Datebook Diner: Gateway West offers great dinner value

Back in the early to mid-90s, I recall that a nice meal out at a mid-range spot like Christopher's would set two of us back about $35, including a couple glasses of wine each. In recent years, $75 for two has become the norm.

A significant part of the blame goes to the steadily climbing wine prices; when it comes to wines by the glass, $8 is the new $5.

Guess what? At Gateway West, the $35 dinner-for-two is back — and $5 glasses of wines are a pleasurable part of the package.

Ambience: The dining room of this order-at-the-counter operation offers a spacious, contemporary setting, with blond wood and chrome chairs, colorful food art on the walls, and snazzy, thoughtful partitions carving up the room.

Outside is even better, with umbrella tables overlooking flowing water, green space and the great sky beyond. Get there on Wednesday nights for live entertainment. (We caught the mighty-fine guitar picking of singer/songwriter Rob Lumbard).

Menu: Creatively combined sandwiches and salads pack the menu, along with brick-oven pizza, a few Asian-inspired noodle dishes, plus some Mexican specialties.

First bites: Homemade tortillas, creamy chipotle coleslaw, fresh avocado slices and chunks of firm, spice-coated whitefish made the Fish Corn Tacos especially stand out. Equally return-visit worthy was the lusciously moist Italian steak sandwich, with its tender ribeye slices, melty cheese, sweet sautéed onions and bright red peppers.

Though satisfying enough, the Red Curry Thai Lo-Mein tasted one-dimensionally spicy and heavy-handed on the cilantro, which quashed the finer workings of more subtle flavors.

Lackluster produce marred the merely decent cilantro-lime chicken salad. Closing my eyes, it was hard to discern any difference between a bite of carrot, red pepper or tomato - to me, they all had an unvarying, vaguely vegetal flavor of produce that had traveled too far or had been refrigerated too long.

Cheese, please: The cheese plates are sheer delight, as they call on the impressive selections available from Gateway's superb cheese department. Chat with the cheesemonger about your preferences, or let him choose for you. We loved his picks of three world-class standouts.

Bottom line: One of the best dinner values in town.

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