Good news; it's Deer (Field Inn) season again
HEUVELTON — A restaurant on a back road outside Heuvelton is open once again.
Deer Field Inn is back in operation after being closed for quite a few years. It's in the sticks, for sure. If it weren't for a small handmade sign on a telephone pole in Heuvelton, we'd probably still be driving around looking for it.
Even then, we drove right past it. A neon "open" sign in the window was the only indication of life in this big building next to the Deer Field County Club, which does have a sign. (Don't get too excited — the "country club" is a soggy field with some greens sorely in need of attention).
The restaurant looks like a country club clubhouse, which it was at one time.
The high-ceilinged open bar area is going to be a lot of fun when they get their liquor license. The comfy dining room is separate from the bar, with candles on the tables and colorful eye-catching cloth napkins propped up at each place setting. There's a nice view of the countryside.
We were there on a Friday night, and there was quite a crowd for a place that has been open a little over a month. Word of mouth and MapQuest are no doubt responsible for the notable attendance that evening.
The menu is small and manageable, smart for a restaurant just starting out — a handful of appetizers, several salads and fewer than a dozen entrées.
Shrimp cocktail ($7.99) got us started. Four chilled and perfectly cooked shrimp had a nice snap to them. They were served in a margarita glass with crushed ice and lettuce; a small ramekin with tame cocktail sauce was set in the middle of the presentation.
We thought the baked French onion soup ($4.99) was a little weak, lacking intensity and depth of flavor. The traditional melted cheese on top was predictably gooey and yummy.
Calamari ($8.99) is offered breaded and deep-fried or simply sautéed with garlic and herbs. We really enjoyed the sautéed version, the unadulterated ringlets of squid cooked just right, served with drawn butter.
We spotted an entrée that we thought would make a perfect appetizer: potato and cheddar pierogis ($8.99). A pierogi is a potato dumpling, stuffed and cooked in boiling water (like you would do with ravioli).
The pierogis were tasty little treats, not so much the filling (the cheddar was very mild — almost like cream cheese), but the freshly sautéed, lightly browned onions and smoky bacon on top were the crowning touch.
Soup or salad comes with the entrées.
We tried the homemade New England clam chowder, nicely done with lots of clams, carrots and big chunks of potatoes in a thick cream stock with a touch of thyme. Very comforting.
The salads were made with crisp, fresh lettuce and veggies and served on chilled plates. Several of the dressings are made in house, notably the blue cheese and the balsamic vinaigrette.
Italian sausage with penne pasta ($13.99) was an impressive entrée. Chunks of flavorful sausage were sautéed with onions, peppers and mushrooms in a nicely seasoned tomato sauce and tossed with penne. It was a generous portion, requiring a to-go container.
If you like seafood, you'll want to get the salmon. You'll have to get the salmon, because it's the only fish on the menu. No shrimp. No scallops. Just salmon.
And the broiled salmon ($16.99) was the hit of the evening, cooked perfectly so it was still moist and tender and flaked with a fork. It was set over angel hair pasta and drenched with a fabulous red pepper cream sauce that contained lots of diced peppers.
Chicken Parmesan ($15.99) utilized a consistently thick, lightly breaded chicken breast that was juicy — not dried out at all — and sauced with a full-bodied marinara that had some zing to it. Another large portion, set over angel hair pasta.
The only disappointing entrée was the peppercorn steak ($20.99), a 12-ounce New York strip with brandy peppercorn sauce.
Normally a strip steak is very, very flavorful, but this one wasn't at all. It was tender and cooked medium as requested, but ... it just didn't have much flavor, and the peppercorn sauce did nothing to help that. The plate was completed with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed asparagus.
For dessert, homemade blueberry bread pudding sounded great. The blueberries were shriveled up little things. For a minute, we mistook them for raisins. Other than a little heavy on the cinnamon, it was a decent dessert, slightly warmed and topped with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Dinner for four cost $118 before tipping our friendly and honest waitress. She didn't hesitate to tell us what was made on the premises and what wasn't. She was right there for us throughout the dinner rush, but when it came to time getting our check and paying the bill — the room was practically empty now — there was an unusually long wait.
Proprietor Pat O'Donnell stopped by each table to strike up a conversation and make sure everyone was happy. It appeared to us that he's very dedicated to his new restaurant. He also provided strolling dinner music, performing selections on his violin, even taking requests. He actually played "New York, New York" for us.
The night we were there, the room was quite noisy, partially due to the acoustics and partially to quite a few loud young people there with their families. Other than chicken wings, there didn't seem to be too much on the menu for kids.
But everyone wants to be the first to dine at a new restaurant. It shouldn't take too long for the Deer Field to establish its clientele. There's a lot of potential here.
Start spreading the news.
You can contact Walter E. Siebel via e-mail: wsiebel@wdt.net.
Deer Field Inn
192 Taylor Road
Ogdensburg
(just outside Heuvelton)
344-7980
The Deer Field Inn is open once again with new owners, a new menu and lots of potential.
HOURS: 4:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday
4:30 to 9 p.m. Friday
Noon to 9 p.m. Saturday
Noon to 7 p.m. Sunday
Try the potato and cheddar pierogis for an appetizer, or the nonbreaded calamari sautéed in garlic and herbs.
For entrées, broiled salmon with red pepper cream sauce was our favorite, followed closely by Italian sausage and peppers with penne.
RATING: 3 and one-half forks
