My Brothers’ Place: The New Lord of the Rings

Published on Sunday, 29 August 2010 01:13

Written by Randy Garbin

Onion rings. Thanks to some genius, most places now serve those awful, bloated, pillow-​like “beer-​battered” onion rings. Everywhere from Applebee’s to Tipsy McStagger’s Olde Time Drinking Emporium serves them straight from the Sysco catalog.

So, when you actually find some hand-​made rings cut with ample slices of onions, you’ve found a true delight, and you will find them at My Brothers’ Place in Webster, Massachusetts. Indeed, I’ve gone a long time since I’ve had good rings like these. The last time I remember having anything like these, they came from Relish, the diner/​restaurant in Brooklyn’s hip Williamsburg section. Crispy, lightly battered, and tasting like something much more pleasant than the Fryolater from which they came, those rings — and those I just had from My Brothers’ Place — reminded me what a delicacy true, properly made onion rings represented.

Not that it ends there. I can also recommend the tender fried clams, thick, creamy clam chowder, and the tenderloin tips, which the Family Roadside all enjoyed on this visit. I washed my tenderloin tips down with a frosty glass of locally-​brewed Sherwood Forest ale make it all worth a 50-​mile trip, which we happily drove out from our base in Springfield.

Barry Henley takes a breather and shares a good diner story with us.

Anyone who’s frequented diners in central Massachusetts might know the man responsible for this feast. Barry Henley has worked behind the counter at the Blue Moon Diner in Gardner during the Skip Scipione days and helped with the first restoration of the now-​dormant Timmy’s Diner in Framingham. Barry has criss-​crossed this part of Massachusetts working in various kitchens in various restaurants and has long wished to own his own diner.

My Brothers’ Place might not turn heads from the roadside. In fact, it’s all-​too-​easy to miss. Barry works his magic inside a fairly nondescript, vinyl-​clad structure not much larger than the Worcester diner he covets. Inside, the atmosphere leaves a much warmer impression. MBP has a small counter as well as four booths and a smattering of tabled seating in the small space.

When looking for My Brothers’ Place, be sure not to blink too often. You might miss it.

Full disclosure time: Barry’s a long-​time friend of Roadside. I’ve long rooted for Barry and hoped he’d land in another diner at some point. The last time he served me a meal came back in the mid-​1990s when he worked at the Moon, but we’ve corresponded ever since. As a result, I can’t say that I came incognito with the intent to write a totally objective and scrutinizing review. I told Barry I would finally pay a visit after 13 months of operation, and I’m happy to say that no part of the visit disappointed me. Knowing Barry as I do, I hardly expected it would.

Besides, even if Barry had an off day and wrecked something else, I’d still come back for those onion rings.

Don’t pass the place by. It’s an easy on-​off from exit 2 on I-​395. From there, turn east onto Route 16, 144 Gore Road in Webster, Massachusetts. You’ll find it open most days for lunch and dinner. Call (508) 949‑2433 for more information and directions.