Monarch, Davenport, Iowa

Since my father died and my youngest grandson approached one, we have been taking my mother and going to the Quad Cities to meet my eldest son and his family for a meal in the middle of the day. Much like all our meals with them, the timing revolves around our work and their kid's napping schedules and so we do a big meal, a kind of classic midday meal that suffices as the main meal, but exactly where it falls in the day varies. My mom has been enjoying this, especially when we pick her up and drop her off, and the restaurant is mostly picked by our son and DIL, occasionally by us, but usually not with my mom in mind--she has enjoyed the most unusual of places we have gone, and it is clear to all of us that she would not have chosen some of them (nor would I) unless we chose them out of a hat. So this restaurant, named not for the butterfly, nor for royalty, but rather for a patented device that the owner's grandfather developed, is an exception to that rule, at least sort of. This restaurant has a lobster roll on the menu. It is pricy, but just about the price we paid when we were last in Vermont, and let's face it, lobster is expensive and right now it is also scarce--so not out of bounds, and if you were thinking should I get this locker aged steak or the lobster roll, cost neutral. The food was good, but the lobster roll was spectacular--and notable because we couldn't think of another place that has one on the menu anywhere near us, so kind of a find in that respect. The roll itself is a brioche bun, grilled in butter, and jam packed with chunks of meat in a light mayonnaise dressing (they offer one that is hot lobster drenched in butter, but for us, that is not a lobster roll). We would go back for that alone! My parents are from Maine, and lobster is the taste of home for them--I just wish we had known about it before my dad died, he would have so appreciated it.