There are plenty of family-owned Italian restaurants in Watertown. They've all been around for a long time, and there's a reason for it — they're all good.
Fairground Inn was established in 1933 by Charlie Coniglio and is one of the first Italian restaurants in Watertown. The original wood booths still line the walls; lots of plastic flowers and clusters of grapes decorate the walls and ceiling.
It's family-oriented with a relaxed atmosphere. Local restaurateur Leo Coleman has owned the Fairground for more than 30 years, continuing the tradition of serving casual Italian and American favorites including homemade pizza, appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches and Italian specialties.
A table of four hungry guys late in the evening could spell trouble for a waitress, but Samantha handled it well. She was friendly and accommodating and had a nice, easygoing approach.
We got started with a 12-inch white pizza ($6.99), with lots of cheese and just enough garlic. The prefab crust was OK, but could have been cooked a little longer.
Appetizers ("soups and snacks") consist of the usual deep-fried favorites like mozzarella sticks, fried calamari and chicken wings, and one we hadn't seen before: "hawg wings" ($6.99).
Two generous portions of pork on a bone were served with choice of fries, onion rings or curly fries. They were meaty (think big chicken leg) and came with a nondescript sauce for dipping.
Plain and simple salads were enjoyable, made with an ample amount of iceberg lettuce, crisp and fresh as if it just came out of the garden. The house dressing was a sweet, creamy Italian. We also enjoyed regular Italian dressing with blue cheese crumbles (add 79 cents).
The basket of bread was a little disappointing. Not the basket ... the bread. It was pretty dry and tasted like store-bought American-style Italian bread.
King cut of prime rib ($16.79) was a generous hunk of beef. We asked for medium and that's exactly what we got. Au jus could have been a little more flavorful. Steamed broccoli was OK.
Veal Parmesan was a large portion and a great value at $10.99. A light coating of tasty breading and a home-cooked tomato sauce made this a most enjoyable entrée. It was served with a side of penne and sauce.
Italian combo ($10.99) gave us a good opportunity to try the Fairground's homemade pasta dishes. You get a half order of lasagna, manicotti, a stuffed pepper or spaghetti with a homemade meatball or sweet Italian sausage.
Lasagna was good, light on mozzarella and heavy on ricotta, and, according to the recipient, "Not as good as mom used to make, but I haven't found anyone who has achieved that level."
Manicotti was also good, and a good amount. Stuffed pepper was properly cooked, with a dense hamburger-like filling. Some of the spaghetti was noticeably clumped together. Remember the old rule when cooking spaghetti: "Pasta wants to swim ..."
Sam managed to wrangle both a meatball and a sausage out of the kitchen for us. Both were of good quality, texture and flavor.
Fish on the menu is basically limited to haddock — no shrimp or scallops or anything else.
Fried haddock ($12.99) was very good, light and flaky and cooked just right. Veg of the day, steamed broccoli, accompanied.
Desserts are made in-house by pastry chef Mitzi Marcelletta, and are they ever good — another great value at $3.99 each.
Chocolate peanut butter pie — real chocolate and peanut butter taste — contained so much peanut butter, it made your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth. Great crust, too.
Upside-down apple walnut pie was really served upside down and was really good — lots of moist apples and yummy walnuts.
On a scale of one to 10, we rate Mitzi's banana cream pie a definite 10: homemade graham cracker crust, a layer of fresh bananas, then the custard: oh, the custard — a smooth, fine, gently flavored pudding. An absolutely perfect dessert, topped off with whipped cream.
Good food, good friends and Sam's superlative service cost us $97 for a casual, relaxing dinner.
If you're looking for a lighter dinner or want to stop by for lunch, the Fairground offers more than 30 specialty and gourmet sandwiches — neat things like salami and provolone, veggie and mixed cheese, grilled portobello, cheddar-bacon-chicken, crabmeat salad and create-a-sandwich, just to name a few.
You can contact Walter E. Siebel via e-mail: wsiebel@wdt.net.
Fairground Inn
852 Coffeen St.
Watertown
782-7335
Casual family dining with an Italian flair since 1933.
Homemade pizza, appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches and Italian specialties.
Excellent homemade desserts, too.
HOURS: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday
Noon to 10 p.m. Sunday
RATING: 3 FORKS
