What do Vero’s top restaurants have in common? This season, the best ones all seem to have taken their performance to an even higher level.
Nowhere is this more true than at the Amalfi Grille, a superb restaurant on Miracle Mile. And the Amalfi, like the two or three others we would put in this rarified category, is playing to packed houses night after night.
Fortunately, we had a reservation this past Friday, and were quickly shown to a comfortable booth along the west wall. Our server Dana took our drink order, and returned with a basket of warm bread and a tasty dipping sauce, as well as olive oil (which I prefer).
For starters on this evening, we decided to order three appetizers for the table and share. Since this was the first time at Amalfi for our guest, we absolutely had to introduce him to one of our long-time favorites, the calamaretti Amalfi ($14) – calamari very lightly fried with cannelloni beans and cherry peppers in a lemon and white wine sauce.
For the other two, proprietor Bob Rose nominated two of the evening’s specials: the oysters blue bayou ($15), and the Ducktrap River smoked salmon ($14).
If you believe that starting with the best ingredients is the sine qua non of a fabulous dish, smoked salmon simply doesn’t get any better than that created by Ducktrap River – and the sliced salmon was served with a homemade remoulade sauce, diced red onion, hardboiled egg, and capers with toasted crostinis. Sinful.
As for the oysters, these fresh shucked Connecticut blue points were topped with gorgonzola cheese, Nueske’s Applewood smoked bacon, leeks, and were topped with panko bread crumbs. A fabulous preparation.
For entrées, I ordered the Chilean sea bass ($36), my husband chose the veal chop ($49), and our companion decided to put Amalfi to the test by trying the pollo parmigiana ($21).
Needless to say, Amalfi passed the chicken parm test with flying colors. And the two specials were superb.
The sea bass, which couldn’t have been fresher, was cooked perfectly, served over a luscious shrimp and black truffle risotto with grilled black oyster mushrooms, and topped with a drizzle of lemon thyme olive oil. And the grilled 14 ounce veal chop was as tasty and tender as you could possibly hope, served with a wild mushroom marsala and garlic mashed potatoes and asparagus.
For dessert – which are always wonderful here – we enjoyed a slice of the caramel brownie cake ($10.50).
While proprietor Rose usually suggests a Barolo or a Super Tuscan from his excellent wine list to accompany our meals, on this evening decided to go separate ways and ordered wines by the glass ($10 to $12) – which turned out to pair very nicely with the dishes we subsequently chose.
Dinner for two with a mid-range bottle of wine can run anywhere from $120 to $180 before tip. With a great bottle of wine, it can come to considerably more.
The Amalfi Grille, currently open seven nights a week, has put together that winning combination of great food expertly prepared, fabulous service and a proprietor who cares. At the moment, those qualities place it near the pinnacle of the Vero dining pyramid
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at [email protected].
The reviewer dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of Vero Beach 32963.
