Mountain View Brasserie – October 2016 (dt)

7.18 – 7.5, 7.5, 7.25, 7.25, 7.25, 7, 6.5

Another Monteverdean feint not only featured an individual pick but also a close-to-home choice. I think I heard only cheers as we turned left at Mountain View Brasserie.

In case anyone might not have noticed, we visited Freehold Country Inn four times with the Buel-Suhner connection. And this evening marked the tenth time the Brasserie has allowed DP8 to experience its fine fare. I almost could write nothing and the reader knows what to expect. But…

A starting soup or salad comes with the entrée, thus diminishing the appetizer urge. The vegetable beef barley soup attracted three of us – a testimony to our regard for good soup, and satisfying for Don, Kriss, and Deb K.

            The other four enjoyed the house salad – a basic but worthy starter.

Entrées consisted of:

            Green beans and carrots came as a side, and the usual choices of baked or au gratin kept us satisfied.

Dessert snared a few.


Five minutes upon our seating, two silver trays filled with slices of French bread, accompanied by whipped butter, were set—a long tradition we enjoy.

The drink order consisted of a soda, followed by the six imbibers of red: first, a bottle of Norton Ridge 2013 Russian River Pinot Noir and, second, a bottle of Domaine Delagrange Hautes 2013 Cotes de Beaune, both indicative of their respective areas.

Service is as expected at Brasserie – our benchmark to compare other places. And Cin is a favorite – excellent service and timing, catching up on families, etc. Water was a little slower than usual in being replenished. And entrées which usually arrive at about the hour mark needed an additional fifteen minutes, and feeling like a lag. Brasserie was busy, as busy as a weekend.

            Ken thought the coffee tasted like the water – in need of improvement.

            And, Tim, no mashed potatoes for you.

Usually we sit in the back banquette corner but this night we were placed by the front windows, giving a little different perspective. The wainscoting on the front side wall is broken up by the two panels of French-theme blocks of cloth. And four tall windows of two-over-two, set under ten smaller frosted windows, created a different world than usual for those facing them. Of course, for those with backs to the windows, the view was of the spread of diners.

            The rest is the usual, and past reviews will give that flavor.

The final bill, including all, came to $114 per couple.

We met at the Monteverd house, on our newly revised pre-session routine (half-hour-ish, very light on the snacks). A pineapple bowl of nuts, candy corn, and chocolate malt balls graced the counter. Ken made sure all had beer or wine or soda.

            Leaving the house at about 6:50, we kept wondering where Ken and Kriss might be taking us, some place new? Or, the Pub? nah. Ruby’s? Not on a Wednesday.

Topics of discussion in the car or at the house: DP8 on a Wednesday; Deb’s art trip to southern France (the reason for DP7 this evening) and the recent photos she had sent; the Quinn wedding; a bad back; a trip to western NY; golf; good weather the past month; car shows; DP8 November date on Sunday before Thanksgiving; timing of Monteverd departure south; noticeable by its absence was no political talk, something to appreciate after one of the lowest weeks in any political campaign we can remember; the doings of our children; their jobs; battening down the hatches for winter coming; the whereabouts of Tim & Judy, Lynda & Ross, Kerry & Julie, and Dennis; and more that elude my grasp a few days after the fact.

            We forgive you, Ken and Kriss, for all your worries about destination.