A Review of Cottage Restaurant and Café, in Plainville A restaurant that has flourished for 17 years must be doing something right. Cottage Restaurant and Café, in Plainville, does numerous things right, and its primary drawback - overly generous portions that some may find off-putting - is something many diners will enjoy. Cottage's interior approaches the antiseptic, with taupe walls, dark wainscoting and a dearth of decoration, but that is easily overlooked, given the colorful nature of so many of its dishes. Patty Queen, with 32 years of kitchen experience, is Cottage's executive chef and a co-owner of the restaurant with her brother Dave Queen, who serves as bartender; and her mother, Dorothy Queen, the hostess. Several of Cottage's dishes are prepared with just enough frills to complement the main ingredients without overwhelming them. Such was the case with an appetizer of ginger-fried calamari. Its circular slices were dredged in flour, delicately deep-fried and arranged around a small salad of red pepper, carrots, daikon and scallion. An entree of organic salmon, well marinated with lemon and dill and latticed with grill marks, reflected similar restraint. The large square fillet was flaky, moist, dotted with capers and paired with mashed potatoes (pleasingly seasoned with dill, scallions, parsley and a dash of sour cream) as well as single slices of grilled yellow squash, zucchini, eggplant and tomato. It was straightforward enough to allow each component on the plate to shine. A cranberry salad included a garden of delightful ingredients - dried cranberries, arugula, radicchio, green-leaf lettuce, toasted pine nuts, spiced pecans, roasted sweet potatoes, thin cuts of Asian pear and crumbled goat cheese - with only the oily sweet potato seeming out of place. In pulled-pork-and-fried-oyster sliders, Patty Queen has hit on an unexpectedly winning combination, one further enhanced by corn relish, fried pickles and a mildly zesty pepper aioli. Two of these double-size sliders would make a fun but filling appetizer; the kitchen goes further by providing three. Chili-rubbed shrimp, another starter, was expertly grilled, with crispy edges and moist, peppery flesh, perched on a mound of vinegared vegetables tucked into iceberg wedges. Such massive servings, even when shared, don't leave much appetite for entrees. Given the ample size of those entrees, the best approach may be to skip the appetizers altogether. Certainly a meal could be made of grilled lamb kebab, which consisted of three skewers of meat pounded flat and flavored with lemon and mint and an enormous yogurt-and-feta-dressed salad of grilled eggplant, roasted red pepper, arugula, cherry tomatoes and chickpeas, all on a bed of large-kernel couscous. The same might be said of MarWin Farm duck two ways. In addition to the lime-marinated breast meat and competently prepared confit of leg, there were so many items crowding the plate (whipped avocado, burger-size bean and yam cake, watermelon pico de gallo, roasted pasilla-pepper coulis, chimichurri sauce) that it was difficult to appreciate any one of them. The Cottage's kitchen is clearly talented, but greater restraint might allow its efforts to shine all the more. An entree of slow-roasted beef short ribs was as varied and copious a plate as the duck. The meat was so extraordinarily succulent, steeped in cumin and other spices, and falling off the bone, that it stood out well above the accompaniments - blue corn tortilla chips, pinto beans, tempura-fried avocado, pico de gallo and coleslaw. Baby back ribs, a special, were equally tender, though the meat was laced with too much fat and overloaded with a dense sauce. Sweet potato fries were better but, because they were nestled under the ribs, quickly grew soggy. The best things on the plate were twin balls of fried creamed corn, prepared with onions and béchamel, that were surprisingly light and savory. Similarly, the accompaniments of crunchy-crusted corn pudding, a superb oven-dried-tomato relish and gently sautéed red Swiss chard were the highlights of an entree of Maryland-style crab cake that tasted more like fish than crab. If you still have room for dessert after all that, Cottage offers several fine choices. The house specialty, apple fritters, were two crispy balls studded with diced apple and a whiff of cinnamon. A Key lime tart draped in a rhubarb-strawberry compote had a crunchy, nutty graham-cracker crust that almost stole the show. And a coconut cheesecake, with the same graham-cracker crust and modestly endowed with coconut (and a hint of white chocolate), was a delicious model of simplicity. Cottage Restaurant and Café 427 Farmington Avenue Plainville (860) 793-8888 cottagerestaurantandcafe.com THE SPACE The dining room, separated from the entrance by a shoulder-high privacy barrier, is underdecorated and drab, giving an institutional feel to this 50-seat restaurant. THE CROWD Largely people in their 60s and older on weeknights, with a broader clientele on weekends, including middle-age couples and even a few children. Efficient, welcoming service. THE BAR A separate alcove to the right of the entrance, with 6 stools at the diminutive counter and another 20 seats at tables. Around 30 wines by the bottle, $18 to $79, and a reserve list of 10 wines ranging from $160 to $285 (for a 2008 Opus One cabernet sauvignon); around 20 by the glass, from $6 to $13. Around 20 beers, including 2 on draft, $3.25 to $8. THE BILL Dinner appetizers, $3.50 (for soup) to $13; salads, $7 to $10; main courses, $20 to $35; desserts, $8. WHAT WE LIKED Grilled chili-rubbed shrimp, pulled-pork-and-fried-oyster sliders, ginger-fried calamari, cranberry salad with mixed greens; beef short ribs, marinated grilled salmon, grilled lamb kebab; Key lime tart, coconut cheesecake, apple fritters. IF YOU GO Lunch: Tuesday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dinner: Tuesday through Saturday, 5 to 9 p.m. Closed Sunday and Monday. Reservations accepted; plentiful parking in the back.