Specialties shine at two north country restaurants
A reader tipped us off to a neat little eatery in Pierrepont Manor called Leanna's. He described it as "a country diner with a bit of an attitude."
And there's a new place in downtown Massena, T&T's Famiglia, serving up some nice home-cooked Italian dishes.
We visited them for lunch recently. Here's what we found.
LEANNA'S
AT THE MANOR STORE & DINER
ROUTE 11
PIERREPONT MANOR
465-4400
The best ahi tuna salad in Northern New York is in Pierrepont Manor? Our reader friend tantalized us with that statement, so we hopped in the car and headed for Leanna's in the tiny hamlet of Pierrepont Manor, a quick 20-minute drive south of Watertown.
We almost drove right past it. It's a cute, unassuming little place standing all by itself with a rusty old gas pump out front. Obviously it was a general store at one time. The store is clearly history, but a history that Leanna's capitalizes on.
One can imagine rocking chairs on the small front porch at one time, now replaced by two small tables for outdoor dining. Inside, there are old photos on the walls and antiques scattered around. There's a genuine feel and charm of a bygone era.
Leanna's has been in business for several years. Everything is clean and bright and freshly painted. The staff was cheery and clearly engaged in their work. Two cooks were cooking away behind the fully occupied lunch counter, chatting with customers on a first-name basis.
Our young waitress was knowledgeable and honest — she couldn't guide our choice of macaroni vs. potato salad because she didn't like mayonnaise. "But they're homemade, and everyone seems to love them."
She recommended the Manor burger, which we'd planned to order anyway after reading the menu description: "A work of art topped with roasted red peppers, grilled onion and blue cheese with horseradish mayo on the bun. No substitutions. Do not ask your server. Have it our way or have something else."
We added bacon, which is allowed, for an extra buck. And on our choice of an onion roll. And we asked for it cooked rare to medium rare "or as rare as it's legal for you to make it." And that's exactly how it was done. And it was very good!
There it was on the menu: Asian Ahi tuna salad, "seasonal greens, mandarin oranges and wasabi peas with a sesame ginger dressing, topped with grilled, lightly seasoned Ahi tuna — recommended rare."
Large disappointment. They were out of it. The tuna wasn't coming in until the next day. So we made a quick decision and got the grilled portobello wrap, a full portobello mushroom sliced with mixed greens, roasted red peppers, sautéed onions and our call of feta cheese. It was fresh as can be, mushroom juice dripping out the ends of it.
Our sides were terrific, too — lots of flavors going on here. Chunky potato salad with a touch of Dijon. Tasty mac salad made with small shells and fresh herbs. Just-right cole slaw.
True to the claim on the cover of the menu, "If you leave hungry, it's your own fault ..." We did not leave hungry. But we did want dessert, so we took along a slice of carrot cake and a wedge of double chocolate torte, homemade, of course.
They traveled reasonably well. The torte was like eating a wedge of chocolate fudge with a shot of espresso in it. A little goes a long way, and thank goodness it was a reasonable portion. The cream cheese frosting had partially detached from the carrot cake, but the dessert still retained its dignity. Also a right-sized portion.
Lunch for two at Leanna's including dessert to go: $24.78 before tip. They serve breakfast and lunch from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sunday. Dinner is available Friday nights, when they remain open until 8 p.m.
Other menu items that we'd like to try next time include poutine (fries smothered with cheese and gravy), barbecue pork sandwich (slow roasted right there), Michigan (a Hofmann hot dog topped with meat sauce), turkey Reuben (if you don't care for their corned beef version), blue burger (a burger mounded with blue cheese and veggies), flat iron steak salad (marinated to melt in your mouth) and taco salad (served in a homemade tortilla bowl).
All in all, this was a delightful dining experience. Leanna's is a charming little diner with excellent fare. We'll be back.
T&T'S FAMIGLIA RESTAURANT
20 WATER ST.
MASSENA
769-7603
The side street leading to the new restaurant in downtown Massena is blocked with construction barricades. But there is no lack of lunch patrons at T&T's Famiglia on Water Street.
It's an old building, a bar-only place for many years. New owners purchased the building and reworked it inside and out over the winter. But it still looks like an old building on the outside and a bar on the inside.
But that's a good thing. It reminded me of a little family-run Italian restaurant where I grew up. Not too fancy on the outside. The bar is just inside the door. A few stools were occupied by some older folks, perhaps family, or perhaps just friends.
A middle-aged gentleman with dark, curly hair greeted us a few steps inside the restaurant. One of the owners, we suspect. Or perhaps one of the owner's family members. Or just a friend.
Family isn't just part of the name; it's the atmosphere that owners Tom and Sam Portolese and cousin Todd Trippany want to create.
The lunch menu includes homemade soups, salads, sandwiches and Italian specialties.
We tried both of the homemade soups — Italian wedding and hearty beef vegetable.
The Italian wedding soup was excellent, but different from what we've had in the past. It was more like a minestre — lots of wilted escarole in chicken stock, but without the cannellini beans. No meatballs either like you'd expect with Italian wedding soup.
Beef vegetable was full of flavor, beefy without being salty. It was short on visible pieces of beef, but heavy with carrots, onions and celery.
Caprese-style tortellini salad was interesting — a mixture of tortellini (small ring-shaped stuffed pasta), fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and fresh basil set on a bed of mixed greens. Balsamic dressing was showered over the entire affair.
When we see caprese we think of tomatoes. If anything, the salad was light on tomatoes. Lots of tortellini, though.
A lunch portion of chicken cacciatore is available: pieces of chicken along with green peppers, onions and mushrooms, a touch of wine and a smattering of red sauce, all tossed with penne pasta.
This appeared made-to-order, the peppers still nice and crunchy. And it was not overly salty. In fact, I added a pinch of salt to bring out the full flavor.
Veal meatballs are available as an appetizer. It's a Portolese family recipe, a throwback to the meatballs served at Massena's 284 Club, run by Tom and Sam's father, Roy, from 1945 to 1977.
We ordered them as a side to our cacciatore, four meatballs splashed with their red sauce and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. There was lots of meat in the meatballs, very little breadcrumbs and spices.
This spelled family to us — doesn't every Italian family have their own meatball recipe and sauce recipe, something made by Mama every Sunday after church?
We knew the salad and the chicken dish would be a little difficult for two to share, so we asked our waitress if the kitchen could split them for us. No problem.
And we were amazed that the "split" order looked like a full order to us. Decent-sized portions, for sure.
Although we didn't partake, desserts include rice pudding, Italian cream cake and brownie a la mode.
It's a small place, with seating for 40 or so. The deck out back overlooking the river was very busy the day we were there.
We got a chance to look at the dinner menu. It features lots of Italian dishes: veal cacciatore, chicken Cardinale, "284" lasagna, pasta Bolognese, baked rigatoni and homemade four-cheese manicotti. There's also a 12-ounce Delmonico with a roasted garlic mousse. The only fish entrée is pan-seared scallops in a Gorgonzola cream sauce.
Lunch for two came to $26.38. Service was fast and efficient, so if you need to get back to work, it appears they'll get you in and out in a timely fashion.
T&T's Famiglia is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The dinner menu is limited on Monday through Wednesday.
You can contact restaurant reviewer Walter Siebel via e-mail: wsiebel@wdt.net.
