Shipwreck Restaurant

FOOD

Shipwreck’s three-course dinner begins with a salad that puts a little thought into the opening bowl. Apples and dried cranberries join toasted almonds, tomatoes, red onion and Asiago over mixed greens, all tossed in poppy-seed dressing. Fruit, nuts and cheese give it plenty beyond the lettuce, especially before a substantial meat platter. Warm rolls with cinnamon butter add a sweet little flourish; a vegan salad is available on request.

The Pirate Platter is the barbecue supper. Slow-smoked beef brisket and barbecue pulled pork share the platter with spare ribs, smoked sausage and rotisserie chicken. Pulled pork supplies those sauce-friendly shreds, while ribs make part of dinner a hands-on affair. Baked beans belong right alongside, and three house barbecue sauces let diners dress their own portions. A family that agrees on barbecue has quite a spread to agree on.

The Seadog Skillet broadens dinner into a mixed grill of marinated flank steak, herb-roasted pork tenderloin and rotisserie chicken. Thin slices of grilled steak make the beef easy to share, and wild-rice pilaf accompanies the assortment. Mushroom cream sauce is especially useful here: spoon it over the rice or add it to the meat. The skillet comes with sauce alongside, leaving room for a little personal preference within the family supper.

Seafood is the Seadog’s especially appealing addition. Blackened fish brings its seasoned preparation into the skillet, while sautéed garlic-citrus shrimp adds a second seafood helping. Garlic butter accompanies the assortment, and dipping shrimp in butter is a perfectly respectable use of it. Beef, pork, chicken, fish and shrimp in one shared supper—quite a catch for a hotel full of landlocked pirates.

The plant-based skillet deserves a proper look of its own. Meatloaf-style plant protein gives it a familiar supper centerpiece, while teriyaki tofu with broccoli brings a different flavor beside it. Grilled cauliflower steaks and vegetable dumplings add two quite distinct ways to enjoy vegetables. Roasted baby potatoes, plant-based mac and cheese, seasonal vegetables and baked beans fill out the meal. It’s a thoughtfully broad alternative for a restaurant whose pirate platter is so enthusiastically occupied by meat.

Mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese accompany the standard dinner platters, with roasted seasonal vegetables beside them. Familiar, yes, and welcome for a family sharing so many different proteins. The potatoes also give that mushroom cream sauce somewhere else to go. Soft drinks are included with dinner, too.

Pirate Captain’s Delight finishes the standard dinner with a warm chocolate-chip cookie skillet, vanilla-bean ice cream, chocolate and caramel sauces, and Heath pieces. A shared cookie with all those toppings feels entirely at home in this family restaurant. The plant-based finale has its own fun: warm dairy-free chocolate fondue with fresh fruit and plant-based marshmallows for dipping. Two desserts with a little table participation built in. Very considerate of the sweet tooth.

Morning brings a different skillet: eggs, bacon and sausage links, with biscuits and gravy. Waffles, pancakes and French toast sticks rotate, so breakfast’s sweet main attraction depends on the day. Fresh fruit, oatmeal, yogurt, cereal and toast offer smaller accompaniments around the hot spread, with coffee, tea and juices included. The biscuits and gravy are a worthwhile savory counterpoint when the table’s youngest members have very firm opinions about pancakes.