Old Guard House Inn Offers Old World and Modern Fare

My two dining companions and I arrived on time for our reservation and were seated promptly. The atmosphere is jovial by the bar, plenty of conversation and merriment. We opted to sit in the additional dining room which was a bit quieter.

One dining companion had the three-for-$31 dinner option. The three courses for $31 is a carryover from restaurant week that serves to fill up the dining room during the slower weekdays as well as offering a less expensive dining option in this gloomy economic climate. The three courses were traditional Caesar salad with a Parmesan tuile, soy-glazed salmon with carrots, haricots verts and squared off potato with a gratineed top. The dessert course was an apple upside down cake with berries. The other two of us had the steamed Prince Edward Island Mussels in a vermouth and tomato broth ($11) and snails in garlic butter ($9.50) for our first courses.  

The Caesar salad was well seasoned, the Parmesan tuile crispy and delicious. The mussels were exceptionally tender and the broth good enough to be enjoyed alone. There was a richness and silkiness to the well balanced broth that is not often found. The snails were aggressively seasoned and arrived with the same garlic bread that topped the mussels. The sublime mussels were our favorite of the first courses.

For the next course, the salmon was generously portioned given the price point and cooked all the way through. The carrots were extra sweet and the haricots verts cooked perfectly. The gratineed potato top was excellent and made me wish the rest of the potato bottom had been prepared similarly.

The sirloin entree ($34.50) came with french fries and crispy onions and the same carrot, haricots verts and potato preparation. Although we ordered it "medium rare," it was cooked well done throughout most of it. Perhaps the server heard me say "medium well."

The sweetbreads Hilde ($31) were outstanding. Perfectly cooked, they arrived steaming hot with what appeared to be an excessive amount of capers and rich sauce. However, one bite and I was in heaven. These were some of the cleanest tasting sweetbreads I have ever tried in my life. For those unfamiliar with sweetbreads, these thymus glands can taste muddy when not properly cleaned and handled. Inferior quality sweetbreads also do not have as pure a taste. If you are a sweetbread lover, this is one of the finest preparations you will ever come across. The breading, the sweetbreads, the capers, the sauce--every component was in perfect harmony with everything else. The winner of the main courses was clearly the sweetbreads Hilde. 

We didn't have room for dessert, but the apple upside down cake was coming out regardless. It was sweet, rich and buttery. It's definitely not for the calorie counters of the world, but it was a delightful dining coda to a peaceful meal out.

The wine list is impressive and categorized by color and country. There are plenty of French, Italian and German offerings, but I was impressed with the inclusion of New Zealand and South America as well. Both areas produce some great wines that are much more affordably priced than the Old World superstars.

The decor is rustic, colonial and cozy. There are gleaming copper pots adorning the walls, muted mustard tablecloths, exposed wooden beams, and wooden furniture throughout. You feel as though you are dining in a person's home from a bygone era. The service is extremely professional yet friendly. I had heard some comments about the service improving exponentially for regulars but I didn't find any truth to that as we received great service even as first timers. On the way out, the chef gave us thanks and said good night which I found both surprising and refreshing. Someone always answers the phone when you call the Old Guard House Inn, which is not usually the case for many businesses these days.

The dishes here--both old favorites and more modern--are prepared with skill and care in a way that you don't often see. The soul and flavor of the dishes are more important than using a trendy ingredient or creating some sort of architectural anomaly on the plate. It's food the way it was meant to be enjoyed, in a cozy setting, right in the neighborhood.