Art's Jug, Watertown, does it all. From the cozy bar to the extremely casual dining rooms to the frozen dinners available for pickup to the outstanding meals, this restaurant is covering all the bases. Dress is whatever you feel like throwing on, but the cuisine is decidedly less informal.

We chose our appetizers based on our particular fancies that night.
Bypassing shrimp cocktail, hot poppers and clams casino, we went instead for a couple of dishes that are more difficult to find.

Oysters Rockefeller always makes me feel extravagant; these were no different. The oyster itself plays a small part in the charm of this dish, aside from providing the craggy shell in which this delicacy is housed. A regal stuffing of spinach, bread crumbs, butter, bacon, mushrooms and herbs with hollandaise sauce spooned over it creates a fabulous and rich treat.

A suave shrimp pesto blew me away. The cream-based pesto sauce sang of basil, pine nuts and olive oil for a heady rush. The creamy pesto was lavishly ladled over angel hair pasta, roasted red peppers and tiny, plump shrimp. The exotic taste of the sauce was mesmerizing. The shrimp were juicy, just wonderful, not what I expected. This generous appetizer was noshed on by four people until it disappeared.

Less unusual were the baked chicken wings and drumsticks, basted with a sweet, tangy barbecue sauce. The flesh on the chicken bones was plentiful. The sauce added a warm messiness.

Salads and bread were served next. The loaf of good bread had a flour-dusted, crusty exterior and viable nooks creating an interesting texture.

Salads were simple, boring iceberg and well-traveled, refrigerated tomatoes. Dressings were impressive: Bacon ranch was the best, with a smoky, herbed essence. The peppercorn Parmesan coming in second was hot and creamy. The raspberry vinaigrette was fruity and tart.

Our success with appetizers had us anticipating the main courses, but little did we know how good they would be. Scallops, broiled in butter, had a nutty taste; judicious use of clarified butter resulted in an exciting depth of flavor.

Flounder was stuffed with a sensibly herbed dressing. This fish was prepared with consideration; broiling the mild-mannered fish in butter browned its edges and gave most bites a crispy accent. A side of pasta came with an acidic red sauce.

A cheeseburger ordered from the children's menu was done to death. I'm sure it's safer for kids, but well-done beef is pretty tough. The fries were toasty and golden brown. Overall, the meal was decent, definitely a favorite of Art's Jug's smaller diners.

A tender filet of beef was absolutely flooded with crab meat, grilled canned mushrooms and buttery, rich bearnaise sauce. The beef in the filet maison was tender and flavorful, and the crab was well- suited as its mate. The mushrooms suffered due to the canned flavor.

Roasted red potatoes, as a side dish, were bland and mushy; they lacked a crisp, roasted outer skin.

Split large shrimp, breaded, fried and covered with provolone and red sauce, were known as shrimp Parmesan. The taste was classy: juicy shrimp, herbed bread crumbs, smoky provolone and a sweetly simple tomato sauce. Accompanying mashed potatoes were dry and crumbly.

We had to try the pizza, so we voted on Attillio's pizza, a white, super garlicky pizza dotted with broccoli, red pepper and mushrooms. The crust was splendid, the pastry an amazing combination of crisp and thick. Unanimous approval met this meal.

After all those richly seasoned meals, sensible diners would lean toward simple sweets to finish.

Not us.

Apple crumb, served warm, showcased tender apples barely covered with butter and brown sugar.

Peanut butter cake was the dream-come-true of every child who ever wanted to eat the icing straight from the bowl, forgoing the cake. A thin chocolate cake layered with creamy peanut butter was surrounded by a desperately thick layer of fudgy chocolate frosting. Peanuts and chocolate sauce on top finished the preparation.

Reese's peanut butter pie had basically the same combination as the above, but managed to retain a separate personality. Its sweet pastry crust and dark, semisweet chocolate filling topped with a chewy, super-sweet peanut butter layer worked toward this end. Whipped cream, chocolate shavings and peanut butter chips top this treat.

The carrot cake was wonderful. A gingery, moist layer cake was iced with a cream cheese frosting that had been whipped into a frenzied airiness, heavenly and smooth. All this was decorated with thin white-chocolate fans.

When we entered the restaurant, a party of 30 was finishing up their dinners. Many of the dining room tables were filled already, so we were nervously expecting to be ignored. Such was not the case. We received professional, helpful, companionable service, as did everyone else at Art's Jug.

The waitresses worked in concert to meet diners' needs, food was delivered in a most timely manner and refills of soda and beer were immediate.

Overall, the food is quite special. I fear that the salads and the starchy sides are a concession to diners' expectations that if they are paying for a dinner, a salad - any salad - and potatoes should be included in the price. I saw them as sour notes compared to the magnificent dinners.

Your Art's Jug visit can begin on the Internet at www.artsjug.com, where you can visit state agencies, newspapers and television Web sites, read local news and check the weather before you check out the menu.

Art's Jug, 820 Huntington St., 782-9764, is open from 4 to 10:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 4 to 11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 3:30 to 9:30 p.m. Sundays.

Dining areas are smoke-free; smoking is allowed in the lounge. Wheelchair access is provided. Credit cards are accepted. 

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