 ELLACOYA BARN & GRILLE 2667 Lakeshore Road (Route 11), Gilford 293-8700; barnandgrille.com
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Lobster pizza pie, that is. That’s just one of the items on THE somewhat eclectic but intriguing menu of delicious-sounding dishes at Ellacoya Barn & Grille. (Note the “n” in “Barn.”)
At so many places, the menu descriptions turn out to be like the trailers of many films: The description is better than the end product. At Ellacoya, happily, the food is as good as it sounds.
We found ourselves there on a recent weekend after a local antiques auction. It was wonderful to find the eatery in what seemed like the middle of nowhere — at least it seemed that way to us, being from away and unfamiliar with the area near Ellacoya State Park in Gilford. That, and the fact that I am geographically challenged — quite frankly I’d rather make my way through a menu than a map, which is why I always bring my dining companion along. He is responsible for navigating on our frequent forays for food so all I have to do is enjoy the trip.
As we drove south on Route 11, the country store to which Ellacoya Barn & Grille is attached is what we saw, and we almost missed the restaurant tucked into the side. I’m glad we found it — it made for a relaxing and tasty respite in the midst of an otherwise busy day.
I love outdoor dining, so the first thing that caught my eye as we entered was a patio, a bit worse for wear over the winter, but in my mind’s eye I could see a fine summer dining area when the Lakes Region is full of warm-weather vacationers.
Inside, the restaurant has a very nice and rustic dining room upstairs and a cozy bar area with several tables downstairs. Handicapped diners may have to settle for the downstairs seating as there is a full flight of stairs to the upper dining area, but that shouldn’t be a hardship — we sat in the bar area and found it to be quite comfortable and intimate.
As we sipped on drinks — a Guinness for my dining companion and one of the restaurant’s signature blueberry martinis for me — we contemplated the menu. My dining companion decided to try the scallops Francaise ($8.25), which consisted of scallops dipped in an egg batter and then lightly fried and drizzled with lemon. The scallops were quite large, but not overly sweet, and a little tough. The Francaise batter was a bit heavy and eggy and as soon as you cut into a scallop, just fell off anyway. Still, it was a pleasant and satisfying start to his meal.
I ordered the New Zealand mussels served in a garlic tomato sauce ($7.50). The mussels were huge and meaty – a few of them a bit tougher than I like – and they were in a flavorful sauce chock full of sweet chunks of tomato with a light flavor of garlic. The overall result was an excellent appetizer.
 Ellacoya Barn & Grille is on Route 11 in Gilford. (ROGER AMSDEN photos) |
The price may seem a little steep, but when you realize a large Margherita pizza at Bertucci’s – topped with nothing but cheese – sells for $16.99, it really was quite reasonable.
The crust was especially good, it was chewy the way I like it with a slightly nutty flavor. The pie was generously topped with a mozzarella and feta cheese mixture and plenty of sweet lobster in large chunks. A light topping of spinach and an excellent plum tomato sauce created a flavorful medley that I will definitely order again the next time I get a chance.
My dining companion decided we needed to veer away from the seafood-heavy route we had taken and ordered the steak tips ($15). The hefty 14-ounce portion of tips were tastily marinated and well seasoned. It came with a side of French fries that were of the hand-cut variety and well prepared. He said he wished he could find fries like that elsewhere.
Dessert offerings were standard fare – chocolate cake, cheesecake and apple crisp. Since none of those really tantalized us, and since we were quite full after our meal, we decided to skip dessert.
Our bill, including the cocktails, came to around $65, not at all unreasonable for the feast that we had. It was an enjoyable one: Our waitress was efficient and friendly, the food was excellent and our surroundings cozy and relaxing. If you’re going to part with your hard-earned money to dine out, that’s what you should expect. Ellacoya will meet those expectations nicely.
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