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| - Met up with a few other out-of-towners here for a work dinner; the hubs and I arrived a bit early and sat down at the bar for a drink.
Now, I'm all for cheap drinks and happy hour, so the $3 glass of house wine was really up my alley. I got a bad vibe when the bartender pulled the red wine out of the fridge--and it was rightly felt. Hubs called it the worst glass of wine he's ever had. The white was slightly better, but I'd still rather pay full price for a decent glass of wine than $3 for...not a good glass.
Our dinner friends arrived, so we moved from the bar to a table. Our server was excellent (too bad he said it was his last night there). He did a fantastic job of educating one of our table-mates on the gluten-free options available (answer: several--even the meatballs are gluten free!). He made sure we were well fed and beveraged. One ding for forgetting our cheese bread appetizer. Permanently. I didn't take care of the bill, but I hope we weren't charged for it.
I ordered the chicken fettuccini alfredo, and the sauce and pasta were pretty tasty--nicely cooked, flavorful sauce, not too watery. It was the chicken that was the problem, which tasted as though it had been poached, refrigerated, and then microwaved before serving. If they had take that same chicken breast and grilled it, the dish would have moved from okay to excellent. The rest of the table were fairly happy with theirs, though it was commented that things were a bit salty.
The other issue, besides the terrible wine, was the ambiance. Yes, the place is gorgeous. Beautiful stained glass windows, and they've really done a nice job of adding restaurant features without taking too much away from the church atmosphere. But it was empty. Dinner on a night where the city is swarmed with visitors and we were the only table. It just makes you feel awkward. The chairs are on casters. There's just something about having a nice dinner with the gentle hum of a full restaurant that really sets a mood.
The opposite goes for an empty one.
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