rev:text
| - Halcyon - where to start? First I must admit my expectations were high to begin with...
When you first climb the grand stone stairs and see their outdoor space, you think, this is going to be good! The view is stellar, partial skyline, a beautiful church, museum architecture and the sculpture I call "silver parrot man".
The main dining room is crisp, shiny and beautiful. The floor to ceiling windows are pretty much amazing. The open kitchen is neat and tidy with line chefs prepping food; I bet working here full time with that view makes you feel good.
Lyonnaise Salad: Poached egg on Frisee with Benton's bacon. I did not realize until later that the mustard vinaigrette was missing. So, runny yolk on undressed lettuce. The pieces of bacon were quite fatty, chewy and had a way too potent smokiness for my tastes. Would the vinaigrette have made things better? Maybe, maybe not. A little acidity might have blended and pulled the components together a little better. I did not enjoy this dish.
Vegetable Phyllo: Sundried tomato, feta and walnuts wrapped in a phyllo. It was still warm and well-seasoned. Much better!
Ceviche: This was an excellent dish. The flavors were spot on. Scallops, yellowtail and shrimp with the perfect amount of citrus. The rice/shallot crackers were a nice complement to the dish.
The good: Everything looked pretty and was nicely plated.
The meh: The portions were small. I'm all for serving food on cutting boards, but they're starting to look a little too "well-travelled" - too many marks distract you and pull your focus from the actual food. The dressing was missing - "rookie mistake".
|