For whatever reason – certainly not culinary snobbery from Rick “Fast Food” Koster – the Groton Townhouse on Route 12 is one of those places that never really registered in my consciousness when we drove by.

Perhaps I’m distracted by the restaurant’s next-door proximity to Mynx, an “adult cabaret” where they fly banners announcing highlights like “Tuesday $2 Taco Night.” I know plenty of folks who otherwise wouldn’t set foot in a place like Mynx EXCEPT for their exemplary tacos, which, I hear, are crafted from recipes developed by chefs Alejandra Flores and Jorge Vallejo of Mexico City’s highly regarded Quintonil.

Then there are the other Mynx banners – the ones that inform us of impending guest appearances by touring entertainers with names like Buffy Cleavage.

See how distracting Mynx is?

It did finally register, though, that every time my wife Eileen and I pass Groton Townhouse, there are cars in the parking lot, and often it’s really crowded. This means citizens eat there and presumably enjoy doing so. It’s very close to the Naval Submarine Base, after all, and large neighborhoods of navy housing and young families.

In that spirit, and indeed if that demographic is well represented at the Townhouse, there’s no shortage of food options. The laminated plastic menus are about the size of, well, a Mynx banner. And here’s what the hungry customer must choose from:

There are 79 breakfast options (not counting sides); 89 sandwiches; 14 salads; and 95 entrees divided among sauté or Italian specialties, chicken dishes, pasta, “From the Broiler” and “Surf and Turf,” fresh seafood and dinner specials. Every day, there are also different lunch specials and chef’s choice dinner options.

These figures are not exaggerated for purposes of wit.

Walking into the large restaurant, you face a giant wishing well full of coins tossed there for purposes of a charitable organization. The hostess/checkout counter is on the left, and straight ahead is an old-school diner counter with stools. To the left is the dining room proper: expansive on the left and with windows facing out to the parking lot, and with a narrower, adjunct space to the right. The high ceiling has a sort of A-frame construction with a dropped level panel running down the center of the space. Walls are a mellow yellow with patterned carpet that probably helps keep conversation din to a minimum.

Here's what I think, and some of this is based on years I spent eating in similar places whilst traveling in bands – everything from hotel dining rooms, IHOPS and Denny’s, obsolete chain steakhouses like Bonanza, and stand-alone family joints in small towns.

Groton Townhouse fulfills a vital community role and provides a reliable and comfortable spot that’s close and has plenty of options for virtually any appetite across the family spectrum. I wouldn’t describe it as cheap, but it’s not outrageous.

Over the course of a few visits – during which our service was professional and quick and pleasant – here are dishes we tried, starting with a few choices from the entrée/dinner section. These were tasty and a lot of food, but as you start to climb into the $20 range, expectations are a little higher.

Chicken Francoise ($20.65) – Two very large, boneless chicken breasts, lightly dusted with flour and sauteed in butter, lemon and white wine, then draped over a mound of nicely prepared linguini. The chicken was tender, and I enjoyed the flavor of the dish, but the sauce was watery. It came with a cup of excellent chicken noodle soup.

Cheese Ravioli ($19.25) – Again, for a selection from the “higher end” portion of the menu, this dish was basically fine. There were about ten huge discs of al dente pasta filled with ricotta cheese, nestled in a serviceable tomato sauce. It made two meals for Eileen, and she threw in some spinach and cherry tomatoes to bolster the leftovers. The menu states it comes with soup or salad, but she wasn't given a choice. She received the same chicken noodle soup, which I then ate because I’m not a vegetarian.

I think we were more satisfied with our lunch/sandwich explorations. To wit:

Egg Salad Sandwich ($10.75 as a platter with fries and cole slaw; $7.95 on its own) – This, sayeth Eileen, was the egg salad sandwich of her youth: lightly toasted bread, crispy iceberg lettuce, thin slices of tomato and a mélange of chopped hardboiled egg and a homey, mayo-based dressing.

“This honestly took me back to childhood and those rare family outings to dine,” she says. “Thoroughly enjoyable and satisfying.”

Philly Steak Sandwich ($12.55) – My friend and Day colleague Erica Moser is from Pennsylvania and refused to eat one of these anywhere BUT Philly. I’ll show her! Actually, this was very good – at least as far as I’m concerned. Heaped on a fresh sub roll was plenty of shredded, lean and tasty steak, tangy grilled peppers (I left off the onions), and rich American cheese. It was served with a million of those (admittedly frozen but great anyway) crinkle-cut fries.

Cobb Salad ($14.05) – This was an A-plus effort. Plenty of farm-fresh designer lettuce leaves, crisp tomato slices, hard-boiled egg quarters, crumbled and smoky bacon, daubs of tangy avocado and a snowfall of blue cheese. Comes with walnuts but I asked they be left off. With a side container of more blue cheese dressing, and a method of stabbing my fork randomly through the orderly presentation to ensure each bite was different, I was well pleased.

You can get beer and wine at the Townhouse, and there are several varieties of pies and cakes in a display case to assuage your sweetness demands. I’m not sure what my preconceptions were about Groton Townhouse – I don’t think I had any; I just didn’t think about the place, period – but it’s a worthy addition to the community’s culinary scene.

Cuisine: Everything in the world. Sorta. The menu is vast and eager to please a wide demographic.

Service: Professional and quick; pleasant

Hours: 6 a.m.-9 p.m. daily

Atmosphere: Comfortable and with plenty of space for large families and gatherings as per the requirements from the nearby Naval community.

Handicapped access: Very spacious layout.

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