A sports bar that can cook

Sonny's Pub and Restaurant is a sports bar with a restaurant that actually serves good food. The left side of the place is devoted to sports: a long bar with several televisions over it and a couple of larger screens at the end. There are lots of beers on tap and in the bottle, and the walls are covered with sports memorabilia, from Larry Bird posters to Nomar's framed jersey. Like any good Dorchester pub, there are dart boards in the back and Keno machines in the front. An entire wall is covered with framed Irish coats-of-arms. The right side of the room bears a nautical theme, with whale models and pictures of sailing ships and lighthouses. Even the corn bread that arrives warm, with other homemade rolls, is shaped like a sand dollar.

A couple of years ago, the Elia family remodeled the place, which has been owned and operated by three generations of Elias, starting in 1968. Today, Sonny's son, Richard, and grandson, Matt, run the place, with talented chef Maghdy Wasif, an Egyptian, in the kitchen. ("We call him Mike," says Richard Elia.) Wasif has updated the menu, and he's the one who makes the from-scratch corn bread, which is light, moist, and, amazingly, doesn't crumble when you butter it. The crescent rolls are also homemade and delicious. The kitchen cuts its own meat and makes its own various dough and sauces.

We started with the pub appetizer platter ($8.95), which should be renamed heart-attack heaven; it includes the usual suspects such as mozzarella sticks, buffalo chicken wings, potato skins, onion rings, and, for a healthy change, carrot sticks with blue-cheese dressing. All of the offerings are well-prepared and, remarkably, not greasy. The batter on the rings is light and dry, and the potato skins contain lots of real crushed bacon bits, not the phony stuff from a jar. But the winning appetizer is found on the daily specials: Jack Daniels sesame chicken strips ($6.95), which manage to be tender and crispy at the same time, lightly glazed with a mildly sweet sauce.

One of the house favorites is the lamb shank, which often appears on the list of daily specials. We had it for lunch one day: For the absurdly low price of $5.95, we got tender lamb falling off the bone, served with a blend of carrots and onions that was almost stewlike. It came with a choice of potato, and you can't go wrong with any of the options, be it mashed, oven-roasted, or twice-baked. We liked the crispiness of the thinly sliced oven-roasted potatoes the best, cooked with skins on and sprinkled with just enough salt. The entree specials also include a second vegetable, such as green beans or squash.

Another standout is the chicken curry ($6.95 at lunch, $9.95 at dinner). Medallions of chicken and ample mushrooms float in a curry sauce whose heat may make you reach for your handkerchief. If you like curry, you'll like this dish. The creamy mashed potatoes make a perfect companion for the ample curry sauce.

One low note was the swordfish shish kebabs ($5.95 at lunch). They were bland and tough, as if they had been sitting in the freezer for awhile. A better bet is the fried scrod ($8.95), which is fresh, moist, and lightly battered. It comes with potato and, on this particular day, a ratatouille with summer squash, zucchini, caramelized onions, and red peppers, all simmered and tender.

Sonny's makes its own crust for its pizza and calzones, which range from $3.75 for a small cheese to $9 for a large Sonny's Special, which includes mushrooms, onions, peppers, ham, sausage, and pepperoni.

Go figure, but one of our friends is mad for the grilled cheese: for $2.95, she always gets it on dark rye, lightly buttered, with pickles and a helping of oven-roasted potatoes. For 55 cents more, it comes with sliced tomatoes.

The top sirloin ($6.95 at lunch) arrived rare, when it was ordered medium rare. But it was whisked back to the kitchen and returned just right. With grilled onions and mushrooms, it was tasty enough, though it is not the greatest cut of meat.

Desserts are fair, but you probably won't have room for them anyway. (You see most people leaving here with doggy bags). Apple crisp with ice cream ($2.95) was undistinguished and should have been served warm. The bread pudding ($1.25) was so-so, and not really worth the calories.

Sonny's also offers pasta and Italian entrees and serves a huge platter of an Irish breakfast all day: $8.95 gets you four eggs, bacon, sausage, black and white puddings, beans, home fries, grilled tomato, and toasted brown bread, while $6.95 gets you a smaller portion. A new entree that we'll try next time -- a friend recommended it -- is the barbecued "hawg's" wings ($8.95), a lean but juicy pork offering.

For the house bargain, try the specials offered until 6 p.m. Monday through Wednesday. For $5.95, you get an entree, with your choice of jello or pudding or a cup of soup, plus potato and vegetable. It will likely last you two meals for double the pleasure.