Buddhist Biker Bar

Date
October 9, 2008

Location
20 Elliewood Avenue
Just past the Biltmore

What I ate
Miles and I split the cheap date special - baked brie in a puff pastry, fettucini alfredo with grilled chicken for each of us, and a bottle of white wine

Who went
Miles, Sarah Tweedt, Liz, Sara Herbst, Patrick, Phil, Dan Brown, Suzie, Nora, Handy, Jessie

Thoughts
As described in an earlier post, Buddhist is the birthplace of WEDS, so we've been here a few times, but this was the first time I didn't get the steak and potatoes. It's tough to go wrong with the cheap date special at $25 unless you don't like one of the things included; the appetizer and entree are set earlier that evening. The brie was delicious and the pasta was alright. I should mention that I was fasting leading up to this as it was Yom Kippur, so maybe the brie wouldn't taste absolutely amazing on a not-as-empty stomach, but everyone else seemed to think it was great, too. The pasta needed a little seasoning as both the sauce and the chicken were relatively bland. A little salt and pepper really helped the dish. The wines weren't the highest quality stuff, but everyone seemed to enjoy what they picked; you had your choice of red or white. I don't generally like wine and I still had 3 glasses.

Our waiter did a great job considering how large of a group we had. He answered all of our questions and was pretty funny. The hostess was very accomodating as our party grew from 8 to 12 as people kept arriving (note to people, RSVP when I ask you to) and we were seated without a delay, though there wasn't space for 12 outside. There was very little upkeep once the food was served because we were taking care of our own drinks. I don't remember running out of water, but I don't remember the waiter refilling our glasses either, so I guess he did a good job with that.

We were at a long table and, while it worked great for us, I'm glad there weren't any couples at the small surrounding tables. A dressed-to-go-out girl arrived and climbed the steps every few minutes for about a half hour, so I'd imagine there was a sorority function going on upstairs, but we couldn't hear anything. The lights could've been turned up a little bit, but you could still see well enough. We had conversation going on all night both in pockets and across the table, but we were still able to hear Cake covering songs in the background. Having everyone sing along to Mahna Mahna after a glass of wine or two was awesome.

Recap
Pros - Great deal, nice atmosphere, the brie was awesome
Cons - The fettucini was a little bland
Overall - Make sure you and your date both like what they're serving, but this is a great idea for a Thursday date. Even if you're not going for the cheap date special, take a look at the menu because there are some other great things on there.