Monument Grill

Get a taste of how lucky Leominster is

by Margaret LeRoux

Monument Grill 14 Monument Square Leominster (978) 537-4466 Hours Mon.-Thurs. 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 4-11 p.m. Major credit cards Full bar Handicap accessible

The Monument Grill feels like a big-city restaurant. It has a sophisticated decor -- an exposed-brick wall is lined with big, cushy booths and with mirrors. The bar is sleek and dark, and subdued lighting gives everyone a golden glow while cool jazz plays softly in the background. The wine list is ambitious, and the menu has lots of creative touches. Too bad it's not in the heart of downtown Worcester, where a place like Monument Grill would be a real draw. Instead, the lucky residents of Leominster get to call the grill their own. And many of them do. On a recent Friday night, the restaurant felt like a block party. Even though we were a pair of strangers, our waitress made us feel welcome with a plate of herb focaccia, hot from the oven. We sipped Rodney Strong pinot noir ($7 a glass; $25 a bottle), rich with a strong hint of raspberry, as we nibbled on the bread and drooled over the menu.

I was wishing for a table of eight more diners so I could taste more of this appealing menu. We could have made a feast from the appetizer choices: portobello Napoleon ($6.95) with ratatouille and melted brie; lobster crepe ($8.95) with Madeira cream sauce; fried wontons ($6.95) filled with sweet-and-sour duck and served with orange dipping sauce; mussels Provençal ($ 6.95) in a saffron Dijon broth; and crab cakes ($7.95) with fresh-corn relish and spicy rémoulade. My new favorite junk food was there too: sweet-potato fries ($4.95) with maple sour cream. I wavered, but the sophisticated surroundings encouraged me to act like a grown-up. So I convinced my friend to share an order of Caribbean grilled shrimp ($7.95). They were big and spicy; we used the rest of the focaccia to soak up the sauce, then had to ask for water to cool down our taste buds.

There's a new chef on board, Joanne Johnson, who's cooked in Boston's La Bonice restaurant as well as in the Red Raven in Salem. And she's bound to add to what is an already tempting selection of entrees. Included on the list are tournedos of beef ($19.95) over a gorgonzola potato galette and honey-roasted shallots, and finished with a Madeira glaze; sautéed chicken and artichokes with linguini, capers, and Kalamata olives in pesto cream sauce ($12.95); homemade lobster ravioli ($15.95); pecan-encrusted salmon ($15.95) served with Grand Marnier beurre blank and roasted, red bliss potatoes; stuffed pork chops ($15.95) over parmesan polenta with apple-brandy cream sauce. There's risotto for vegetarians ($8.95) and another version with shrimp, mushrooms, garlic, tomatoes, and fresh herbs ($14.95). Though the choice was a hard one, we chose grilled veal chop ($19.95) and South Dakota lamb rack ($23.95).

You can have one of three different salads with your entree: field greens, Caesar, or spinach. For an extra $2.99, try one of the dinner salads: smoked duck and toasted walnuts on mesculin with raspberry vinaigrette or grilled portobello with fresh greens, goat cheese, and warm raisin vinaigrette. We opted for the Caesar, an excellent rendition with a nice hint of anchovy in the dressing, and for tender, baby spinach leaves in a creamy gorgonzola, with flecks of bacon bits and quarters of the freshest tomato I've had since August.

The veal chop was flavorful, but could have been thicker and less fatty. The wild-mushroom demi-glace was delicious, though, and the vegetable risotto was almost a meal in itself with lots of crispy, tender cubes of zucchini, bits of mushroom, and loads of parmesan cheese. With an upgrade of the veal, this could be four-star dish. The same could be true of the lamb rack if only the seasoning were a bit more aggressive. There were eight little chops crusted with ground hazelnuts and served with honey porter glacé -- very tasty -- and grilled exactly to my friend's medium-rare request. Both entrees came with sliced, sautéed zucchini and summer squash.

Dessert selections were mouth-watering: warm chocolate cake, crème brûlée, and a homemade ice-cream bar. We shared a slice of creamy cheesecake with raspberry sauce ($5.25) and plotted a return visit so we can see what the new winter menu offers. The bill came to $88.31, not including tip.