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| - I had a really disappointing meal at Harvest and I'm not sure if it's because of what I ordered or if it was an off-night or what. It probably wasn't a good sign that my husband and I and another couple were the only patrons in the restaurant last Thursday night.
Our server was not inept or anything like that, but it was impossible to coax a smile or any friendliness. He was not informed about the beers on the menu and ended up recommending something he thought might taste like an IPA. It was a lager... and not a good one.
I ordered the cornmeal crusted fluke over the sunchoke-duck hash, warm winter vegetable slaw with preserved lemon aioli. The best thing on the plate was the slaw, which was vinegary and crispy. The fish was cooked perfectly but it tasted a little off, and I can't vouch for the freshness of the Fluke. The cornmeal crust was only on one piece of the fish and there were three very large filets that totally overwhelmed the plate.
Also overwhelming - the hash. I guess I assumed there would actually be duck and sunchoke in the hash. Instead, the (large) potatoes tasted like they had been fried in rendered duck fat. Sunchoke is a pretty delicate, artichoke-like flavor and it was completely missing from the dish. The aioli was heavy on the oil and light on the lemon.
The dish was a total miss. My husband's dinner was the grass-fed grilled beef tenderloin with celeriac and parsley root gratin, roasted cippolini onions and bourboun jus. The gratin came out cold, but the beef was delicious and medium rare; perfectly cooked. The dish was passable, nothing either of us would come back to order.
The chevre pumpkin cheesecake was memorable for how heavy of a dessert it was. We had been hoping for something a little lighter, but this might be our fault.
Combined with the lackluster service, it was a disappointing meal. Next time we go out for a nice meal, I think we'll stick with what is always good and just go to L'Etoile.
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