Here's the report on two interesting places we checked out for lunch recently.
While Shorty's Place, on Coffeen Street in Watertown, serves breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week, Dexter's on the SUNY Potsdam campus specializes in lunch only Monday through Friday.
SHORTY'S PLACE
1280 COFFEEN ST. (I-81 EXIT 46)
WATERTOWN
782-7878
It's got the unmistakable look of a '50s diner from the outside — the weathered sheet metal look of an old railroad dining car — with period glass blocks around the entryway.
The spacious interior also has the nostalgic look that will take you back to an earlier time — the long lunch counter facing the kitchen, booths with mini jukeboxes lining the windows, stainless steel fixtures and bright red furniture accented with lots of white.
As you would expect, the extensive menu takes more than a minute to digest. We'd barely gotten our coats off and our waitress was there, pen and pad in hand, ready to take our orders. She probably figured we had to get back to work.
Little did she realize we were at work.
I love a good diner Reuben. Shorty's was good, nicely grilled rye with an honest amount of corned beef (although it lacked a certain amount of spiciness) and tasty Thousand Island dressing. The cheese (usually Swiss, but looked more like orange-colored American) overpowered the sauerkraut.
I substituted pasta salad for fries. It was decent, tri-colored twist noodles with the addition of chopped green pepper for crunch, a few tasty broccoli florets and healthy red kidney beans.
A new item on the menu is Shorty's Italian sandwich, thinly sliced seasoned roast beef, nicely sautéed green peppers and provolone cheese on crusty ciabatta bread (actually, more like a flattened roll). There was no lack of the tantalizing, tender meat with subtly seasoned au jus to match. An excellent diner sandwich.
The "It's-Lent-so-I'll-have-fish-even-though-I'd-love-a-big-juicy-hamburger" guy in our group got the grouper sandwich, Cajun style. It was deep-fried, but not a bit greasy, with just enough spice to not get in the way. It was a perfect portion, served on toasted roll with a side of perfectly cooked seasoned fries, golden and firm.
The check arrived as we were finishing. But again, we were in no hurry. So we flagged our waitress down to order some of the homemade pies touted on the table tent.
For being homemade, they were generally unremarkable. We tried apple, cherry and blueberry. The crusts were OK, the fillings out of a can. Our waitress offered to warm them, which was a nice touch, even though they arrived on chilled plates.
Prices are reasonable. Lunch for three, including fresh coffee with a nice flavor, came to $35 before tip. Beer and wine are available.
If you're on a date, you'll enjoy the small booths, perfect for playing footsie under the table. If you need more space, grab a table or sit at the counter.
And don't be surprised when you enter the vestibule and a very powerful ceiling fan is triggered — like a giant hair dryer or a fun-house wind tunnel — designed to warm cold air as it enters the building. But it sure scares the heck out of you.
DEXTER'S CAFE
THATCHER HALL
SUNY POTSDAM
POTSDAM
267-2934
You might think the only casual food available on a college campus is pizza, burgers and wings.
Not on SUNY Potsdam's campus. Not at Dexter's Café, one of the newer additions to the college's trendy dining offerings, located in Thatcher Hall, one of the original dining facilities on campus.
It's open to students, faculty and the public from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays, offering hip and healthy food. Fresh salads (at least eight daily), homemade soups (we counted four the day we were there), made-to-order sandwiches and paninis, and tempting desserts, are all appetizingly displayed in clean, lighted cases.
You put your order in at one end of the counter, student assistants assemble sandwiches and dish up soups, adult staff oversees the goings on and work the register at the other end of the line. It's an efficient operation — you can tell they've all been properly trained.
Salads occupy almost an entire display case. They're all made from scratch.
Baby greens were fresh and predictable with nice additions of thinly sliced radishes, grape tomatoes and shredded carrots.
Thai noodle is not for wimps — it's a flavor zinger. The dressing packs a punch of heat and garlic that stay on the palate for a while. Slivers of yellow pepper and sliced scallions added flavor, color and crunch.
Potato salad was excellent. Quartered red skin potatoes were folded into a creamy mustard dressing with a generous amount of real bacon topping it off.
Delicious.
We loved the artichoke and shaved fennel salad with its lovely garlic undertones — a refreshing change from the norm. But we weren't crazy about the citrus/rice salad, which lacked personality, especially compared to the others.
Slightly chunky potato, corn and leek soup was creamy and comforting. The flavor of the leeks was subtle but unmistakable.
Sausage and noodle soup was perfect for a chilly March day with its light tomato broth, crumbled Italian sausage, elbow macaroni and plenty of tender, fresh vegetables. This was no canned soup.
Crab and brie quiche had a delicious flaky crust, real crab meat (a pleasant surprise) and just the right amount of creamy brie. Good portion size, too.
Chicken salad on a whole-wheat roll utilized all white meat, chopped celery and not-too-much mayo to hold it together. Unlimited toppings are a nice option, so we piled on lettuce, tomato, cucumber, sprouts and a dab of balsamic vinaigrette.
Panini of the day was brie, fontina and fresh mozzarella with peperonata (sautéed chopped peppers, onions and garlic) — a true vegetarian's delight with an interesting combination of cheeses that worked well together.
High-end desserts take up almost as much shelf space as the salads.
Strawberry swirl cheesecake was just fine, but we really enjoyed the caramel Ho Ho cake from nearby Birchland Farm. Just like the Hostess treat it's named after, it was people-friendly and gooey good.
We were impressed with Dexter's nice variety of offerings, all prepared with quality ingredients, and the fact that it was so affordable. There's even sushi on Wednesdays and Fridays from downtown Potsdam's Asian market, Purple Rice. And, we're told, it sells out on those days.
Food and drink for four came to just over $30.
Director of Dining Services George Arnold and Executive Chef Steve Maiocco are to be commended for their tireless work at SUNY Potsdam. They're dedicated to using the best ingredients, locally grown and produced goods as much as possible, and meals made from scratch — not just at Dexter's, but in every dining facility on the campus.
