Find fine fare off the fairway in Turin
TURIN — At many golf course restaurants today, the food consists of hamburgers, pizza and chicken wings. We discovered a golf course restaurant reminiscent of days gone by where you can enjoy nicely prepared steak, seafood and pasta dishes.
It's Michael's Restaurant at Turin Highlands Golf Course.
It's a nice drive to the heart of the Tug Hill plateau this time of year. No slippery roads. No white-outs. No snowmobiles to dodge. Just miles and miles of lush, green rolling hills with the occasional wind turbine dotting the landscape.
Turin is a tiny four-corners town, and the golf course is not evident from the main highway. Look for small road signs that lead to you Turin Highlands Golf Course. Once there, you'll happen upon a century-old seemingly out-of-place Greek revival mansion, home to Michael's Restaurant.
It's a homey old place with a dated décor — comfy and unpretentious, but time has tarnished its luster. The entrance leads you directly to the bar/lounge. We were greeted with friendly smiles from the lady barkeep and the customers occupying barstools, so rather than rush into the small dining room, we decided to join them for a round.
Beers for the guys and wine for the ladies seemed the way to go. I'm not generally a beer drinker, but when I saw a tall, frosty glass come out of the freezer I became one in a hurry. The selection was adequate, including Sam Adams Summer Ale, Labatts, Molson and other standards.
In the virtually deserted dining room, wallpaper and heavy wood furnishings speak to another era. So do the crushed velvet napkins and tablecloths. The menu, however, was quite up to date.
There are five appetizers and there were five of us, so we ordered them all. At our request, we asked them to be served family style so we could pass and share.
A lovely arranged platter came from the kitchen with New Orleans-flavored shrimp cocktail ($9.75), cheese and artichoke dip ($6.75), Maryland crab cakes ($8.75), steamed clams ($9.75) and Utica greens. Complimentary sliced Italian bread with homemade tomato basil sauce was delivered at the same time.
The shrimp were slightly overcooked for our liking, and we couldn't figure out exactly what "New Orleans flavor" was. Artichoke dip was just fine, creamy and cheesy like it should be. Crab cakes were crispier on the outside than we're used to, but still quite tasty. Clams were the winner of the platter, small and succulent, their natural broth enhanced with parsley and a touch of garlic. Utica greens were pretty close to the regional recipe of wilted escarole, prosciutto and pecorino. Michael's personalizes its version with the addition of garbanzo beans.
A little extra touch came in the form of delightful slices of dried sausage from the chef's private stock, no doubt obtained from a specialty supplier.
The complimentary bread was appreciated, although a little "airier" than I associate with customary Italian bread. The accompanying red sauce was homemade and flavorful.
House garden salads were fine, a nice mix of greens and veggies, although a little flat looking as though they had been plated earlier that day. Salads were dressed in the kitchen, a little heavy-handed, we thought. For once I wished the dressing came in one of those little plastic containers so I could have applied my own.
Entrée choices all seem to have an Italian flair. Shrimp scampi is made with garlic and olive oil imported from Italy, served over a bed of linguini. Clams with red or white sauce is on the menu, as is a pasta of the day and traditional pasta dishes like fettuccine Alfredo and pasta carbonara Florentine.
The desserts even have Italian subtitles: "torta al formaggio" and "tentazioine al ciccolato" and "gelato folletto."
Fresh haddock ($19.75) is offered scampi style or fra diavolo. Fra diavolo is a sometimes intimidating tomato-based sauce spiced with hot chili peppers. We chose the fra diavolo version, which thankfully wasn't all that hot. It went well with the well-portioned, perfectly cooked haddock filet. Any remaining sauce made its way to the bed of linguini underneath.
Chicken riggies ($19.75) is another dish originating in the Utica area. The chef expanded on the usual chicken, rigatoni and vodka sauce (tomato sauce, cream, a splash of vodka) by adding artichokes, black olives and sweet red peppers. He also offers it mild or hot. Penne pasta was substituted for rigatoni, no big deal. This was a great dish with comfort food appeal.
Pasta dishes are also available in petite portions, as are most menu items — a nice feature. We tried the smaller portion of pasta carbonara Florentine ($15.75), baby spinach, bacon, caramelized onions and a three-cheese sauce tossed with linguini. Another creamy and comforting pasta dish, nicely presented.
