VERO BEACH — One of the things we value most in summer menus is flexibility. The more options a restaurant offers, the better. And the option we value most is a summer prix fixe that lets us dine at the hour of our choice.
The Melody Inn’s $23.75 summer dinner special, which we recently sampled, is one of the least restrictive of those being offered by Vero restaurants.
For starters, the summer menu includes a glass of quite decent wine – and if you happen to choose Tuesday (half-price wine night at the Melody Inn) for your visit, you get two glasses of wine included with the summer menu. Now that’s a deal!
The second ultra-liberal feature of the Melody Inn summer menu is there is no Cinderella hour.
Arrive whenever you want – 7, 8, any time before they close; there’s no cutoff.
So two Fridays ago, we presented ourselves at this attractive Old Europe restaurant – located just off the quaint Seminole Courtyard in downtown Vero – at around 7:30, and were promptly seated in their main dining room.
After our server had brought a basket of warm bread and glasses of an Italian pinot grigio and an Argentine malbec, we ordered our entrees.
I chose the pork tenderloin emince forestiere, my husband opted for the cordon bleu, and our companion ordered the breast of chicken Grenobloise.
My finely sliced pork tenderloin came sautéed with shallots and mushrooms in a very light Madeira wine sauce.
We find the sauces here always perfectly executed, and this evening was no exception.
My husband’s cordon bleu was a classic rendition of this dish, except made with pork instead of veal (you can substitute veal for the pork tenderloin for an additional $5).
The pork tenderloin escalope was filled with ham and Swiss cheese, lightly breaded, and sautéed to a golden brown.
My husband loves this dish.
Our companion’s lightly breaded chicken breast was nicely sautéed with herb butter, capers and lemon.
We also were pleased to see that three dishes we tried and loved last summer – the pork escalope Viennoise, the Swiss veal bratwurst, and the breast of chicken ‘Caprino’ – all remain on this summer’s special menu.
All entrées come with a choice of vegetables which include rosti potatoes (delectable crispy potato shreds), spätzle (the Alpine version of pasta), red cabbage, cold beets prepared in a vinaigrette, or the vegetable of the day (on our visit, tomato with spinach). The cabbage and cold beets are unbeatable.
For dessert, we concluded with a scoop of vanilla ice cream topped by Margaret’s special sauce, a heavenly blend of Swiss chocolate.
Dinner for two with the included glass of wine would run $50 before tax and tip.
Chef Margaret has been serving classic French Swiss dishes to South Floridians for a quarter century.
With a wait staff that aims to please, the Melody Inn is a great dining venue – and its summer menu with its flexibility makes a visit here an easy decision.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at tina@verobeach32963.com.
The reviewer is a beachside resident who dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.