Mountain View Brasserie #11 – February 2017 (dt)
7.36 – 8, 8, 7.7, 7.5, 7.5, 7.2, 7, 6

Mountain View Brasserie hit all our sweet spots – close to home, a snow-laden February evening, and dining pleasing to the soul. Our third of three stay-close-to-home, support-local dinners (after November’s New York Restaurant in Catskill, and January’s Vince Anna’s in South Westerlo) found DP8 finishing at our culinary epicenter.

There is plenty to savor on the regular menu but once again the specials lured us (three regular menu selections first) (wording from online):

• Grilled New York Strip Steak Glazed with Herb Butter (Chay: ordered medium-well, and most of it was)
• Maryland Crab Cakes with Lobster Sauce (Deb K)
• Chicken Parmesan with Tomato Basil Sauce and Fresh Mozzarella Cheese served with Linguine (Julie: everything delicious)
• Roast Half Duck with a Raspberry Sauce (Kerry)
• Sauteed Veal Chop with a Mushroom Demi-Glace (Mark: outstanding)
• Corn Risotto with Roasted Sea Scallops and White Truffle Oil (Joyce, Deb T, Don: drool)

            Each entrée was deemed worthy to outstanding. And most were accompanied by MVB’s trademark au gratin potato and haricot vert.

Starting the evening, minutes after seating, came the placement of two baskets of sliced French bread, accompanied by two ramekins of softened carved butter.

Seven of us opted for the accompanying house salad, with larger plates than usual, with greens sidling up to slices of tomato and cukes, with shreds of carrot, with choice of dressing. A spin from the Laura’s pepper shaker topped a few plates. It was a different salad from usual, with different greens, and perhaps a bit dry for some.
            The sole soup selector thought it fine. (There were a couple who might have chosen soup but like something more adventuresome than tomato basil bisque.)

Dessert almost passed us by but Julie needed moral support. Don and Deb split the Godiva chocolate sorbet (good, for something different) and Julie ordered the same, claiming Kerry might share.
            Chay and Mark finished with black Sambuca, and the rest were sated, opting for no more.

Delivery of wines to the table took a little while. A bottle of Domaine de Montvac 2013 Vacqueyras and one of Mauro Veglio 2014 Barbera d’Alba kept the thirsts of the five red drinkers satisfied for the evening, with a nod given to the Barbera. Don ordered the special of the evening, the Champagne Chambord Cocktail, consumed a third before it fell under Deb’s control. Otherwise, soda and/or water filled the rest of the drink order.
            (Afterward, doing a little research at home, I repeat that MVB has one of the lowest wine mark-ups at any restaurant we visit. MVB typically is 100%-150% over our retail, instead of the more typical 200%-300% at almost everywhere else. Both wines were reasonably rated wines, something we do not usually drink, or choose to afford to drink, on DP8 nights.)

Ambiance can be retold from past write-ups. Still, the pleasant pastel yellow and blue motif, the recessed booths, the north wall banquette, white cloth lamp shades for table centerpieces catch the eye. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves to admire Terry’s decorating.

Service from Laura was good – personable, adept, pleasantly meshing, and some at the table were familiar with her already. Terry’s hand in quality control has led to an even experience over the years (even though she was absent this evening).
            Timing this evening was quite un-Bra-esque. Salads arrived at the 55 minute mark, with entrées thirty minutes after that. The thirty minutes longer than usual was mostly concentrated in the first half of the evening. However, as one our tablemates said: “Service a little slow although it did give us time for lots of talking & laughing!” And the rest of us can second that.

The bill for the evening came to $106 per couple.
Another enjoyable evening, with friends, over good food and drink, on a seasonably cool evening.

We met at MVB, it being a group pick and close to home. Topics across the table started with: the big news was Kerry’s retirement from C-D home-game basketball announcing, running the span of 40 games, with only a break for the contract impasse year and for a cruise. An Albany TV station covered the night’s ceremony and Kerry’s achievement. Those of us knowing Kerry and his work habits extend the compliment and recognition.
            The topic of memories of past DP8 events, and timing, arose again, especially after our archives documented that Kerry has kept company with DP8 not five timed, not 8, not 10, not 12, but 18 times. So, our steel-trap memory banks started rolling. The first Quinn-DP8 event was at Rock-n-Mexicana. The second was Caverns Palace at Howes Cave near Cobleskill. But when? Answer: March 2013, almost four years ago, close to what some of us guess. Just for the record. The third Quinn encounter found some male leaving the restaurant to find an ATM. (Terrapin, Rhinebeck)
            Other topics: the Notars’ return from CA and photos of family; the Notars’ upcoming departure on their month-long cruise; the Teators heading to Florida next month; children’s doings; insomnia and interruption of someone’s TV watching; book clubs; the types of people who attend book clubs; waiting for spring; and more that have escaped the capacity of my memory cells to retain.