Chicken piccata ($18.75) was excellent. Sometimes piccata sauce (lemon, butter, chicken stock, white wine) can be so thin that it just gets lost, but this one had lots of body and loads of flavor — chock full of garlic, cheese, parsley and capers.
Good to the very last strand of linguini.
New on the menu: veal scaloppini ($21.75). I'm fussy about my veal, and this veal was spot on — lightly floured, gently sautéed and virtually fork tender. The accouterments were various ingredients we had experienced in other dishes around the table throughout the evening: good imported olive oil, sweet red peppers, capers, artichokes, a touch of grated cheese. This was a very nice dish and very "Italian."
Overall, we were pleasantly impressed with attention to detail and preparation of our entrees.
On to desserts, homemade and priced at $4.95 each. In a fashion similar to our appetizers, we ordered several and passed them around the table for sampling.
Anne's Cheesecake is available plain, with raspberry sauce, or hot fudge or caramel sauce. So many choices and so little time. A plain version allowed us to check out the light consistency sans adulteration, although raspberry sauce on another piece was quite complementary, we agreed.
Chocolate Temptation, a homemade mousse torte, was remarkably light and predictably chocolately. Heavy and dense it was not. Some at the table weren't totally in love with the "light" part; others were. I was pretty full at that point, so light worked for me. We appreciated the real whipped cream on top.
Our server was young, down-to-earth and responsive. Missing silverware wasn't automatically replaced and she didn't always notice when water glasses were empty. But she was awfully nice and eager to do the right thing. Extra points for attitude.
Dinner for five came to $184 before tax and tip.
While we were the only ones in the dining room, it was interesting to note that dining at the bar seemed to be the place to be, with regulars coming and going throughout the evening. And why not? The bar had a pub feel; a place to meet up with friends over a drink and dinner.
As we passed through the bar on our way out, strangers called out their good-byes to us. Where else but in the north country?
TIDBITS
■ The Bay (that would be Alexandria Bay for you out-of-towners) is gearing up for the summer season. Dock of the Bay www.dockof-a-bay.com, at the foot of the town docks, is back under the ownership of Paul and Barb Coleman. We stopped by for lunch and had their wiener schnitzel sandwich and a delicious chicken walnut salad.
The evening menu looks great too, with some house-smoked specialties (baby back ribs, barbecue chicken, smoked brisket), Montreal skirt steak, jambalaya, tilapia, crab meat-stuffed flounder and St. Lawrence River perch.
Paul Coleman is a musician by trade. You'll find him providing live music in the dining room most nights throughout the summer.
■ Around the corner, Alex Bay's premier restaurant, Cavallario's Steak and Seafood House — www.cavssteak.com — is always a good bet. Their marquee out front is promoting budget-friendly specials.
■ Across the street, Josie's Pizza at The Bay puts out a fine product. Sylvia Kingston and sister Rose have years of experience in the business with their restaurants in Canton and Potsdam.
■ Back on James Street, there's great entertainment at The Downtown nightclub (formerly Bootleggers.) You can catch north country guitar legend Bob Kissell doing his solo act every Friday, Saturday and Sunday in the early evening.
■ On the far end of town next to the Uncle Sam Boat Tours docks, a new restaurant has opened. It's called Riley's by the River, and it's owned by the Thompson family, who have plenty of restaurant experience in the Bay (Pine Tree Point, Capt.'s Landing). Riley's is serving breakfast and lunch; the lounge is scheduled to open in the coming weeks when they begin serving dinners.
Keep abreast of developments and watch for their grand opening: www.rileysbytheriver.com
You can contact restaurant reviewer Walter Siebel via e-mail: wsiebel@wdt.net.
Michael's Restaurant
at Turin Highlands Golf Course
4448 East Road
Turin, N.Y.
348-4327
www.turinhighlands.com
A great find on the Tug Hill Plateau, offering upscale cuisine with an Italian flair
HOURS: 5:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
APPETIZER PICKS: Steamed clams, Utica greens.
ENTRÉE PICKS: Chicken piccata, veal scaloppini, chicken riggies.
DESSERT PICK: Anne's homemade cheesecake.
RATING: 3-1/2 FORKS
