Expected more
Thursday, October 01, 2009
I went after wanting to for so long and being in the food industry, it was about time. Went for lunch, ordered 3 apps, 2 entrees, 3 desserts.
The terrine was definetly the best of the 3 apps, octo was a bit over-done, and the flavors didnt stand out at all. Their tartare was ok, I'm into slightly over-seasoning, but this was just too much for the dish +how it was plated, I promise you, gordan ramsey would have thrown it on the floor.
Tried the shrimp risotto, they put one shrimp split in the dish. you cant really call it shrimp risotto with one shrimp, come on. +the risotto was way over done. I tend to like my pasta a bit over done, just slightly past al dente, but this was like eating rice. no bueno.
The duck was ok. polenta and succotash were good.
The apricot terrine was eh. summer cheesecake, oh this was interesting. the sorbet was I believe a white balsamic huckleberry. Cheesecake though, it tasted tangy like there was blue cheese in it and no one seemed to know what it was made of. they found out for us and it was 80% mascarpone and 20% gorgonzola. I guess they knew people wouldn't order it if they had that on the menu. plus the linzer tart that came with it was bigger than the cheesecake. 3rd dessert I can't even remember what it was.
Service. Our waited greeted us with, "so 'bout some lunch today" No shit. Didnt smile once. never checked on us. when we didnt order wine they left the wine glasses on our small table with 3 apps.. never cleaned the crumbs off. left our empty bread plates. No one could or did explain the dishes. then when our waiter dissapeared, it seems his shift ended. No goodbye and so-and-so will be your waiter/waitress. Goodness. It was atrocious. Latte wasnt worth the 5$ something. which was even more than le bernadin's.
Perhaps it was because we came right when lunch was ending? I still dont think thats an excuse. Maybe it was just a bad day in general? Or maybe I just expect too much. Hope others have a better experience.
Pros: room temp butter like it should be.
Cons: service