By Margaret Locher, Contributing Writer
Marlborough??”The Eastside Grill restaurant at the Marlborough Country Club sits on top of a hill overlooking its semi-private golf course??”a serene setting for a relaxing dinner or drinks in the lounge. I stopped in with my boyfriend on a recent Friday night. Though the weather was still chilly, the lounge area had a good crowd. A smiling hostess seated us quickly and we ordered beers after our waitress set a plate of corn muffins and pub cheese on our table.
The Eastside Grill opened this year with an updated menu. It includes everything you might expect a clubhouse to serve, but executive chef Scott Campbell gives a twist to the clubhouse's offerings: one of the salads is a four berry salad with mint ($9), the meatloaf sandwich is wrapped in bacon and served on Texas toast ($10), and chicken parmesan includes artichoke hearts ($9.50). That last one caught my interest as we looked over the menu, though I was also eyeing the baked haddock with sherry crumb topping ($18) and the salmon burger with garlic and sesame mayo ($11).
Still undecided on entrees, we put in an order for appetizers: a crock of French Onion soup ($4.50) and calamari fries ($10). The fries are large sticks of fresh calamari served with a sweet Thai chili dipping sauce??”a delicious and inventive twist on a classic appetizer. The soup had clearly been made fresh and by hand, the onions were diced small, the bread was in small bits and the broth was thick and flavorful.
My boyfriend couldn's decide between the mac “n” cheese, the Reuben or the beef brisket ($18). Our waitress said that the brisket is one of the house specialties, so he ordered it. (Not that she had to twist his arm.) The brisket is smoked, baked in puff pastry and served with a veal demi glaze. It comes with mashed potatoes, sautéed onions and asparagus. He even had to take half of it home, telling our waitress, “I don's remember the last time I couldn's finish a meal.”
I decided to keep it simple, ordering an Angus burger with cheddar and fries (can be upgraded to bistro onion rings or sweet potato fries for $1.50. The fat burger patty was cooked to order, and I had to open wide to get the first bite??”exactly what you want from a clubhouse burger.
There are a lot of nice courses in the area, but I would be surprised if many of them paid this much attention to serving such a variety of delicious, fresh food. You can golf at a lot of places but there aren's many places where you'sl eat this well afterward.
The Marlborough Country Club is located at 200 Concord Road in Marlborough. The restaurant is open to the public; the golf course is public Mondays and Tuesdays. 508-485-1660, www.MarlboroughCountryClub.com.
