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Restaurant Review
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The Grand Colonial

Reviewed by Valerie Sinclair   
Posted February 7, 2008

Anyone familiar with the Perryville Inn is already aware of the Grand Colonial, chef/owner Paul Ingenito’s and his wife, Lorraine’s, new restaurant just around the corner. The Grand Colonial used to be the Coach and Paddock, and after months of gutting, rebuilding, and adding on to the building, it’s just about finished. Among the special features that Chef Ingenito envisaged is a cheese cave, which is in place; an open grill, ready but still awaiting a grillmaster; and an ice bar, which, when I visit, is not quite ready for ice, shellfish, or drinks. Although the menu lists raw-bar items from the ice bar, they come from the kitchen.

The restaurant has several dining areas, some with homey stone walls and fireplaces, but the formal dining room feels cold and unwelcoming, at least when it isn’t full. The menu offers something for everyone—wine and cheese pairings, fondue and cheese plates, small dishes, seafood towers, grilled meat and fish, and main dishes influenced by many cuisines. Sometimes when you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one, but this isn’t the case with the Grand Colonial. Although selections range from burgers to spiced chicken samosas to soft seafood tacos, the chefs produce acceptable renditions of most.

The fun here is that you can choose a three-course menu or, with several people, order a fondue, a copious shellfish tower, or one or two tapas-like dishes from the small-plates menu. From the latter menu, I recommend the sashimi pillows—raw tuna slices draped across crabmeat flavored with a tangy sesame vinaigrette. The Pacific oyster tempura is also good, comprising two tempura-coated oysters wrapped in a slice of gravlax and set atop a papaya salad. The global seviche tasting is decent but misnamed, as it consists of three different fish dishes, only one of which—red snapper with a charred tomato, mango, jalapeño, and citrus juices—is a seviche; the others are a tuna tartare and a creamy shrimp salad. A red and golden beet salad is also misnamed, as it’s primarily endive and frisée, chunks of goat cheese, and small cubes of beet ringing the plate as a garnish. But I like the poblano chili relleno, a large, spicy chili pepper stuffed with chicken, chorizo, and Jack cheese, then roasted. Steamed lobster dumplings are rather heavy and lack flavor.

The rare, juicy burger is worth traveling for, as is the tender and moist lamb shank with garlic mashed potatoes and roasted root vegetables. The deep-fried snapper is only for people who don’t mind staring their meal in the face, because it comes whole; served with tempura-fried vegetables and a spicy dipping sauce, it’s crisp outside, moist within, but very bony. A better bet might be the expertly prepared, creamy seafood risotto, loaded with scallops, shrimp, and lump crabmeat.

An enormous selection of cheeses is available with a few wine pairings, an excellent way to end a meal. Or choose from the chocolate fondue for two or three people, or the caramelized bananas layered with pastry and chocolate.

 

Reviewed in: February, 2006