I'd better clarify a little for you before I, perhaps intentionally, give you the wrong idea. For Valentine's Day, we "matched" seven girls with five boys (Boy, did John Timothy appreciate the ratio) and went out on a "V-Day Uber Date" to Bistro 63 at The Monkey Bar. The Monkey Bar had a special Valentine's Day fixed-price couples menu in addition to their entire regular menu. The couples menu was $70 for your choice of a cup of soup, appetizer salad, special entrée, dessert and glass of champagne for each person. It was quite the bargain for the amount of food presented.
Before we placed our orders, we were delightfully surprised to receive bread baskets containing a bruschetta-like concoction, warm with pesto, melted feta, tomatoes and olive oil baked into it. It was a much-welcomed variation to the normal bread served at your average restaurant. Be assured that it disappeared quickly. Dana and I treated ourselves to the Bellini Cocktail of Italian Prosecco sparkling wine, peach vodka, and peach schnapps garnished with a lime ($7). I found that with every odd-numbered sip the drink was too strong to enjoy, but that the other half of the time it was just perfect. If you like peaches, this is the drink for you. If you don't, stay far, far away. My only qualm was the price. I didn't think it was worth seven dollars.
John and Dan ordered the couples menu, and of course proceeded to convince the waitress that they were really dating, which technically they were that night. They were each served the Lobster Corn Chowder ($3.50/cup), which was a very thick soup with a dollop of fresh lobster on top. It was too salty for John's taste. Other soups offered were the French Onion, the chicken and sausage Gumbo (which I thought was just okay) and the Native Butternut Squash that Lisa reported was very good. Dan ordered the Maytag Blue Cheese Salad with his meal. John recalled that Maytag makes washing machines and, while a correct assumption, Dan pointed out that "they also make a very fine cheese." When I remarked how great his salad looked, Dan's response was simply, "Yes, it's very … clean." John had the Caesar Salad, which he found to be overdressed and unexciting with romaine lettuce, dressing and little else.
The two vegetarian options were Ratatouille with Couscous ($12.95) and Pasta Primavera ($14). Ratatouille is a southern French dish traditionally composed of eggplant, zucchini, onions, peppers and tomatoes. With a name like Ratatouille with Couscous, one would assume that the dish is Ratatouille … with couscous; however, the Ratatouille was an abundance of couscous in a tomato sauce with just a handful of the summer squash, zucchini, red and green peppers, onions and green beans, which were offered as sides that night. Had I ordered the dish myself, I would have been quite upset that I was not actually served Ratatouille, but rather couscous with vegetables. Aside from the dearth of vegetables, the couscous was plump, creamy and very inviting. Regardless, the Monkey Bar should change the name of the dish in order to stop misleading its diners. The Pasta Primavera was good, but nothing to write home about.
I ordered from The Grill section of the menu, which allows you to choose a type of poultry, fish or red meat, a sauce for the meat, and two sides from among mashed potatoes, mixed greens and the daily vegetable(s). I selected the grilled salmon in the lemon white wine sauce with the mixed greens and vegetables ($19.95). Aside from being overpriced for what I was given, the dish was fantastic. The sauce was extremely lemony, but I love lemon with salmon so the flavor was welcomed with open arms … or mouth. If salmon could melt in my mouth, this one would. I loved it. The mixed greens were dressed (a little too heavily) in balsamic vinaigrette. The vegetables (see above for specifics) were delightful.
Dan's salmon from the Valentine's Day menu came with an Asian-style glaze that made the salmon literally slide right through my mouth before I had the chance to truly enjoy it. The glaze was sweet and substantial. Dan ordered the garlic mashed potatoes, which were solid. Nothing like my grandmother's, but still fine. John ordered the Rack of Lamb from the Valentine menu, which he reported as "not falling off the bone, but good," but he was not very excited about it and did not eat much of it. Brad ordered the Ahi Tuna Sashimi, a serving of a few very rare strips of tuna with a spring roll and Julienne vegetables. He ate every bite of it.
For dessert, Dana and I shared the Xango. The Xango is two spring rolls filled with banana caramel cheesecake over dusted cinnamon with raspberry sauce and, in my opinion, an insufficient amount of vanilla gelato. It was good, but again, not worth the $7.50. John had the Caramel Apple Pie, which was more of a cake than a pie, with big fun chunks of chewy apple. It was solid. Dan ordered the Tiramisu, which was good but not nearly as good as the more traditional version served up at Pasta E Basta.
Without question, the best part of the meal was the company. And the fact that our boisterous group of 12 disturbed all the intimate couples there to enjoy a romantic evening out. Oops.
When it all boils down, Bistro 63 at the Monkey Bar is overpriced for the amount of food and the quality of flavors. While the salmon dishes were very nice, other dishes like the Ratatouille, Ahi Tuna Sashimi and Pasta Primavera do not belong in the fine dining realm in which their prices place them. My salmon dish should have been $17, no more. Our desserts should have been $5.50 tops. Our drinks? Maybe $6. Next time I'm looking to fork out a pretty penny for a quality salmon dish, I'm more likely to spend the extra buck or two and go to Chez Albert or Carmelina's.
Send your comments to Leigh on her usual Valentine's Day date(s) at lfrivlin@amherst.edu.