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| - so hubby and i have never been so inspired to start up a yelp account until this very day, right after coming home from lunch at the common plea. oh and note that there is supposedly a "business casual" dress code.
we were very excited to try out common plea. we had a $30 gift certificate to spend there, and we figured lunch would be a good time to try out the food fare. and if it was any good, we might go back for dinner some time.
when we arrived at 12pm, it didn't look too busy, but it filled up more by the time we'd finished lunch. however, even though it wasn't terribly busy, we were led to the back of the restaurant to be seated on the back "wall" we shared with their kitchen staff. we didn't mind the noise until our fake wall started shaking from time to time.
they offer bread rolls and a flatbread cracker and seasoned olive oil dip while you wait for your food. the sweet wheat roll was soft and delicious, as was the large cracker. however the other two sourdough-looking rolls were hard as rocks, thus rendering them inedible. i don't know how they taste because the crust was simply too hard to bite through.
hubby ordered the espresso crusted salmon with honey basil yogurt and mushroom rice, while i had the piattini - a set of 3 appetizers, and i picked the prosciutto wrapped shrimp, short rib sliders, and crab boursin cornet (a cone-shaped pastry stuffed with crab mixed in with boursin cheese).
the espresso crusted salmon was pretty good and standard for salmon. however the espresso crust was very light. it was barely noticeable, unless you ate pieces of the salmon directly on top. it flaked well, but wasn't as tender or moist as salmon we've had elsewhere. or even the chimichurri salmon we get from trader joe's and bake at home. the rice lacked flavoring and was a bit hard when chewing through it. i expected more of a risotto-like consistency. at least it looked the part. they are quite good at plating their food.
in terms of my set of 3 appetizers, i definitely enjoyed the prosciutto wrapped shrimp. basically it's lean italian bacon wrapped around large prawns. i got 2 of them along with about 2 teaspoons of a mango/red bell pepper/red onion/cilantro salsa. the salsa was good, but as long as you use fresh ingredients, it's pretty hard to screw up.
my crab boursin cornet i was very excited about when i saw it on my plate. it was a little (2.5 in. long) pastry horn/cone stuffed with a ball of mixed crab with boursin cheese. the flavor was good, however i was disappointed when i discovered my pastry crust was soggy and cold. usually pastry crusts are supposed to be flaky, crispy, and hot in my experience. when i mentioned this to the waiter, and asked "is my pastry crust supposed to be soggy and cold?" he said "yes, that is how it's supposed to be". so sad. it could have been sooo much better. there was potential there. i'll give them that.
then my short rib slider. was small as expected. a toasted bun with carmelized onions, mushrooms, and "short ribs". i took one bite and had to put what was in my mouth back on the plate. it was incredibly chewy, in a bad way. upon opening up my slider and examining my "short ribs", i discovered i was chewing on a piece of fat. when i attempted to dissect apart the paltry bit of meat from the fat, that proved to be impossible with a fork and knife because the actual meat on that thing was too tough to either bite or cut through sadly. hubby's attempt at my slider wasn't any better. he said it was 90% fat. and he had to agree what miniscule pieces of meat in there were extremely tough to chew on and bland.
we thought about giving them one last chance with dessert. so we picked the creme brulee option. we've actually made our own creme brulee quite a bit... it's a real favorite treat for us! the crust seemed freshly torched, it was crisp and wasn't too burnt. however upon cracking the crust, hubby noticed lumps inside the creme brulee. and texture-wise, it tasted like really thick whipping cream with lumps of course, it's usually a bit more pudding-like and smoother. it came with an almond-covered cookie thing. i was confused when i bit into it, because it tasted like a stale cookie. then hubby pointed out that it was a thin slice of white bread, with almonds and stuff baked on top. not too appetizing. it would have been so much better if they attempted almond tuilles.
sadly, our meal did not go as well as planned. the presentation of the food is pleasant and appealing to the eye. taste was just alright for hubby and 1 out of 3 appetizers for me. oh and they don't refill water for you at all throughout the meal. and be prepared to wait at least half an hour for your food and the same time for your dessert to come out even if it doesn't look busy. not planning to come back to this one any time soon.
OH AND BTW... YELP LETS RESTAURANTS FILTER OUT NEGATIVE REVIEWS AND HIDES THEM. CLICK ON THE FILTERED REVIEWS LINK ON THE BOTTOM TO SEE THE REST!
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