VERO BEACH — For our final review of summer dining specials (can we possibly be only two days away from September?), we visited Ristorante di Mare, a South Beach bistro specializing in Mediterranean cuisine from the French and Italian Rivieras.
The summer deal at di Mare is that until 6 p.m., you can enjoy a soup or salad plus a choice of a half dozen entrées for $16, accompanied by a glass (or glasses) of house wine for $4 each.
Arriving at 5:45 last Friday evening, our party of four was seated at a pleasant table by the front window, and our server quickly brought a complementary plate of bruschetta topped with chopped tomato and basil and a basket of freshly baked rolls.
For starters, we passed on the pasta fagioli (di Mare’s rendition of the traditional peasant Italian pasta and bean soup is good, but it seemed a bit heavy for a hot summer’s night), and we all ordered salads.
Two of us opted for di Mare’s mixed green salad, and two for its classic Caesar with anchovies.
Along with our first course, we took advantage of their summer menu wine prices. Two of us ordered pinot grigio and two chose chardonnay (generous pours for the price of $4).
For entrées on this evening, I ordered the snapper picatta, my husband chose the veal picatta, one of our companions opted for the filet au roquefort, and the other picked the shrimp fra diavolo.
Additional summer menu choices include chicken Marsala and pasta Bolognese.
My snapper was very lightly coated and sauteed in a light lemon butter and caper sauce.
My husband’s dish – thin slices of tender veal – was prepared exactly the same way. Both dishes turned out to be excellent renderings of the piccata preparation and were accompanied by sides of jasmine rice and al dente vegetables.
The shrimp fra diavolo featured nice large shrimp served over a bed of fettuccine in a fra diavolo sauce.
The filet medallions came to the table medium, exactly as ordered, in a tasty Roquefort sauce.
Delicious.
While the summer menu, at $16, does not include dessert, we knew that all dieting was off when we heard that the selection of desserts – where di Mare excels – on this evening included baba au rhum.
This Italian cake, made from batter even richer than brioche batter, is saturated in rum, and the baba was brought to the table topped by a generous dollop of whipped cream.
Di Mare’s version of a baba was the best we have had since our last visit to Ferrara’s in New York’s Little Italy.
When you dine at di Mare, you absolutely, positively have to try the baba if it is available.
The summer menu for two, with a glass of wine each, is going to run you $40 before tax and tip.
We’re not going to tell you what the desserts cost, since they are not part of the summer menu.
Even dining at this early hour, we were able to enjoy the unobtrusive piano stylings of Johnny Nick that waft through the restaurant – at just about the perfect level to not disrupt table conversation – from di Mare’s usually quite lively lounge which has music on both Friday and Saturday.
Di Mare is now finishing up its third year on South Beach in a block where three other restaurants have come and gone in that time.
If you conclude chef Jean Zana and his wife Edyta must be doing something right, we would agree.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at tina@verobeach32963.com.
The reviewer dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.