Cathy's View
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| Something is missing from this scene |
After moving back to West Springfield from a couple of years out of state, we were excited to learn that Monty's had opened with the intent of bringing some upscale meals and service to the area. We typically have Thursday restaurant night at our favorite spot in Alexandria, but we were tired and had had a decent lunch at Monty's earlier (see Dan's view) so thought we would give it a try for dinner because it was close. We got there at a little after 6 and there were only a few tables busy. And we waited. Around us, others got water, bread, and drinks. We waited. Tired and hungry. About 20 minutes in, our waiter arrived, without water or bread, and gave us the specials. We ordered drinks and main course. And waited.
After a long time, adult beverages arrived, but no bread as at other tables. We asked for some. And waited. My wine was good, but Dan's beer was tepid. He joked that we would probably get our entrees at the same time as the bread. He was right! (Nice zucchini bread, btw.) Dan's ahi tuna steak was
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| Nice zucchini bread |
After that, service was better, in fact, good! Then the owner went table to table asking how things had been. She was good to ask specific questions, otherwise we might have demurred. Then she whisked up my check and said they wanted meals to be right and took off my steaks. NICE. I think they intend to be a really nice, family place. Because of the owner's devotion, we will be back. But maybe not when we are tired.
Perhaps growing pains are to be understood.
Dan's View
An upscale steakhouse in an area seemingly devoid of cuisine that's of higher quality than Popeye's or Chipotle, Monty's is a welcome addition, or at least it hopefully will be. We have been to Monty's twice; once for lunch, once for dinner, and both experiences had their share of good and not so good moments. Cathy has shared our more recent dinner there so I'll focus on lunch, which was a couple weeks ago.
We were somewhat spoiled by downtown Ann Arbor, where along Main St. there's an abundance of outdoor dining to select from. So it was nice to be able to sit outside and enjoy the weather. There are over a dozen tables to choose from. Our waiter was dressed all in white. Too bad his fine uniform had food stains here and there. But let that pass.
What to order? The menu has a variety of fare, starting with appetizers -- French onion soup, crab & corn bisque, and calamari as standards; shrimpcargot and aurbergine paté as somewhat unique. Being a steakhouse, the menu contains a number of different cuts of meat, which can come dressed with one of a number of sauces. Kudos for a beer and wine list with lots to choose from, although they don't have any draft beer. Bummer for me.
We split an onion soup. Very good, and more than enough but perhaps a bit too much cheese.
Cathy ordered the croque monsieur, a French take on a grilled cheese sandwich (I make it sound so gauche); ham, gruyere cheese and a béchamel sauce. I had a bite, very tasty. They tout their burgers, so I tried the blue cheese variety, that came with a hefty portion fries, and a pickle to boot. I ordered it medium rare, and it was served to me more on the medium well side -- surprising for a steakhouse. Oh well. Needless to say, it was less juicy than I prefer. Perhaps because of the overdone-ness of my burger, there was an overly charbroiled aftertaste to it.
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Having said that, their selections and ambience together with their acknowledging our bad experience at dinner warrant another meal there. We'll try back in a couple months.
Monty's Steakhouse
| 8426 Old Keene Mill Rd Sprinfield, VA 22152 www.montyssteakhouse.com (their website needs to get rid of the 'coming soon' on some of the pages) |
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