Two casual spots a good call for lunch

A new casual-food restaurant opened in Watertown earlier this month, and a newly remodeled casual-food eatery reopened in Heuvelton around the same time.

Both serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. We hit both for lunch and had pleasurable experiences at both.

LAST CALL GRILL & PIZZERIA

222 N. MASSEY ST.

WATERTOWN

788-FOOD (3663)

A year ago this month we reviewed Last Call Bar & Grill in Evans Mills. The Last Call now has a second location, in Watertown, in the space next to the Colonial Laundromat on North Massey formerly occupied by Casey's Deli.

The menu is almost identical to the flagship restaurant, with everything from burgers to quesadillas, barbecue ribs to prime rib, sandwiches and wraps, pasta dishes and pizzas.

With pizzeria in the name, we felt compelled to start with a small pizza. In fact, our waitress offered a smaller-than-small "personal" pizza, paired with a small Caesar salad.

If this is any indication of what their regular-sized pizzas are like, they've got something really good going on here. A crispy-fresh olive oil-infused homemade crust, a zesty-good red sauce, tasty sausage and freshly sautéed mushrooms made this lunch starter a real treat.

The Caesar featured crisp romaine, a slightly creamy lemony dressing with garlic and anchovy overtones, commercial croutons and freshly grated Parmesan cheese and was served on a chilled pewter plate. Very nice.

The taco wrap consisted of a flour tortilla wrapped around seasoned ground beef, a touch of shredded jack cheese, homemade salsa, sour cream and shredded lettuce. The menu didn't talk about the heat factor, but it was there — kind of snuck up on you a minute or two later.

Now check this out — a chicken Philly. Chunks of seasoned, lightly grilled chicken breast, sautéed fresh mushrooms and diced onions and melted American cheese on a hoagie roll. Just enough grease to give it that true Philly flavor, chicken filling in for the traditional beef.

Curly fries came with both the wrap and the Philly and were cooked just right and placed on the plates hot from the fryer. "House Recipe" ketchup was pretty close to my favorite, Heinz.

Michelle was a great waitress. On us from the start, ready to take our order, assuming we had to get back to work.

We were at work.

Our lunch cost just under $30 for two, but we had enough food for three. Michelle, knowing we ordered way more than we could consume, automatically brought to-go boxes to our rescue.

The "Last Call" part of the restaurant's name infers that they're willing and able to cater to the late-night crowd that exits area bars well after midnight. Sounds crazy to me, but somebody's got to do it, and they've got the track record from their Evans Mills location on the doorstep of Fort Drum.

Last Call Grill & Pizzeria is open every day of the week from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m.

HEUVELTON DELI

4787 STATE HIGHWAY 812

HEUVELTON

344-7039

On the outskirts of Heuvelton going toward Ogdensburg, you'll find the newly remodeled Heuvelton Deli.

Penny and Jim McKeever have operated this rural eatery for nearly a dozen years out of a converted garage. You might have driven by it in the past and never given it a second look.

You'll notice it now. You can't miss the classy sign right by the highway. And the exterior of the building has taken on a classy colonial look. Even better is the interior — beautiful tile floor, brown painted walls, high ceilings with contemporary lighting showing off country-casual signage and étagères.

It was just past noon on a Friday and the place and the counter business were flourishing. We gave ourselves a self-tour of the place — a selection of Saran-wrapped pastries on a counter to the left, glass-front coolers on the right filled with name-brand soft drinks, Byrne dairy products and hard-to-find Boylan gourmet sodas.

An attractive dining area with sturdy oak tables (made by the local Amish population, we assumed) was filled with young construction workers downing subs and pizzas, senior ladies enjoying leisurely lunches and families eating chicken wings, burgers and fried-food favorites.

Part of the allure of the deli is the fact that Jim McKeever comes in six days a week at 3 a.m. to prepare fresh sub rolls and pizza shells from a secret family recipe.

We were on another path, however. Those Boylan sodas cried out for takers, and we partook. This 100-year-old company makes a fabulous birch beer soda and a crème soda, made from pure cane sugar.

It was Friday, so we tried the "fabulous Friday fish fry."

The hand-breaded haddock was perfect. A crusty, tasty outer layer with a warm, juicy interior was brought to the table in a to-go box. Know why? Because the fish overlapped the box, they were pretty certain you were going to need the box sooner or later.

Creamy coleslaw accompanied, along with small plastic containers of tartar sauce.

The macaroni and cheese was "a shocker," made with a very rich cheese sauce "just like Mom used to make," according to my eating associate.

They offer 10 different wraps. How could you not get a wrap called the "Herman Muenster"? — Virginia baked ham, Dijon mustard, lettuce and — you guessed it — Muenster cheese, in our choice of a sun-dried-tomato wrap.

Portions were ample and served with a smile. Between the counter business (that lasted for more than an hour while we were there) and the table seating, the employees were kept running.

The perfect dessert, a Boston crème doughnut from Mr. Rick's bakery in Watertown, satisfied the sweet tooth — kind of like a round éclair. They also offer sugar and cinnamon doughnuts made by Yerdon's Donut Shop in Gouverneur.

Our lunch for two cost a little over $18.

Heuvelton Deli is open 3 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday. It's closed Sundays.

TIDBITS

■ In Heuvelton, be sure to stop by Pickens General Store, two downtown storefronts filled with Amish-made furniture, baskets and quilts. Lots of food items, too, like jams, jellies and preserves, old-fashioned candy, as well as locally produced honey and maple syrup.

We took home some pear butter and cashew brittle. Yum yum! Check out the Web site: www.pickensgeneral.org

■ In downtown Watertown, you'll want to seek out the Paddock Coffeehouse in the Paddock Arcade. More than just cappuccino and espresso, you can relax in a comfortable setting with hot tea, chai, hot cocoa, sodas and smoothies.

Enjoy fresh baked goods like muffins, turnovers, biscotti, granola bars, lemon bars and crumb cake.

It's open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. www.thepaddockcoffeehouse.com

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