One of Vero’s top restaurants joined the summer dining wars for the first time last week, with a preemptive strike sure to cause heartburn to its leading competitors.
The Amalfi Grille, a superb restaurant on Miracle Mile, appears to have decided to put to rest its never-fully-deserved reputation for being a very-good-but-very-expensive place to dine.
It’s true that you can spend a fair bit of money at the Amalfi: A couple of Certified Angus Beef prime ribeyes and a bottle of a reserve wine, could quickly put you well into three figures. But at the same time, many of the veal, seafood and pasta items on the menu – as well as some nice wines (proprietor Bob Rose is not going to serve the cheap stuff) – have always been very reasonably priced.
Now, Rose has decided that the time has come to let more of the Vero world know how good dining can be at this fine restaurant.
For at least the summer, the Amalfi is offering – in addition to its regular menu – a 4 for $24 special menu: a prix fixe menu with a choice of appetizers, salads, entrées and desserts for only $24.
Best of all, this menu is available all evening, seven nights a week: No 5:15 cutoff; no one-day-a-week deals. Rose should have called this his 24/7 special.
When four of us arrived for a 7:30 reservation last Thursday, we were quickly shown to a booth along the wall of a restaurant that appeared two-thirds full.
For starters, we chose from a fried mozzarella appetizer and a seafood stuffed portabella mushroom.
While I really liked the fresh mozzarella, sliced and panko encrusted, served with a delicious house-made marinara sauce, I was outvoted by my companions who raved over the portabella, encrusted with crab and shrimp and baked, then topped with a sherry cream reduction. Very, very rich, and a very good start.
For salads, two of us chose a classic Caesar, and two chose the mixed green salad with either tropical or white balsamic vinaigrette.
Then came choosing from the eight entrees. I decided to try the baby back ribs, my husband went for the Tuscan meatloaf, one of our companions picked the veal Contadina and the other chose the cavatappi gamberi.
The slow-roasted baby backs, served with cole slaw and Amalfi’s amazing mac and cheese, were excellent, as was the veal scallopini sautéed in white wine with mushrooms and topped with aged prosciutto, sliced tomatoes and mozzarella, and served over penne.
But the two biggest hits at our table were the meatloaf – stuffed with cheddar cheese and served with garlic mashed potatoes – and the gamberi, pan seared gulf shrimp with portabella mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes and spinach, tossed with cavatappi pasta in a sinfully rich gorgonzola cream sauce. Wonderful.
Finally for dessert, we again split 50-50 – with two having the Amalfi’s excellent tiramisu and the others having a very nice tropical mousse cake with pineapple, mango and papaya, topped by a cream cheese frosting.
Inspired by our visit, two nights later three of us decided to return to sample the other entrées. (Hey, you can hardly prepare a dinner like this at home for $24, and think of the work.)
On this visit, I ordered the pork barsciola, my husband chose the Sicilian liver and onions, and our companion opted for the Beef Wellington.
My husband loved the preparation of the liver, lightly breaded and pan fried with balsamic caramelized onions topped with crispy pancetta. And my pounded pork tenderloin, rolled with pepperoni, garlic, parsley and parmesan cheese before being braised, then served over spaghetti topped with marinara, was also nice.
But best of the three may have been the Beef Wellington, sliced tenderloin with a mushroom duxelle wrapped in puff pastry, and served with a mushroom bordelaise sauce.
Before you get your heart too set on any of these, the special menu will change weekly (though we are told the meatloaf, the ribs with the mac and cheese, and the liver and onions will be among the constants).
But judging from these entrées, we would suggest: make a reservation. The Amalfi Grille will be making a lot of new friends this summer.
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.
