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| - The Pleasure Bar is absolutely not a 5 star restaurant, but it gets 5 stars from me bc every time I've dined there I've left happy, full of delicious food, and not broke.
Everyone in Bloomfield knows about the Pleasure Bar, but I'm not sure anyone outside of Bloomfield knows about it. It's a small neighborhood restaurant, the main dining room is small and it looks like you're in the banquet room of a Holiday Inn in 1985--but somehow the atmosphere is warm and friendly instead of dated and depressing.
I have never called ahead for reservations and i have never had to wait for a table and I believe this is only bc I've got lucky every time I dine there. The restaurant is ALWAYS busy and for good reason--the food is great!
Is this authentic Italian food? I have no idea. I have an Oma and a Nain (german and welsh grandmothers, respectively). Many dishes were served at our house growing up, nary a Pasta Pomodoro among them. So while I do not know if this is authentic Italian food, I can tell you this food is the real deal. It's really, really good.
Heres what we had to eat last night:
the tomato and mozzarella salad. Its a real pet peeve of mine when restaurants don't use very ripe roma tomatoes for these kinds of salads. The tomato NEEDS to be very ripe and acidic and I was initially disappointed when I saw just regular beef steak tomato's in the dish. These were no ordinary tomatoes! They were marinated and amazing. The mozzarella came out in large slices, and the waitress had recommended I dress it with balsamic vinegar which I did and it was excellent.
My friend ordered the Italian wedding soup and I found it a little bland but he loved the soup. It was the perfect ratio of pasta to broth and it was not heavy on the salt which is a good sign--you know the kitchen staff TASTES the food before serving it! (not your food, they taste the food as it is prepared. you know what I mean)
I ordered the Salmon del Mare as my main course, it was the special of the night and it was very good. Broiled salmon topped with tomatoes, spinach, mozzarella cheese, and shrimp scampi. I asked for my shrimp on the side and I am very glad I did because I think they might have overwhelmed the salmon. I thought they'd just put the shrimp on the side but instead they brought out a delicious shrimp scampi which was good and savory and garlicky... mmmmmmmmmm i just had a moment.
the salmon was cooked just right--where it flakes but it's still moist and it was seasoned perfectly. All of the ingredients were cooked so well I ended up deconstructing my dinner, and I had the salmon without any of the toppings, and then ate the spinach and tomatoes as if they were their own side. A side of broccoli came with the entree and it was good but kind of unremarkable. I mean, it's steamed broccoli. It really didn't have a chance, considering it was brought out with the shrimp scampi.
My friend ordered the Pasta Christopher which had red peppers, chicken, and sausage mixed in with penne. Full disclosure: I'm freaking hate Italian sausage. I'm german (American by way of Stuttgart, my German claims are legitimate! Stimmt!) and I HATE spicy sausages. I like sausage bland, covered in Senf (mustard), and made of ingredients you don't want to know about.
My friend found the Pasta Christopher delicious. You're not going to leave the Pleasure Bar hungry, where he usually cleans his plate he asked for a to go box.
We were too full to have dessert.
Our check came to $50, but $14 of that was beer, we each had a beer with dinner.
this restaurant is reasonable, and delicious. If you bring a date here, they wont be impressed but they will be relaxed, have a great dinner, and you're not going to go broke.
I highly recommend this place and I wish more people knew about it. it is one of my favorite dining options in Bloomfield.
Glossary:
Oma: German for grandmother
Nain: Welsh for grandmother
Stimmt: True. Correct
Senf: German word for Mustard
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