AUBURN — AUBURN — Dining, like golfing  at Martindale Country Club, used to be reserved for hungry club members only. No more.
Members of  the public,  golfers and nongolfers alike,  are now invited to enjoy dinner and lunch at Grille Nineteen.

It has been the job of Mike Williams, Martindale’s food and beverage director, to make the restaurant public without sacrificing the quality of the food or service. “There is still some confusion about golfing and eating” at the club, he said, referring to the common perception of Martindale as a place for private golfing. But that perception is changing, as Martindale has made itself over, first by opening up to some public golfing, and now by opening up its food service to the public.

Jim Day, a co-owner of Martindale with partner Nick Glicos, hopes that local residents and people who work in the various industrial parks and businesses in south Auburn, will take advantage of Martindale’s food service. “They’re always my guest,” said Day about citizens curious about Martindale’s culinary offerings.

Day, Williams, and Martindale’s head chef Lemarck Lee, work together on the menu, which changes three times through the season (spring, summer and fall). The menu is expansive and creative. “First Tee” items include several appetizers in the $7 to $10 range, while “Greens & Water Hazards” are Martindale’s soups and salads. “Front Nine” menu items are less-expensive wraps and sandwiches, priced around $8, and the “Back Nine” is the dinner section, with larger entrees priced between $11 and $20.

However, if the regular menu doesn’t offer enough variety, there are also the monthly “Bistro Nights,” which are also now open to the public.  Bistro Nights are dining at its finest. For the last Bistro Night, the fixed menu included a summer succotash salad on bib lettuce, a choice of rosemary-encrusted rack of lamb or lobster thermidore, and a dessert of red, white and blue trifle (red-velvet cake with grand marnier and cream cheese stuffed strawberries).

“We have a lot of fun with those,” said Williams, who, like Day and Lee, seems to be a quintessential “foodie.”

“I’ll always see something on the Food Network, and come in the next day and say to Lemarck, ‘Hey, did you see that?’” said Day, about his own interest in the culinary arts. His inspiration for opening the restaurant to the pulblic, Day said, was his desire to make use of the incredible talents of Lee and Williams, which meant exposing them to more diners.

Lee has been cooking for nearly two decades, working for 10 years for the Marriott in South Portland before moving to Martindale nine years ago. When I asked Lee about the influence of cooking shows, he laughed. “Yea, we take a lot of inspiration, at least ideas or concepts, from the shows.” Right now, he said, since it is summertime, “we are working a lot with fresh seafood.” Before I left, Lee will cooked up a large batch of herb seafood penne, which includes Maine scallops, Maine shrimp and Maine lobster.

Lee works with a staff of 10 in the kitchen, and roughly another ten servers, who comprise the service staff. Many of the line cooks have come from the culinary programs at Lewiston High School or Southern Maine Community College, both Lee and Williams are quick to mention.

The attention brought to the restaurant has also had a positive effect on the quality of the food and service, said Williams. “We use all local seafood,” he said, “We use local ingredients where we can. And we’ve tried to include healthier options, like Asian broccoli instead of fries. And, what’s better, our members have seemed to like the changes.”

Grille Nineteen at Martindale is a full-service restaurant, offering lunch and dinner with a full bar, a dynamic wine list, and a large, raised deck for outdoor dining. The restaurant opens Monday through Friday at 11 a.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m. Grille Nineteen closes when the last golfer is off the course.

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