We had a good memory - not anymore!
Sunday, December 07, 2008
We took my hubbys Grandma on Saturday and were very disappointed. We had the 4 courses with wine pairings, $140 each, my husband upgraded his appetizer to the fois gras (+ $15), we added one cheese plate (+ $25) with wine (+ $10 ea). With t&t, it was $700.
We have been lucky to eat at a lot of good restaurants - including Gary Danko, Farallon, Parcel 104, the Ahwahnee, Alexanders, Aquarello, and in October we were in New York and ate at Babbo (Mario Batelli). All are way better. We paid less at Babbo for 4 of us, including a dish with fresh truffles (though to be fair, we were with two teetotal vegetarians)
At $700 for 3, and a Michelin Star, I expect to be wowed. We were not. A few dishes were very good - the butternut squash souffle with langoustine curry to start was great. Foie gras was ok. The mushroom soup which was tasty, but had been ladled into a cold one-serving jug, and then was poured at the table into a cold dish. While this was a cool presentation, it also made for a cool soup. Literally - lukewarm at best.
The scallop was pretty good but Farallon definitely does them better. the striped bass was the better of the two fish dishes on offer. Again, sauce poured at table = cold.
We had all 3 of the meat dishes. My beef was the best of the 3 but not up to Alexanders. The pork dish was average - I had better at a Four Seasons wine dinner. Squab was merely 'meh'.
Cheese course was good - interesting selections. Desserts were average - nothing stood out.
Overall, their plating is way too complicated and dare I say it, pretentious. By the time they do all that, the food is getting cold. I'd rather eat it hot. They do a good job on the wine pairings. The small dining rooms are cute but sterile and the staffing was confused - which one was our server, and what were their names? Impersonal. No real love or warmth in the place, staff, and worst of all, the food. Not going back.
Pros: Erm, erm, its the nearest michelin starred restaurant to our house?
Cons: Doesn't deserve the star, overpriced, impersonal.