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| - Checked this place out on a Sunday evening (630p) for a dinner date. She was taking me out and she picked the place.
Entering the restaurant I was impressed by the smell of the wood burning oven. As mentioned in a different review, the atmosphere reminded me of a PF Changs. Service from the start was professional, but only that. I generally like to have a feeling that they're grateful to have us... but nothing went beyond, "by-the-book professional"
We ordered a couple glasses of wine and our dinner. I chose the fish tacos (grilled) and she ordered a southwest chicken salad. My date asked for some help on selecting her salad and was given the simple answer, "they're all very good." Lame.
The wine arrived nearly 10 minutes later and almost immediately followed by our food. For it being 630pm, I felt like we were being rushed... except for the tardy wine service.
I couldn't have been more disappointed with my fish tacos. I could tell that there was definitely some care put into making my food, and I think my major complaint begins with the menu and recipe. If you're going to serve an item differently than how it's typically prepared, then it should be important to mention it on the menu! As follows:
"Fish tacos. Fried or grilled, served with a black bean salad"
The tacos were ruined by some sort of zingy southwestern sauce that was liberally used and totally dominated any other aspect of the item. Fish tacos are generally basic with a couple simple ingredients. You might say that I'm being overly picky with how my food is prepared and that I should've known to order something other than fish tacos in an American Grille restaurant and this is true, very true. But again, if you're going to stray away from the traditional recipe, at least make it taste good! And mention something about it on your menu!
I like smaller entrees and that was something that was positive about the food. Although, when small entrees don't get finished, there is probably something wrong.
Last thoughts: It irritates me when a restaurant pops up out of nowhere and spends a lot of money on atmosphere and then fails to concentrate on the most important part of a restaurant, the kitchen. Everything in the world could have gone wrong, but if there is true talent developing your recipes/menu, you can expect me to be happy.
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