| rev:text
| - Had dinner at Beckett's as part of a professional meeting.
The restaurant had been advised in advance that the party had a vegan, a vegetarian, and a pork-free member.
We were on the patio, which was small and narrow for the pre-dinner gathering. It was breezy and cold unless standing right under the heaters, at which point it was then too warm. The circular dancing of 25 people trying to accommodate the temperature could have been interesting. We all moved back and forth to accommodate the door from restaurant being opened by the waitstaff....
Appetizers were brought. All of them contained either dairy or dairy&pork. The egg of the day was a "cheeseburger"-- which was an very overly salted deviled egg with some dribbles of beef and a sliver of american cheese. When asked how we liked it a group of 7 people all agreed it was over salted. There was no response from the waiter. A 3-cheese popover had pancetta. When asked if there were vegan options the answer was "not for appetizer". We were able to get some popovers without the pancetta but not without asking for it specifically.
Once at the table, it became clear that the (1) restaurant was poorly equipped to handle vegetarian and vegan diets and (2) the waiter (at our table) didn't feel like working to make the experience a positive one.
Initially, the waiter brought a cauliflower dish to the table -- veg, right? --- nope: the cauliflower had chicharron sprinkles throughout. Instead of another meated salad, he then brought a plate of iceberg lettuce with some carrot shavings and balsamic. It reminded me of salad in the late 60's -- when iceberg without imagination was what salad meant.
For the main meal:
The vegetarian/vegan option was the same: a plate of boiled. Carrots, onion and baked apples on a plate. I'm not kidding. When asked if there was a starch or something filling to go with it, the answer was (in so many words) no. When asked if a side of vegan mashed potatoes was a possibility the waiter said "no, they have dairy and they come that way" (what preparation happens in the Beckett's kitchen I then ask myself)
At our table there were 2 who selected meat in their entree. The green chili pork stew came in a lovely little skillet. The pork cubes were tough. The sauce was an unbalanced mix of kernels of sweet corn (what's that doing in green chili stew?) and hot green chili. Another person selected the salmon, which in a future/past life must have been a shaker shingle.
Dessert was hilarious. Desserts are easy. Desserts are vegetarian usually, vegan sometimes. Not at Beckett's. Dessert was an apple crisp with bacon. Other milk-containing sweets were served as well -- something the vegetarian could eat. Not the vegan. When asked (again!) if there was a vegan option, the waiter offered to bring some fresh orange slices for the vegan (see 1960's comment above). It almost seemed as if he thought that if the vegan were hungry enough she'd give up those nasty vegan habits. Or, more likely, he wasn't thinking about it and didn't care. We certainly didn't see any proactive exhibits of a desire to "serve" or to make the experience a positive one.
Other observations:
1 the bathrooms were clean
2 the kitchen is open so those there for the show could be happy
3 the tables inside looked fine; at the bar a nice wood/metal combination
4 the bar: the rye manhattan on the rocks was truly great
there isn't an IPA on tap and some of the wines were super iffy
5 the indoor decibels were moderate / high
Summary:
1) If you check the "I go out for the ambience" box, this wouldn't be a bad place to go. Sit inside if it's cold outside. Don't expect the waitstaff to be accommodating or learn to anticipate your needs as the night progresses.
(If I were you I'd have given the place 3 stars)
If you go to a restaurant for the food, drive on by.
(If I were you, I'd have given the place one star)
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