Bleeeeh. Desperate to escape from the dinner at my hotel bar yet again, I opted for...dinner at a different hotel bar! I was lured by "brasserie" and "wine bar". If you're following along, you know that I should really know better.
I learned an interested factedote today--PA liquor laws force restaurants to buy wine at the same price that it retails. That might explain the wackadoo pricing all over town, and especially at this place. I'm getting incredibly sick of places that call themselves "wine bars" that serve Mark West Pinot Noir, Sterling Merlot and Chateau St. Michelle Chardonnay. Not all of these suck, but not exactly what one looks for in a wine bar.
The food. Why call yourself a "brasserie" if you're serving average american hotel food? My "pan roasted chicken served over fresh pasta" was a big old bowl of fettucine alfredo with chicken hunks and some artichoke hearts and mushrooms thrown in for flavor.
The blowhard next to me, talking at me, made me flee with the check as soon as I could.