The Wine Bar at Monarch

Monarch has made a smart move creating The Wine Bar. The room always has been the Maplewood restaurant’s bar area, but giving it a long by-the-glass wine list, as well as fancy specialty cocktails, and a menu of "shareable dishes," has moved it from waiting room and lounge to a destination in and of itself. It’s a handsome space, with warm, pleasant lighting and booths and tables flanking the bar. Early on a weekend evening, many couples seemed to have chosen it for date nights, with patrons wearing everything from very nice casual to nearly glam.

Food and drink appear on a single menu, and two pages are devoted to pairing the by-the-glass choices with recommended food options. Of course, since mixing and matching is common, and a reason for the by-the-glass arrangement, diners shouldn’t feel constrained by the suggestions. The food offerings go well beyond hors d’oeuvres, and portions are generous for a bar menu. And as in most restaurants these days, servers will bring anything off the regular dining room menu into the bar.

A selection of cheeses, several salads, and some semi-expected things like fried calamari and olive tapenade are available, but we went wandering in other directions after we’d sampled the notable bread, on this occasion a raisin-walnut loaf and buns with sun-dried tomato and olives minced finely and kneaded in. Our pumpkin ravioli was clearly made in-house, though the pasta was almost too al dente. Unlike the version from Mantua, Italy, where it’s a traditional dish, the seasoning tended toward the sweet spices like nutmeg, and it was sauced with a rich bourbon-laced cream. The vegetables it surrounded were sauteed baby spinach and diced potatoes. Tuna involtini arrived sushi-like, a roll of crab salad surrounded by seaweed and topped with small pieces of raw tuna. A small bowl of soy sauce and some wasabi cream were alongside. Simple, fresh, extremely tasty.

Crisp triangles of filo dough held duck confit, the rich shreds of meat warm and moist. The burgundy-red sauce was a reduction of port and veal stock, with a back note of fruitiness courtesy of some raspberries that had wandered by the stock pot and obviously fallen in.

But the evening’s winner was lobster macaroni and cheese. In a soup bowl large enough that the serving could have been an entree, was perfectly al dente orchiette, or shells, in an ooey-gooey, ultra-cheesy sauce–which also contained lobster stock. It was topped with a small lobster claw and two large shrimp, gilding the lily, certainly, but also to justify $12 for macaroni and cheese. It’s definitely worth it. This is the best mac ‘n cheese we’ve had in a restaurant in years.

The wine list is as wide and deep as the Pacific Ocean. Page after page lists classic wines from all over the world, ranging from expensive to extremely expensive, and all the way to Wow!

But there’s also a fine selection of more than 20 half-bottles and more than 30 choices by the glass, offered in 2.5- and 6-ounce servings, allowing for the occasional splurge on a small taste of a great vintage or label. By-the-glass reds are divided by style, with juicy, mellow and robust reds, crisp, mellow and luscious whites. Sparklers have their own category, with a Spanish cava at $6 and a French Taittinger at twice that. The cava was smooth and dry, with good carbonation coming from a tight seal and a fine aperitif. We also tried a 2006 Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand’s Blind River that was, crisp, clean and tartly fruity, proof once again that perhaps the finest wines from that grape originate in New Zealand. Among the reds, an ‘02 St. Emilion from Bordeaux was rich and spicy, with dark cherries and a hint of tobacco in the finish.

Monarch also has some wines bearing its own label, scheduled to be the subject of a wine entry here sometime in the next few weeks.

From the dessert menu came chocolate black cherry empanadas. The filling of the empanadas leaned far more to chocolate than cherry, the interior soft and runny but not dangerously hot. Happily, the little pies themselves were baked rather than deep-fried, but the dough was startlingly salty, as though something had crept over into the pastry chef’s domain from the savory side of the house. A generous swoosh of chocolate mousse served as a garnish.

We sat at the bar and were well taken care of by one of the bartenders, who also was great to watch as she handled the elaborate mixed drinks. All in all, very worthwhile.

Monarch Restaurant and Wine Bar

7401 Manchester Ave., Maplewood

314-644-3995

Credit cards: All major

Wheelchair access: Yes

Smoking: Yes

Wine bar dishes: $6-$15