"Locker stuck on seventh grade hall . . . the substitute in special ed. needs some help . . . boy's P.E. has possible injury." So goes the usual walkie-talkie chatter in the office of the junior high where I work. Only rarely does my sideline as Dining Out columnist get the same urgent attention as the more pressing daily problems of school administration.
Recently I was summoned from lunch duty by my secretary's message, "Long-distance call patched through from the Deseret News, sounds important." After determining that the other cafeteria supervisors were in the appropriate places as were the Jell-O desserts from my favorite table of eighth graders, I trotted to my office for a pleasant conversation with a gentleman in San Diego. He was calling to recommend a restaurant he and his wife were especially impressed with in Coalville, not exactly a destination of culinary reknown. Celebrating the tip as well as the surprising gastronomic urgency of the call (unlike the other emergencies that come my way), I resolved to put Denise's Home Plate on the front burner of my Dining Out agenda.The restaurant, open for dinner only on Friday and Saturday night (lunch on weekdays), is "just across the street from the stake center and kitty corner from the county courthouse." Even without those coordinates from our helpful guide, it would have been hard to miss in downtown Coalville.
Denise's is a house converted to a restaurant and reception center. There is another entrance for the cafe that serves lunch during the week. But the more formal dining area, two dining rooms with standard reception center wallpaper pinks and greys, is obviously set for dinner with linen table cloths and shiny silverware. An older stereo plays "beautiful music" from one corner.
The dinner menu features an appealing array of reasonably priced items that include seafood, beef and poultry. The two appetizers and four of the eight entrees we sampled each were freshly prepared, served hot and more than generously portioned.
The "generous cut" of the prime rib ($13.95) was hefty and prepared medium rare. While the horseradish sauce could have used a bit more "kick" (as promised on the menu), the au jus was very good and the meat tender and well-trimmed. The chicken royale ($9.25), a breast of chicken stuffed with crab flakes and cheese and covered with a light white wine cheese sauce, was also appetizing. The all-you-can-eat barbecued pork ribs ($10.50) were charbroiled to a perfect pink, thick, and againindicative of skill in the kitchen.
Each dinner is served with a steaming loaf of homemade honey wheat bread and includes a dinner salad and soup (the cream of broccoli was mild and buttery) and choice of baked potato or seasoned rice.
Other entrees include teriyaki chicken breast topped with a pineapple slice ($6.95); chicken Monterrey ($8.25), breast of chicken topped with fresh tomatoes, avocado and a Monterrey cheese sauce; salmon with mustard dill sauce basted in lime juice ($12.75); and baked halibut ($8.25) adorned with sour cream and a sprinkle lemon pepper.
Even after our dinners which included appetizers of fried mozarella sticks with ranch dressing and shrimp bowl on ice ($4.50), we found room for four of the homemade desserts. Such are the temptations of country life.
The strawberry pie was fresh and not too sweet; the banana cream a real treat, the carrot cake - at least a quarter of a whole cake - dense and layered with cream cheese frosting; and the brownie sundae, flowing with hot fudge, was just about too much for the chocoholic in our group. Prices range from 95 cents for the carrot cake to $2.25 for a New York style cheese cake.
Other items on the menu include tempura vegetables and stuffed mushrooms for appetizers and whole or half chef and shrimp salads. Each beverage includes free refills.
Places like Denise's Home Plate that are off the beaten path appeal not just to cosmopolitans like my source in San Diego but to many of us because of the lack of pretense and sincerity in the effort. The menu asks that diners "have a good meal." For us, it was certainly more than that.
Rating: * * * *
Denise's Home Plate, 45 N. Main, Coalville, 336-2249. Open for lunch Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; dinner on Friday and Saturday only, 5:30 to 10 p.m. Closed Sunday. Checks accepted with guarantee card, no credit cards.