ST. REGIS FALLS — We've discovered an out-of-the-way place on the St. Lawrence-Franklin counties border that we think you should know about.
It's called Deer Valley Trails. From St. Regis Falls you head south on Route 358 for three miles. Take a right on winding, snow-covered Blue Mountain Road. Three more miles and you're there.
It's a beautiful, modern lodge-like facility with knotty pine walls, cathedral ceilings, tile floor throughout, tall windows to view the deer outside, two dining rooms (one with floor-to-ceiling fireplace), clean bathrooms and a large, beckoning bar.
It was a Thursday night, and we were surprised to see a dozen cars outside, a few snowmobiles and a bar inside full of people eating, drinking and playing cribbage. (Thursday night is their weekly cribbage tournament).
We looked over the menu as wildlife mounts of bobcats, raccoons, turkeys and otters looked us over from their balcony perches. In a rural restaurant like this, who would expect things like steamed clams, quesadillas, barbecue ribs, Brazilian lobster tails, Cajun-grilled Texas rib-eye, Alaskan king crab, chicken cordon blue and an array of pasta sautés?
Plus, they've got all the casual food you'd expect at a snowmobile stop (it's just off the main trail connecting the two counties) — burgers, wings, soups, chili, grilled ham and cheese, poutine and lots more.
We went casual with our appetizers, upscale with our entrées.
One of the members of the WDT Reviewing Team makes excellent chili, and he had to admit that Deer Valley's ($3.95) was as good as his, tomato-based with lots of ground beef, tasty without being overly hot. Melted cheese on top was a nice touch.
The chicken quesadilla ($6.95) rivaled that of most Mexican restaurants. It was loaded with chopped grilled chicken, tomatoes and onions, sliced jalapeños and gooey good cheese. Little plastic containers of sour cream and salsa were served on the side.
We enjoyed the homemade soups ($3.95 a cup). Creamy New England clam chowder is a staple on the menu — chopped clams in their broth with lots of real heavy cream and diced potatoes.
A soup special that evening was beef and broccoli, very tasty with chunks of roast beef in a hearty broth. You could see just tiny broccoli florets, but the flavor of the broccoli was certainly there.
Warm dinner rolls that appeared to be homemade were quite enjoyable. Salads were ultra-basic: fresh, crisp iceberg lettuce with a wedge of tomato and a sprinkling of croutons. Dressings were of the commercial variety.
The 12-ounce New York strip steak is priced at $18.95. For an additional charge, you can "spice it up" with sautéed onions and peppers, Montreal or Cajun seasoning, or the chef's secret garlic sauce.
We went with Montreal seasoning, a rather mild mix of dried garlic, bell pepper and onion along with paprika and other spices. It complemented the beautiful, tender piece of meat quite nicely. The chef cooked it just under medium, allowing its natural juices to flow as we cut into it.
Chicken Marsala ($14.95) was nicely done: two moist chicken breasts sautéed with fresh mushrooms in a slightly sweet Marsala wine sauce.
Other chicken choices are chicken Dijon, chicken Cordon Blue and chicken Parmesan.
The pasta category includes fettuccini Alfredo, shrimp marinara, vegetable primavera and seafood sauté.
We got shrimp marinara ($15.95), seven good-sized shrimp with their tails on in a noticeably sweet red sauce laced with garlic. While it was a generous portion of pasta (most of which went home to become the next day's lunch), it wasn't our favorite entrée.
Our favorite was the smoked barbecue ribs. A whole rack is priced at $18.95; we got the half rack for $12.75.
The smoky meat literally fell off the bone. It was slathered with a thick and sticky sauce made with brown sugar and lots of pepper. Our ribs connoisseur at the table rates these ribs better than Ruby Tuesday's but not quite as good as Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Syracuse, the restaurant that sets the standard for ribs.
We were offered desserts — cheesecake, carrot cake and a death-by-chocolate thing — but we had absolutely no room after our hearty starters and generously portioned entrées.
Dinner for four came to $92 before tip.
Service was friendly and folksy.
We're still amazed at how extensive the menu is, for a place that's in such a remote location. Here are a few more items that we'd try next time:
Appetizers: shrimp cocktail, fried oysters, clams casino, macho nachos.
Entrées: roast turkey dinner, grilled 12-ounce sirloin with garlic sauce, Deer Valley sauté (chicken and shrimp sautéed with tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic and white wine), broiled sea scallops, shrimp trio (stuffed, scampi and fried).
And they serve prime rib every night of the week. The 14-ounce queen cut is $16.95, 16-ounce king $18.95, "Big Mama" 24-ouncer is $28.95, and — I wouldn't want to get back on a snowmobile after this one — the "Big Daddy" 46-ounce portion is $50.95.
You'll enjoy exploring their Web site: www.deervalleytrails.net
You can contact Walter E. Siebel via e-mail: wsiebel@wdt.net.
Deer Valley Trails
4677 Blue Mountain Road
St. Regis Falls
1 (518) 856-9243
Come by snowmobile, automobile, motorcycle or four-wheeler for good, casual food, homemade chili and soups, well-prepared dinners.
HOURS:
Lunch: 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday
Dinner: 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday
Closed Monday
CASUAL FOOD PICKS: Homemade chili, New England clam chowder, chicken quesadilla
DINNER PICKS: Smoked barbecue ribs, chicken Marsala, New York strip steak.
Rating: 3 and one-half forks
