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| - My wife and I have been Downtown 140 fans since 2004, following the restaurant as chefs Monday and Triskett changed over. In fact, we have dined there 26 times (thank you Quicken) and adored the place, but our most recent meal was a complete disaster.
Having a great bottle of 2004 Grgich Hills cab at home, we decided to bring our own bottle. I took the waiter up on his offer to decant. He proceeded to empty the entire bottle of wine, sediment and all, into the decanter. The better restaurants I've been to (with waiters that know what they are doing), will always leave the bottom half inch or so un-poured so you do not get the sediment in your glass or decanter. Not off to a good start. Our great wine now makes your mouth feel full of grit when you take a sip.
We started off with the cheese board as an appetizer, which we have gotten there many times before. The cheese options were good, but the selection of accompaniments was terrible. It consisted of cheeses, toasts, a few grapes, and an odd jam. Strangely enough, it was missing any kind of toasted or warm nuts that I've had in the past at 140 and other restaurants. The toasts for the cheese were so incredibly salty and over seasoned, they were inedible. The board included no other cracker options.
My wife then ordered the squash bisque. What arrived was watery, salty, mess. Its bisque, it's supposed to be thick and creamy, not watery. Plus I suspect the same person lacking taste buds for salting/seasoning the toasts also prepared the soup. For the first time in 25 other past meals at 140, we sent an item back to the kitchen.
For the entrée, we both got the filet. What arrived was dry, lacking any flavor, and with nothing exciting about it. I've had the filet that was prepared while Don Triskett was there and it was a blow my mind experience. The complexity of flavors and texture of what Don put together was amazing (my mouth waters on just the memory). Unfortunately, their current filet lacks any complexity what so ever and it is neither a spin on elegance in simplicity, since the quality is so poor. I'd rate it in line with chain restaurant quality filet. In fact, last weekend, my wife and I were laughing at Lager & Vine because they put out a better filet than Downtown 140. It's ridiculous..
Normally, my wife and I are big dessert fans, but our experience was so awful that we could not wait to run out the door. We paid our check and got the hell out of there. As we left, we shook our heads in disgust, because our favorite local restaurant seems to have been destroyed.
I don't know what is going on at Downtown 140, but I do know one thing for sure; the dining landscape in Hudson has changed dramatically since 2004, with many new options opened up. I want to love Downtown 140 again since it has been our "to-go" spot for a wonderful dinner for nearly a decade, but this last meal has drawn a line in the sand. I'm not stepping into that place until they get a new chef. Any chef or sous chef that would let that garbage go out under their watch, should be fired immediately. With the disgustingly over saltiness of the toasts and soup, it is obvious that they don't even bother to taste the food they are putting out. It is an insult to Downtown 140's history of great food and great chefs who have worked there and moved on.
Please Downtown 140, get your act together.
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