaurant of my own," Powers notes on the menu, along with her thanks to family and friends who helped realize her dream, begun many years ago when she first learned to cook at the Driftwood in Shrewsbury. Her son Patrick, who also cooks at My Place, learned his trade in the service. Daughter Stephanie helps out in the evening as a waitress.

My Place's menu offers home cooking with an emphasis on seafood, but we found lots to recommend among soups, appetizers, and, of course, the ample salad.

We started with an appetizer of fried calamari ($4.95), served in a large, shell-shaped bowl and garnished with spicy little pickled peppers and olives. The batter was crispy, and the rings themselves were the perfect consistency. A small bowl of tomato sauce for dipping must have come from the pot of spaghetti sauce simmering on the stove. It was delicious -- the perfect red gravy for a plate of pasta. We soaked it up with the fresh Italian bread served with our salad. The bread was so good we added an order of garlic bread, complimentary with Italian dishes ($1.25 for a side order).

One of my companions is a French-onion-soup connoisseur, and she loved My Place's version ($1.50 cup/$1.95 bowl). The broth was rich, thick with sliced onions, and topped with cheese and French bread. So filling, in fact, she was content with an appetizer order of chicken fingers ($3.95) and French fries, added for another $1. Chicken fingers are such a simple dish, yet so few restaurants get it right. My Place uses fresh breast of chicken, sliced, and dipped in an excellent batter.

Two of my companions are fried-seafood fans, so they zeroed in on the fisherman's platter ($9.95) -- which included fried haddock, scallops, and clams -- and the fried-clam platter ($8.95). Both were offered a choice of potatoes, and one of them indulged his fondness for mashed potatoes and gravy -- a rich beef version -- an odd combination, you may think, but satisfying to a meat-and-potatoes guy.

My companions were more than satisfied with their choices. The fisherman's platter included a generous boneless fillet of haddock; its crunchy coating a delicious contrast to the moist, flaky fish inside. Offered a taste, I was hooked and kept sneaking more bites. The scallops, too, were fried just long enough to be crispy without losing their delicate texture. And the clams' briny flavor came through loud and clear. Both platters came with coleslaw, a creamy and lemony version of the cabbage salad.

Compared to the fried seafood, the shrimp teriyaki ($7.95) I ordered didn't fare as well. The shrimp were overcooked and needed more of the sauce. The ample portion of rice pilaf would have been tastier with the addition of sauce.

Our bill came to a very reasonable $46.35, not including tip.

I returned with another companion to sample My Place's breakfasts. The menu features a diner-style breakfast -- lots of egg variations, omelets, hash browns, bacon, and sausage. The menu notes that many dishes are named in honor of family and friends. I opted for "James' special blueberry pancakes" ($2.95), while my companion ordered Darnell's frittata ($4.95).

The frittata was cholesterol heaven, a huge omelet bursting with cheese, tomatoes, Italian sausage, and onions. It was surrounded by cubes of crisp fried potatoes and, with a nod to healthy eating, a slice of cantaloupe. It was more than two people with moderate appetites could finish, especially since one of them was distracted by a plate of three large pancakes filled with juicy blueberries. The pancakes were tasty, even if they weren't as light as my mothers'. Our verdict: bring a big appetite when you visit My Place for breakfast. Our bill totaled $9.40, not including tip.