Et tu, Brute

Caesar's Bistro

by Margaret LeRoux

Ipanema 106 Southville Road Southboro (508) 460-6144 Hours Wed.-Fri. 5-10 p.m. Sat.-Sun. noon-10 p.m. Full bar Major credit cards handicap accessible

Not many years ago Caesar's Bistro was the hot new restaurant in town. Its nouveau American style dining drew crowds who wouldn't ordinarily find themselves on Madison Street -- except to renew a driver's license. Caesar's is located off the lobby of the Regency Suites Hotel; its sister establishment Bailey's Pub, shares the same kitchen.

I'm sorry I didn't visit Caesar's during its heyday, because when I finally got around to it recently, I found the place had grown stale. Instead of fresh and imaginative cuisine, the entrees a friend and I ordered were tired, the wine list was uninspired. Both sides of the menu were overpriced. To be fair, there wasn't anything drastically wrong with either of our meals, they were instead bland and unexciting. Which isn't bad if you're grabbing a quick bite at a diner, but when the menu and the prices promise fine dining you should expect a lot more. Instead of being enjoyable, our evening at Caesar's Bistro was simply tedious.

When we arrived on a weeknight, we were warmly greeted, not by the host or waiter, but by the only other pair diners in the room. "We were getting lonely," they commented as we were seated. During our hour and a half visit, we were joined in the dining room by one more couple, In contrast the adjacent pub seemed much more lively. Our meal wasn't leisurely by choice. Though there wasn't much demand on the kitchen from our requests, there was plenty of lag time between courses. By the time our waiter asked if we wanted dessert, we were worn out with waiting.

We sipped Kendall Jackson vinter's reserve, a low end chardonnay , an okay wine, but the $25 price tag reflects a mark-up three times over the retail price. Almost all the wines listed are from California's mega-producers, with the exception of a couple Australian varieties.

The appetizer offerings are expensive here. Fried calamari, crab cakes and shrimp cocktail are all $8. Oysters or clams on the half shell are priced at $3.50 for three, up to $12 for a dozen. Our choice from the specials side of the menu was oysters Rockefeller ($8) for half a dozen. They were quite good, in fact, the highlight of the meal. The spinach topping was fresh and piping hot; bacon bits were crunchy. We were wishing the "homemade bistro bread" cited on the menu had been brought to the table with the oysters -- there was ample sauce to soak up, and it's not as if we had to compete for the waiter's attention. But when rolls finally appeared later in the meal, they were packaged, cold, and after a taste, we avoided them.

Salads were an uninspired mixture of greens with bottled dressing. We asked for fresh ground pepper, but were told the restaurant's only pepper mill was broken.

The list of entrees with its odd combination of ingredients provides an interesting read: pecan and sage encrusted chicken with saffron basmati rice and strawberry butter ($13); grilled Cajun swordfish with red pepper pesto "mayo" and lobster asparagus risotto ($20); and two way duckling with wild rice, salsify chips and peach anisette sauce($20).

We ordered a pair of familiar dishes from the specials menu. My companion's choice was veal Oscar ($20). Mine was lobster thermidor ($28), the priciest dish on the menu though I can't really endorse the expense. The lobster -- I'd guess about one and a quarter pounds -- had been split, the tail meat extracted, chopped and mixed with small, bay scallops and shrimp. The re-stuffed lobster was topped by a thick, cream sauce. The lobster meat was as it should be, sweet and fresh, but the scallops and shrimp were virtually devoid of flavor. The lobster claws were still intact, and these yielded some tasty morsels, A side dish of beautifully sliced and cross cut veggies was served alongside featuring some of the biggest slices of carrot I've ever seen. Unfortunately they too were tasteless. Rutabaga chips and fresh steamed beets fared better, at least I could detect some flavor.

The veal dish my companion selected is one of those fancy food entrees combining veal medallions with rich ingredients like crabmeat, bernaise sauce and asparagus. Here the crabmeat was combined with breadcrumbs to make a stuffing. The veal was draped over this with asparagus spears alongside. We both liked the veal, but the seafood stuffing was heavy and bland.

After bringing our entrees, our waiter didn't appear again for quite a while. By the time he did, we'd lost all desire for dessert. Our bill before tip was $85.

Margaret LeRoux can be reached at feedmefeedback@hotmail.com.

Margaret LeRoux can be reached at feedmefeedback@hotmail.com.