Century House takes American cuisine and updates it.
Schenectady Gazette - Caroline Lee (February 23, 2003)

The Century House has a long history, and a new chapter has recently been written. What husband Eric remembers as a stodgy old restaurant with relish trays being the height of sophistication has now been updated with a chef who emphasizes New American cuisine and old French technique.

Chef Kevin Philben, who was at Graham’s in Saratoga Springs, came to The Century House Restaurant about a year ago. He has brought the menu into the new century with such entrees as Adirondack trout stuffed with shallot, apple and wasabi ($16.95) replacing such outdated dishes as grilled pork chops.

The simplicity of the dishes belies the time, expertise and effort that go into preparing them. You can roast a chicken at home, but it’s not going to come out the way it does here.

The dining room was warm and welcoming on the arctic night we visited. And heated building would have done, but the dark paneling, brick walls, and blazing fire made it especially nice. The place was bustling with
party goers moving from the bar to the private rooms, and we asked for a table away from the lounge.

Meaty menu
The menu is heavy on meat, with three kinds of beef, a lamb rack ($21.95), veal Oscar ($19.95), roasted chicken ($15.95), and a roasted half duck ($19.95). In addition to the delicious sounding trout, there is Vermont maple glazed salmon ($16.95), scrod ($15.95), and sea bass ($17.95).

I was pleased to see pasta and grains on the menu. Risotto is paired with seafood ($18.95), and pasta dishes are served with shrimp or andouille sausage.

How particular is the kitchen? Greens, like the ones that made up my salad ($2.95), are a good test. I checked for limp leaves and browning at the cut end of the leaves or on the edges. If I wouldn’t serve it at home, then it doesn’t pass.

It passed, although the roasted shallot vinaigrette was way beyond me. I liked the grape tomato and the fried croutons made from leftover home-made bread. At home, I toss the greens with the dressing in a separate bowl before serving, and that’s the only thing I would have done differently.

Meanwhile, Angela was being dazzled by her grilled Mediterranean tart ($5.95), a strata of vegetables grilled and layered over a pastry.

In the stack, I saw red and green pepper, baby asparagus, yellow and green squash, seasoned with fresh basil and chives and served with a balsamic vinegar reduction. It was topped with lovely sage bread crumbs. Complicated, impressive, but not the highlight of the evening.

Let me tell you about the roasted chicken. A dainty, flavorful bird was halved and neatly trimmed of any small bones that would make it difficult to eat. Under the skin was a small amount of duxelle, a pate-like preparation made from chopped mushrooms and shallots, cooked in butter. Then the neat pieces were pan-seared and finished in the oven. This made the skin outrageously crisp without drying out the meat.

The Hunter sauce was a rich, dark gravy with mushrooms that packed a
lot of flavor. On the side was a baked potato and green beans with strips of red pepper and slices of fennel.

Flavorful chicken
How is my meal different from your takeout supermarket bird? Start with the free-range bird that has less meat but more flavor. There are no hormones, vitamins or chemicals used to make the chicken grow as quickly as possible. It runs around pecking at bugs and corn as chickens should do.

Probably when you were a kid, you ate chicken like that. Now it seems upscale, but it’s just the way chicken was before it was massed-produced. And it’s better.

The Vermont maple glazed salmon was equally elevated. Angela said: “You wouldn’t think maple and salmon would go together so well.” She enjoyed the same vegetables but had creamy mashed potatoes elegantly piped onto the plate.

I think the defining thing that characterizes the Century House restaurant now is that old familiar menu items are updated and made more interesting. Your parents will still love the place, but now you will too.

Homemade desserts
Now on to desserts. There are lots of homemade choices, and from them I picked the lemon tart ($4.95).

A small disc of pastry was filled with the most magnificent tart lemon stuff and topped with a perfect blackberry and some raspberries. As I savored the rich filling, I speculated as to how it was made. Completely opaque, unlike lemon curd, I thought maybe cream cheese or sour cream gave the filling such incredible body.

Philben said: “It’s all butter.” Well. No wonder it was so good. I don’t even want to speculate on the damage it caused.

Angela ordered the obligatory chocolate dessert, molten chocolate cake ($4.95). It was a small thing, rich and dense, and melty in the middle as promised. It was served over whipped cream with some delicious stuff called orange butter drizzled on the plate.

We both appreciated the sprigs of mint on our desserts.

Service in the dining room moves smoothly. Servers, if efficient, aren’t exactly warm. However, you certainly won’t feel neglected.

We thoroughly enjoyed our dinners, and encourage younger diners to visit and liven up the place a bit. This is not your parents’ Century House.

The tab for dinner with tax, tip, and lots of leftovers was $70.38.

Note: The Century House Restaurant is at 997 New Loudon Road in Latham. Phone 518.785.0834. Hours: Open for lunch from 11:00AM to 3:00PM Monday through Friday; dinner from 4:00PM-9:00PM Monday through Thursday; 4:00PM-10:00PM Friday and Saturday; and 1:00PM-9:00PM Sunday. The Restaurant is fully wheelchair accessible. Reservations accepted. Children’s menu available. Credit cards: MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Diner’s Club, Carte Blanche.