If you live in Lakeville or Middleboro you probably spend a lot of time driving up and down East and West Grove streets (aka Route 28), picking up dry cleaning, going to the market, getting a root canal at the dentist. It’s why I’ve driven by The Cabin restaurant many times saying to my husband, Stephen, “We’ve got to try that place.”
And so we did...on a Friday night...at 6 p.m.
I didn’t think we’d have the place to ourselves.
And we didn’t.
There was a wait to be seated. About 10 people. The party of four in front of us was given a 45-minute wait. When I gave the hostess my name for a party of two, she said it would be about 25 minutes. (Turned out to be 15.)
We were seated smack dab in the middle of the dining room. Perfect spot when you’re trying to secretly jot down notes or take pics of your food with your smartphone (oh wait ... everyone does that).
Cabins are cozy and warm and a place you can snuggle up with someone you love. The Cabin restaurant is no different. Tables are close together, so while you’re looking over the menu, you’ll hear the table of four next you talk about their trip to Disney ride by ride, shop by shop, attraction by attraction.
The tri-fold menu offered just about everything an American restaurant could serve up.
Appetizers like loaded nachos ($10.95 or $13.95 if you add seasoned beef, smoky pulled pork, or buffalo chicken) or twin baked stuffed quahogs ($8.95) or fried calamari ($9.95) caught our eyes, but we settled on the fresh baked bread sticks with three cheese blend and house marinara sauce ($7.50). We added a cup of clam chowder ($3.95). Spoiler Alert: there will be something about the clam chowder later in this review.
Of course you can get just about any salad imaginable from traditional garden salad ($3.95/$7.95) to something more exciting like a turkey cobb salad ($13.95), or grilled salmon salad ($18.95).
Known for its stone oven pizza, The Cabin offers great selections with just about any meat or veggie combo you can think of, because you can create your own from toppings like anchovies, pepperoni, meatball, Italian sausage, hamburg, Buffalo chicken, chicken, BBQ chicken, teriyaki chicken, bacon, ham or linguica. (Not to mention the million or so veggies you can choose from.) There’s even odd toppings like mac & cheese, corned beef, fresh goat cheese, or bourbon sauce. Pizzas range from $10.95 to your credit card limit if you pick enough toppings.
Quesadillas are $13.95 and come with rice pilaf, house salad and sour cream. Choose from meats like chicken, seasoned beef, shaved steak, BBQ pulled pork, Buffalo chicken, or shrimp.
There’s also the American staple of burgers, sandwiches and wraps.
We skipped all those and went straight for the entrees.
The least expensive entree was the Chicken Supreme ($14.95: fried boneless chicken breast topped with a rich supreme sauce, served with cranberry sauce and choice of two sides). At the very high end was the seafood coma-inducing Fisherman’s Feast ($27.95: clam chowder, baked stuffed quahog, haddock, jumbo shrimp, sea scallops, whole belly clams, French fries, cole slaw, corn bread, and Cabin Rings). There’s plenty of beef, steak and chicken entrees on the menu.
The extensive gluten-free menu was pretty cool to see.
I love salmon, but it tends to be one of those dishes that gets slotted into the crapshoot category, because you’re never quite sure how the chef is going to prepare it. So I went all in and ordered the salmon ($18.95). The server offered it grilled, pan blackened or broiled with a sweet Dijon mustard glaze. I chose grilled.
Stephen had a hankering for seafood. There’s fish and chips ($16.95), haddock ($17.95, $19.95 Lobster Newburg sauce), mussels and pasta ($16.95), or fried platters with jumbo shrimp, calamari, clam strips, sea scallops (16.95-$22.95), market price for whole belly clams.
He cast his net on the baked seafood trio ($20.95: haddock, sea scallops and jumbo shrimp roasted with buttery, seasoned crumbs, served with two side dishes).
We both got ginger ales, but if you want a stronger ale there are several kinds of Irish coffees, craft beers, red and white wines and cocktails.
The hot bread sticks arrived — they were baked in the stone oven, so they were basically pizza crust with the three cheese blend. The marinara sauce was excellent — with fresh diced tomatoes.
Not wanting to fill up on the bread sticks, we each tried one and then asked for a to-go box.
Our server brought our entrees. For my two sides, I chose red bliss mashed potatoes and coleslaw. Stephen chose penne pasta with garlic butter, and sweet potato fries.
Both entrees came with cornbread that was moist and sweet with their own pat of butter.
I love mashed potatoes — with butter or gravy, or with butter and gravy.
So instead of my first bite being the salmon, I scooped up a dainty forkful of potatoes and my mouth was in heaven. And it had no butter or gravy — none was required.
Okay, time to try the salmon.
It was perfect, cooked just right and the flavor was wonderful.
Stephen dug into his seafood trio and delighted in how the haddock, sea scallops and jumbo shrimp were cooked — not overdone, not underdone — just right. I thought his sweet potato fries looked a little overcooked, but he said they tasted excellent, nice and crispy. The penne pasta was, he said, al dente. I know that means firm, but he one-upped me and said it literally means “to the tooth” in Italian.
As we were enjoying our meals, Stephen stopped for a second, and realized the cup of chowder we ordered didn’t make it.
Our server was all apologies and asked us if we still wanted it.
Ummm, yes.
When it arrived, we both gave it a taste — hot, creamy, with a decent amount of potatoes and clams. But there was a distinct flavoring to it, a seasoning I never tasted in a chowder before. It wasn’t bad, just different. I asked the server what seasoning it was and she said she didn’t know because she doesn’t eat chowder. I thought she might go offer to find out, but she didn’t.
Dessert was chocolate mousse cake for me ($6.50) and an apple-cranberry crisp for Stephen ($6.95). Both were de-lish.
With our table looking like we were building a fort with the to-go boxes, it was time to take our happy, full tummies home. The bill came to $72.75 before tax and tip.
Would we go back? Yes ... if only to find out about the chowder seasoning.
Dine Out's reviewer visits restaurants unannounced and at his or her discretion. The newspaper pays for the meals reviewed. The reviews merely reflect one diner's experience. Ratings range from 1 to 5 stars.