Credit cards: MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover.
Access: Wheelchair ramp to enter; bathrooms handicapped-accessible.
SKY
120 Boston Post Road, Sudbury
(Route 20)
(978) 440-8855
Restaurant reviewed 01/23/98 by Linda Matchan
"Why is it fun American food?" my friend wondered aloud, reflecting on the "FUN AMERICAN FOOD" sign in the entryway of the 4-month-old Sky restaurant.
Why indeed? Since when is food inherently fun? (Dancing duck? Rolling ravioli?) Just what kind of fun can you expect from a place that serves an "exploding shrimp" appetizer, or "tricolor tortilla chips?"
"We hope people have fun in the entire experience," said Stephen Corcoran, Sky's president. The restaurant experience derives from Sky's dining "concept," Corcoran said. For 11 years, he managed restaurants for the Back Bay Restaurant Group and noticed "there were no casual, fun, moderately priced, quality food restaurants in the area."
When he spotted the future home of Sky - former site of numerous restaurants, including a Matt Garrett's - he knew he wanted to go after it. Large and spacious (with a bar, a lounge, two dining rooms, and a function room), it could be adapted to the simple, uncluttered design Corcoran had in mind. It also had a huge parking lot.
The hard part was finding a name that was - you guessed it - fun. "I didn't want something that was my last name, or my first name," he said. "That's pretty overdone. I wanted something clean and simple, bright and fun." He tried 200 different names. He tried Stars. He tried various planets. He almost went with Jupiter, but "Sky" just seemed to call out to him, with its infinite celestial design possibilities.
And so he created Sky, ordering up a blue and white sky-like ceiling, and stars for the walls and the waiters' T-shirts. Bread sticks arrive in star-shaped wicker baskets; a Wright brothers-esque model airplane hangs from the dining room ceiling.
The menu might best be described as playful. "We try to take traditional food and put a creative twist on it," said Corcoran, whose chef, Daniel Landry, worked at Blue Wave in the Back Bay.
Hence, appetizers include "Baja egg rolls" ($5.25), a wonderful cross-cultural item in which Chinese egg roll wrappers are stuffed with spicy chicken, cheese, roasted corn, and black beans; and "exploding shrimp" ($6.95), a festive-looking (if, alas, greasy) platter of huge shrimp rolled in confetti-like shredded phyllo dough.
There are surprises, too, even in the salads. Sky's version of house salad ($2.95) - so often mundane in medium-priced restaurants - was jazzy, featuring fresh tossed greens, thinly sliced red onions, and crumbled blue cheese with a refreshing balsamic dressing. An uncommon spinach salad ($4.95, $7.95) sported roasted red peppers, thin slices of prosciutto, and an adventurous gorgonzola pesto dressing.
Entrees tipped toward the high end of the cheap eaters' budget, with an 8-oz. filet mignon running at $15.95 and salmon at $13.95. So we looked toward the chicken dishes, pastas, and sandwiches. The lemon garlic roasted chicken was a huge portion for $9.95, a moist half-chicken flavored with rosemary and lemon and garlic and - best of all - served with the most amazing mashed potatoes. (The garlic-flavored, bumpy mashed potatoes definitely rule at Sky).
Jerk chicken ($9.95) was satisfying but a little less successful. The meal was a curious mix of influences - a too-mildly flavored Jamaican jerk chicken recipe, served with a Thanksgiving-esque cranberry pecan cornbread stuffing. We enjoyed the chicken cavatelle pasta ($9.95), sauteed chicken, spinach, and portobello mushrooms in a light and creamy sauce.
For those who prefer sandwiches or burgers, we were impressed by the open-faced crabmeat salad, at $6.95 a huge mass of crabmeat, topped with grilled cheese, and served on a bed of mesclun salad.
Parents take note: There is a children's menu, with all items (pasta, hamburgers, pizza, chicken tenders, peanut butter and jelly) priced at $4.95, including a drink and ice cream.
Desserts are above average. We loved the homemade taste of the apple blueberry crumble ($3.50). All in all - dare we say it? - the sky's the limit when it comes to what this restaurant has to offer the suburbs around Sudbury.
Tips & hits
