| ** | I wanted to like Monte's, but the food is just not very good. We started out with bread that was a part of a slim baguette of about the quality you'd find at Cub, served with a mustard butter. Yes, you read that right. Mustard butter. It wasn't bad exactly, but it was a little odd.
We (perhaps unwisely) chose "walleye bites" as an appetizer ($10). This was scraps of fish breaded and deep-fried and served in a paper french-fry box on a bed of mixed greens. Though we were personally recommended the walleye by our server, I would not recommend this dish to anyone. You can get better fish at Arby's for a fraction of the price.
The house salads were basically just mixed greens with a fistful of canned black olives thrown on top. Again, not bad but a little odd. The house-made salad, dressings, however, were very good. Both ranch and blue cheese dressings were thick and creamy with good flavor.
The steaks, which should be Monte's signature, were where they really failed. The cuts of meat (NY strip ($26) and ribeye ($25)) were large and priced appropriately, but had absolutely no flavor. They appeared not even to have been seasoned with salt and pepper. The meat was watery and also rather chewy. I asked for medium rare and got rare; my dining companion asked for rare and got medium-rare. Each steak was topped with an abundance of Tabasco shoestring onions, which were fine, but they were also placed on a bed of what I think was pureed squash. This was a very odd choice as the squash was unseasoned and slightly bitter. Since the bottom side of the steaks were covered with this puree, the bitterness transferred to the meat, rendering an already tasteless steak unpleasant. My accompanying baked potato was slightly undercooked; my companion's garlic mashed potatoes were unnaturally smooth, like instant potatoes.
We did not stick around for desert.
The service was friendly but only adequate. It took us a couple of minutes to be greeted even though several staff members walked by as after we entered. Once we were greeted, there seemed to be some confusion as to where we would be seated and who would seat us. Upon ordering, we received our appetizer and salad just a few minutes later, but had to wait another 30-40 minutes for our entrees. The delay was not explained to us and we received no compensation for the wait.
The atmosphere of the restaurant is not what you might expect for a steakhouse. It seems more like a chicken and rib joint, the kind of place that has flyers tacked up on a bulletin board by the host stand and a fishbowl into which you can place your business card for a chance to win a free lunch.
Overall, nothing was inedible, but for the price it's one of the most disappointing meals I've ever had. I'm sure Monte's has a strong lunchtime trade and does good business in wedding receptions and banquets. If you want a decent steak or a special dinner for two, though, you'd best try elsewhere. | Male between 26 and 55 | 03-21-08 |
| **** | I had a great time at Montes. The food was wonderful and the surroundings were outstanding. We could hardly believe we were in Fairbault. We would tell others to come here. We did wait a little to long for our food, but it was worth it. | Female between 26 and 55 | 03-27-08 |
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