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| - Unfortunately I originally judged this book by its cover...
The menu was loaded with all my favorite combinations of flavors, and the sort of creative twists that I look for at brunch spots, plus they boasted using quality/local/organic ingredients. To make it better the decor was modern, the energy seemed high, beautiful outdoor seating, and live music.
However, the food didn't live up. It seems like they scouted a bunch of cool west coast restaurants, crafted a menu using all of their ingredients, but don't really know how to capitalize? Or maybe they are just using buzz words to appeal to people who read healthy food blogs? I dunno... to be fair, maybe I miss-ordered, the sandwiches looked good, anyway...
The "Market Sunflower Salad", was literally a huge bowl of the most unappetizing, lifeless, romaine lettuce I have ever seen, with a skimpy handful of seeds and dried fruits--the kind that restaurants in the midwest use during the winter because they are an inexpensive non-perishable way to give their salads a bit of color. The goat cheese was near non-existent. The chicken breast actually looked pretty good... which makes sense, because for $15 you had better get something worth eating.
"Sweet Potato Avocado Baja Bowl" ...boasting roasted sweet potatoes, avocado, queso, fried plantains, quinoa, and a creamy jalapeno avocado dressing... a combo of some of my favorite things in a bowl? How could I resist.
Wow... was this depressing. Now to defend the infant sized portion I was given (for $13), I will concede that maybe it is meant for like dieting vegans? However, if that is the case... the waiter should inform people of that. It was literally a spoonful of each ingredient. Luckily I added a fried egg (to make it more breakfasty), either way I had to stop on the way home to get a real meal. Also... don't be fooled by the delicious wording "rosemary coriander roasted sweet potatoes" ... I got a dozen tiny sticks of nearly raw sweet potatoes--no flavor to speak of. Also the creamy dressing that sounded so enticing, hardly made the scene.
"Bourbon-Ginger Peach Brioche French Toast" ....OH MAN HOW COULD WE NOT GET IT! Especially based on the awesome yelp photos. So we order it, we get the standard 4 piece plate, only we must have gotten there when the kitchen was starting a new budget? We got 4 tiny squares of (canned????) peaches on top, and a helplessly minimal drizzle of the cream (which I can't say for certain, but highly doubt has anything to do with creme fraiche). The "bourbon ginger" flavors didn't have much to say... but I will say that the texture and richness of the actual toast was pretty good.
To top things off... the waitstaff seemed like they had been plucked off the streets (obviously I can only speak for a couple). Honestly not a big deal, they were all EXTREMELY nice and helpful, but just clearly had not been waiting tables for long. Which like I said, doesn't bother me normally... but at this sort of price tag, you expect the eatery to be putting a little more effort into curating their team.
Conclusion...
It seems like a spot that has created an atmosphere and menu that capitalizes on as many current trends as possible, with the end goal to make people feel like they are at some edgy eatery where the high price tag is matched with top-notch quality. The problem is that you can't just give your dishes cool names, you need to have the culinary innovativeness to bring the unique flavors/ingredients to life! And I just didn't feel that here...
If your looking for a locally-inspired/inventive/hip/edgy/modern/American-new style meal... take your hard earned cash elsewhere.
If your looking for a good sandwich and are already in the area.. check this place out.
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