Phantom Gourmet: Greenside Grille In Hingham

HINGHAM - Whether you like salad greens or golf greens, you can enjoy tasty fair by the fairway at The Greenside Grille in Hingham. When you have food like a Bacon and Bleu cheese burger served on a pretzel bun, or a hand tossed Shrimp Scampi Pizza, it's easy to see why you can't go wrong.

"The Greenside Grille is not your average golf club restaurant," said Owner Frank Ricci. "I would say that it is an upscale tavern meeting American gastro pub. Fuse the two of those together with some great craft cocktails, beer on draft, really great views when you're looking out over the golf course. You're looking right at the 18th fairway, lots of great panorama."

The South Shore Country Club in Hingham boasts an 18-hole golf course, high-tech golf simulators, beautiful banquet facilities, and even a retro-style candlepin bowling alley. But according to Ricci, the most delicious attraction here is the signature Greenside Grille restaurant, located right in the main clubhouse.

Greenside is led by a Ryder-Cup-worthy dream team with decades of experience, including family patriarch Elio Ricci, Chef Michael Saef, and Chef Brian Lauzon. The menu covers almost as much ground as the golf course: Margherita pizzas, fish tacos and the Greenside signature Black & Bleu Burger.

"It's just a party in your mouth," Frank Ricci said of the burger. "Served right on a pretzel bun, warm, toasty, a little buttery. We take an Angus beef burger; we Cajun season it; grill it to perfection; throw on some bacon and onion jam, bleu cheese, gorgonzola.

"Everybody looks at the menu and says 'what's bacon and onion jam?' and I say, 'If you like bacon just go for it, because it's gonna blow your mind'."

To get things started, you can order a nice wedge salad – get it – wedge salad?? How about the Trio of Shrimp platter featuring cocktail shrimp, fried shrimp, and grilled shrimp. Or you can really swing away and order the oven-roasted lamb meatballs.

"We're really talking a signature dish," Ricci said. "Step outside your traditional Italian meatball. So, we're going with a ground lamb and ground sausage and stuffing it with some gorgonzola cheese, finishing it with our house marinara and then topping it with crispy fried fennel chips and a lemon mint yogurt."

"It's coming in a casserole plate right out of the oven, piping hot, warm juicy meatballs. And then when you bite into them, they're oozing with perfection."

From the fine dining side of the menu, there's the Scallop and Short Rib Ravioli Duet, featuring hearty al dente pasta and beautifully pan-seared seafood.

"Perfect half-moon raviolis finished with a bordelaise sauce, pan-seared scallops finished with a gorgonzola cream sauce," described Ricci. "The two separated by some grilled oyster mushrooms and micro greens; put three of those items together, it's a home run."

Even more eye-appealing is the Asian style salmon featuring black and white sesame seeds, jasmine rice, and baby bok choy. The Fish and Chips is made with fresh haddock and a top secret ale batter, which uses Mayflower IPA out of Plymouth.

Sure, the beers are always cold and the cocktails are always hand-crafted, but the food isn't always what you'd expect. Take the steak frites: an enormous portion of marinated hangar steak served with balsamic grilled onions and rosemary truffle parmesan French fries. And then there's the Greenside's sliceable rendition of shrimp scampi - on a pizza.

"It's a white pizza, mozzarella cheese, classic lemon and citrus flavors," Ricci explained. "You think about the olden days with your classic shrimp scampi over linguini, now just take out the linguini and add the pizza."

Another reinvented comfort food is their Smoky Bacon Mac & Cheese. It starts by caramelizing some Applewood- smoked bacon in a sauté pan, then comes a touch of white wine, heavy cream, and shredded cheddar. Toss in the rigatoni pasta, dump into a casserole dish, then top with even more cheese and Ritz Cracker crumbs. Finish with a drizzle of butter, pop it in the oven for four minutes, and you'll have enough food for two meals, at half the price you'd expect to pay.

"We want you guys coming back time and time again. So your average entree is gonna be no more than $20 and your signature sandwiches, 10 to 12 bucks; appetizers that are huge and can be eaten as entrees, 9 to 10 bucks," Ricci said.

"The Greenside Grill is located at a country club but we are open to the public. We are open year round, so rain, snow, sleet, or shine, whether they're golfing or not, we're still here. We're pouring, we're cooking, we're eating."

You can find the Greenside Grille at the South Shore Country Club in Hingham, and online at greensidegrille.com.

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.

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