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| - I'm a big Michael Mina fan but wasn't really sure what to expect out of his new restaurant especially as (mediocre) gastropubs seem to be the trend du jour of celebrity chefs these days. That said, I was impressed by the food and all the dishes we tried were an easy 4*, possibly even 4.5* - but I am docking 1* for bad service.
Every single dish we had was good, although everything was definitely on the rich side. We started with the duck spring rolls and lobster corn dogs. Both were really balanced flavor-wise (especially the spring rolls, where the preparation tempered the usual oiliness of the duck), and both had fantastic texture contrast. For mains, we shared the baked ziti, double dog dare, heritage turkey burger, and the jumbo lump crab appetizer. Normally I would never ever consider a turkey burger, but a member of our party had heard the turkey burger here was one of the best and really wanted to try it. Well, the turkey wound up being incredibly moist and well-seasoned. I still don't think anything turkey can ever beat a great hamburger patty, but I was quite impressed. I was also a big fan of the baked ziti, which had just the right of amount of spiciness for that extra kick.
Unfortunately, the service left much to be desired. The hostess could not have looked any more unhappy to be at work or to be having to deal with us. Our server was a little more friendly (not that that's saying much) but still lacked the polish and efficiency that we would have liked; refills on drinks were slow, had to ask multiple times to get requests fulfilled, jumbo lump crab came out with the appetizers even though we asked for it as a main dish, etc. Also, one of our party members is allergic to avocado so we told our server that and requested the guacamole in the heritage turkey burger on the side, but our server neglected to tell us that the pico de gallo on the double dog dare also contained avocado. We certainly take responsibility for our own food allergies, but good service would have involved her being aware of that potential problem.
Ultimately, come here for the food. Temper your expectations of service and this is a solid choice for casual but good eats.
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