Americana personified in downtown Copenhagen

COPENHAGEN — There are quite a few places in the north country that could be classified as "Americana personified."

Hotel Davenport in Copenhagen is one of those places.

The simple sign on the side of the building announcing Hotel Davenport. The smell of a wood fire as we neared the front door. The dark wood interior of the bar as we entered. A mismatch of décor, like oval dishes decorated as Easter eggs hanging on the wall over the salad bar. Plastic flower arrangements sitting on the windowsills.

We felt a twinge of nostalgia as we cozied up to the bar at this local landmark.

Our mixologist (Wanda is her name) built us several honest cocktails. They're still pricing the drinks like they were back in the 1950s when the hotel was in its heyday ($2.50 for a vodka and cranberry, $3 for a top-shelf Crown and Coke).

The wine selection is also from the '50s. Riunite, Black Tower and Blue Nun.

No, thank you.

A surprisingly extensive menu seems to bear 2009 pricing. King-cut prime rib and Delmonico steak both go for $18.95. Shrimp scampi or scampi-style sea scallops cost $17.95. It's $26.95 for Alaskan king crab legs.

Deep-fried dinners — chicken, chicken strips, shrimp or scallops — are $10.95 to $13.95. And there are lots and lots of combination dinners from $18.95 for steak and clam strips to $38.95 for prime rib and lobster tail.

We settled into a table in the dining room next to the salad bar. Wanda was our waitress. If you had a question about anything on the menu, or current affairs on the TV, she had the answer. Twenty years at the Davenport will do that for you.

We decided to skip the appetizers (pretty much the same old fried stuff you can get anywhere) in favor of saving room for some of the homemade desserts.

We got started at the well-maintained salad bar. There were lots of choices, all fresh and nicely displayed in containers surrounded by lots of ice — shredded lettuce with carrot and radishes, cucumbers and onions, standard dressings and croutons, cottage cheese, corn relish, homemade macaroni salad, tuna mac and cole slaw, pickles and beets.

It was nice to see dried cranberries, sunflower seeds and bacon bits, as well as homemade orange bread and a very tasty chicken vegetable soup. The salad bar comes with most entrées, or you can enjoy it all by itself for $7.95.

Dinner portions are generous at the Davenport.

Grilled pork chops ($10.95) were thick and juicy. There's nothing worse than overcooked pork, so we specifically asked Wanda to have the kitchen cook them so there was still some life left in them. They did a perfect job, leaving the twin chops ever so slightly pink in the center, juices flowing onto the plate as you cut into them. We added some needed salt and pepper to bring out the full flavor of the meat.

Chicken Frisco ($12.95) was equally moist without our having to specify how we'd like it cooked. It was a charbroiled, nice-sized chicken breast, smothered with beautifully sautéed onions along with canned mushrooms, finished with melted provolone cheese.

We tried one of the combination dinners, prime rib and stuffed shrimp ($24.95).

There was something strange about the look of the meat. It was ordered medium or a little less, and while it came to the table that way, uniformly pink, it was totally devoid of juiciness. We suspected it might have been cooked previously and reheated. There was a sweet, brown-sugary taste to the outside of the meat. Au jus was served on the side.

As for the stuffed shrimp, there were two little apologetic prefrozen jobbies, flattened little things bulked up with some sort of minced seafood and cheese that had little flavor. It was coated with the standard breading that comes on all those deep-fried items.

The mashed potatoes, a generous dollop of the real thing, saved the combo.

Broiled-seafood platter ($24.95) was just OK, with shrimp and scallops (four or five of each) on the small side and a petite lobster tail cooked in a wine and butter sauce with a tinge of tarragon. It was served on a bed of rice. Some of the fish was a little overdone. In general, the dish just wasn't that tasty.

Canned corn, or maybe previously frozen corn, was the accompanying veg of the day.

Desserts were so-so.

We really liked the homemade fried ice cream ($4.25). Served in a puff pasty-like tortilla bowl, it was offered with several flavored syrups — chocolate, caramel, maple or strawberry. We chose maple — the real thing! — which nicely complemented the fried coconut and nuts on the exterior of the vanilla ice cream.

Pecan pie was also homemade ($3.25) but nothing special. Same with the raspberry cheesecake. The graham cracker crust was soggy. Real raspberries would have kicked the dessert up a sorely needed notch or two.

Lemon meringue pie, a commercial product, might have been next best after the fried ice cream. The lemon filling was characteristically tart; the meringue was surprisingly fresh tasting.

Dinner for four cost $98 before tip and before cocktails. Hotel Davenport is quaint and clean. Wanda was friendly and knowledgeable, chatty and attentive.

TIDBITS

There's a good-looking new wine shop in downtown Massena. Lot 57 is located at 57 Main St. Owner Michael Violi has handpicked a selection of distinctive wines and spirits from around the world.

The stock is clearly arranged by country and region. Best of all, Mike and his staff have the knowledge to make suggestions and recommendations that will help take the guesswork out of your purchase.

Learn more by visiting www.lot57wines.com.

You can contact Walter E. Siebel via e-mail: wsiebel@wdt.net.

Hotel Davenport

2 Main St.

Copenhagen

668-2505

It's Americana personified in downtown Copenhagen.

RESTAURANT HOURS:

5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday

5 to 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday

Noon to 8 p.m. Sunday

Bar opens at 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, noon on Sunday

A cozy bar, a well-stocked and maintained salad bar, an extensive menu. Don't miss the homemade fried ice cream.

RATING: 3 forks