By Bernie Whitmore

Let’s face it, first impressions are critical.  And it didn’t take long for me to form a couple about Verona Grille.  First, their rambling old wood frame building and location on Route 70 reminded me of a roadhouse from the bygone noir era ~ just a bit outside of town where people would meet to hatch plots, listen to bluesy music and do things they wouldn’t admit to in “proper circles.”  The Doors nailed it with “We’re going to the roadhouse, gonna have a real good-time.”

My next impression hit soon after opening Verona’s menu.  Epic in scope, it contained page after page of entrée sections crammed with choices.  A page titled Chicken contained around 20 entrees (but this is where you’ll find Eggplant Parmesan).  The Beef page had another 15 entrees and, strangely enough, contained a chicken platter.  Seafood Pasta shared billing with Super Burgers but nowhere near the page of Baked and Fried Seafood.  And every word of every entrée description was breathlessly capitalized.

Oddly enough, this Italian-leaning cuisine also contained a Sushi menu. Hmmm… sushi at a roadhouse.  What gives? We asked our server Danielle about it and she explained that the manager knows sushi and makes it fresh every day.  Suddenly anything seemed possible.

Experience warns me that such a compendium is often a sign of over-reach and freshness-quality shortcuts may loom ahead.  Striving to gain purchase in any crack of this edifice of choices my friend and I asked Danielle for advice.  She sincerely replied, “Everything is good!”  Then I noticed yet another page that had slid out of the main menu.  This one detailed a lobster-themed special that offered a fixed-price three-course dinner ~ just sixteen dollars.  I shoved the big menu aside.

Placing our order became a snap and soon Danielle had returned with our appetizers.  My friend chose Verona’s Fried Calamari tossed in light oil with slices of spicy-hot banana peppers and chunks of tomato.  He raved so much I snagged a couple pieces and discovered the chef had used a light touch with the breading, giving the calamari just enough for a crunch without overpowering the delicate seafood flavor.  The peppers gave the dish color and flavor contrast.

What really sold me on the price-fixed special was its inclusion of sushi appetizers.  My choice, Firecracker Sushi, was actually a California roll containing lobster, avocado and fried sweet potato wrapped in nori and sticky rice sprinkled with black sesame seeds.  Eight rolls came drizzled with spicy mayonnaise on a pristinely white plate kitted out with wasabi, sliced ginger and a little bowl of dipping sauce.  I split apart my chopsticks and sampled one.  Delicious!  The sharp wasabi reliably cleared my sinuses.  This sushi may not have been prepared right in front of us, but it was just about as fresh.

I paired my sushi appetizer with a glass of Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc.  Its citrus and tropic fruit flavor is always ideal with seafood and refreshingly reminiscent of summer.

My entrée, Lobster Stir-Fry, was billed as lazy lobster in a crispy sesame batter with stir-fried vegetables in an Asian teriyaki sauce served over linguine.  Still stuck with those ominous first impressions, I cringed to think of how many ways a chef could go wrong frying lobster meat.  But when Danielle arrived with our entrees I found myself becoming a believer in Verona’s Grille.

First, both entrées were served with the head of the sacrificed lobster facing skyward…a garnishing technique I haven’t seen in years but proof that fresh seafood had been used.  Then, when I sliced a portion of tail meat, I found it as tender as any boiled lobster I’ve enjoyed.  Plus the sesame crust was paper-thin, just enough to add slight crunch and a touch of nutty flavor.  The teriyaki was subtly sweet and not the nasty stuff that so many kitchens use. The only minor flaw was the vegetables; the peapods, broccoli spears and mushrooms weren’t crunchily stir-fried.  The menu might better have expressed them as sautéed.

Lobster Newburg, my friend’s choice, was another hit.  This was a lazy lobster pie served in a stainless chafing dish.  Chunks of sweet lobster meat were drenched in creamy sauce and topped with crumbs crunchy-brown from the broiler.  Too many generations of chefs have done this classic recipe wrong by using way too much cheap “cooking’ sherry.”  It’s become a dangerous choice at most restaurants.  But Verona’s chef got it right.

Our desserts, generous portions of The Perfect Flan (Verona’s boast) and Tiramisu were made in-house and significantly better than most.  We finished our meals with a resounding thumbs-up for Verona’s Grille.  When it came to quality, value and service, the evening was a total success.  My advice?  Go to Verona! But study the menu beforehand… it’s on the web.

Verona Grille
81 Clinton Street, Shrewsbury
(508) 853-9091
veronagrillrestaurant.com