Mistake #1: I really wish I had taken a look at the reviews before coming here ...
Mistake #2: Coming during Summerlicious.
To be fair, my eating partner is working at a participating restaurant during Summerlicious so he really wanted to try out a restaurant. The only day he had off was Sunday .. and one of the only seemingly-decent opened ones was Sassafraz. So we ended up here by process of elimination.
Why the 2 stars? The food was underwhelmingly mediocre. Despite it being a $25/$45 menu, they really set a precedent by serving such disappointing food!
Also, the service was not satisfactory. We were seated a full 15 minutes before anybody came to our table to take orders. And after clearing each plate, they took a full 20 minutes between courses. We sat there for a minimum of an HOUR without anything on our tables! It was ridiculous.
The server apologized by saying they were slammed in the kitchen, but we were seated at 1:30pm (final seating for lunch) and we ended being one of the only tables outside. So in reality, i think they just forgot about us. It really detracts from the dining experience.
The food: the starter, a lobster-potatoe-y soup was delicious. There is exactly one little parcel of lobster in the soup.
The main: he had the pork tenderloin doused with a pumpkin-orangey puree. No other sauce. The meat was of great quality but the puree was super bland and definitely not strong enough to accompany the pork on its own. I had the grilled salmon over a bed of orzo and some dry beans. Again, no sauce. The salmon tasted like it was cooked a few hours ago and then microwaved before coming to me. Definitely not appetizing.
Finally, the dessert. I don't understand WHY it took them 20+ minutes to bring this out (after clearing the last plate). He had a slice of cheese with some dry fruit. I had a chocolate brownie. It was ok.
Such a disappointment! I've always heard of the distaste for Summerlicious and now I finally understand why.
Will not be coming back to Sassafraz.