| rev:text
| - BOTTOM LINE: Okay food, nice employees, slow service, so-so experience, wouldn't go back.
After reading the reviews, I was excited to take my boyfriend here on his birthday for the Wine Me, Dine Me dinner. I think $65 per person for a four course meal and alcohol tastings (note: tasting size pours) is a great price. However, neither my bf or I thought the dinner and service was worth it. It was fun to try something different, but blah.
FOOD / SERVICE:
FIRST COURSE: SHRIMP CEVICHE IN MANGO PUREE. Both of us thought the mango puree was overpowering, not a lot of seafood, not that remarkable. The accompanying tequila with a smoked salt was so nice! When we sat down, there was an older couple on our right and a single older male on our left. The couple told us that we could have seabass if we didn't want filet. Chef Jayson introduced himself and started preparing our ceviche appetizers. He put diced jalapeno on top of one, and I asked if we could have the other one without it because my bf is way sensitive to spicy foods. Chef seemed a little offput by the question, but it was too late since he went ahead and put the jalapeno on. We didn't care, I picked some off and my bf ate around it. No biggie.
SECOND COURSE: SHAVED RAW ASPARAGUS SALAD. My bf isn't big on salads or asparagus, so he asked if he could have a caesar instead. The chef said, "No, it's a set menu." I waited to ask the waitress for a menu so I could order one for the bf (after all, it was his bday and I was more than willing to pay more to get him a salad he likes) but she must've been busy. I eventually asked the hostess for one. When the chef saw I had a menu, he told my bf he could ask for a caesar if he didn't like the asparagus salad. *The salad was interesting and tasted bland. My bf ended up eating all of his (I think due to hunger), and I only had one bite because I didn't care for it.
The second course is the last time we heard from the chef. He talked at length with the older diners around us, but only stopped by to ask how we wanted our steak cooked, which his sous chef had already asked. The sous chef brought us the salads, poured the remaining wines, and took care of us from then on. We saw the chef leisurely talking with the other kitchen staff. No one looked too busy. ADVICE: If you're late 20s/30s like us, this may not be the place for excellent service unless you stay on the chef's good side.
THIRD COURSE: FILET MIGNON OR SEABASS. We like to share things and had steak the previous night, so we went with one filet and one fish. Each came topped with guacamole, served with hominy in a cheese sauce. The filet was delicious, but my bf wanted his cooked more. Had to wait quite a while for this since no one checked on us. The seabass was moist, crusted with breadcrumbs. Unfortunately, putting guacamole on top of the entrees didn't add much. It was too heavy for the seabass and the flavor didn't quite blend or enhance the steak. I don't like hominy so I didn't eat any of it and was still hungry.
FOURTH COURSE: SOME MINI CHOCOLATE SOUFFLE OR CAKE-LIKE THING AND A MINI HIBISCUS CREME BRULEE. The desserts were tiny, served with a Washington Riesling. Chocolate cake resembled a two-bite brownie, but was dry. Neither of us finished ours. The creme brulee was about 1.5 inches in diameter. It was delicious though not set--it was runny like a raw egg. Really nice pastry chef--he gave the couple next to us a huge bowl of berries instead of one of their dessert plates. We should've asked for the same!
Since I was still hungry, I asked the sous chef to taste the garlic mashed potatoes. (Open kitchen so I was eyeballing them all night.) He gave me a bowl full and told me I could have more. YUM! They tasted amazing. I also ordered fry bread from the waitress. She brought me several pieces. I would've finished all of them if I had butter, but couldn't get anyone's attention to ask for it.
* * * * * * * * * *
WRAP-UP: The restaurant was pretty dead even though it was a Friday and our reservation was at 7:45. The bar and lounge area was more crowded. Most people we interacted with were extremely pleasant and professional. We just didn't see the server too frequently. Waited a long time for things like ordering a martini, getting a martini, and getting and paying the bill. The hostess finally took my credit card and found the waitress.
I really wanted it to be a great dinner for my boyfriend's birthday. Too bad it was pretty disappointing :( He said he liked the idea and appreciated the attempt! Next time we'll stick to a sure thing, especially for a special occasion.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)