I don't intend to return, but based on the way we were treated by the kitchen earlier this week, my "uncouth" self doesn't exactly feel welcome anyway. However, I'm not quite convinced that it's my loss...
It had been almost a year since my original visit to Breadfruit which did not overwhelm (as you can judge by it taking me a year to make it back) but I did have an appreciation of the option for Caribbean cuisine.
Since a friend and I were going to be downtown for an event, I suggested Breadfruit for our dinner spot. We enjoy good food and supporting local. The option to pick up wine at the Public Market next door and have the already reasonable corkage fee waived was a bonus, as we had really enjoyed a couple of the Arizona Stronghold wines at a recent FnB wine pairing and thought they would pair well with the Jamaican heat!
While the scallops were delicious and cooked perfectly, 2 for $12.50 -- $6.25 per scallop -- is a tad steep in my book. We also shared the Jerk Chicken Salad ($9.95) and the Jerk Prawns Off the Grill ($14.95).
Here's the ultimate rub, the bottom of the menu states "no substitutions or modifications"... Since when is cutting a KFC-side-sized ear of corn a "modification"?
At the same time, the menu describes the restaurant and it's offerings as "Nothing fancy; simply good food that nourishes and rejuvenates the body."
It seems like cutting something in half so we could easily share it -- particularly after the plate has been delivered to the table for us to appreciate it's "beauty" AND after we've communicated to our server and demonstrated with the first two courses that we were splitting the items -- is in the vein of "nothing fancy."
How about providing the customer with an appropriate utensil to cut it themselves, then?
The fact that the chef was obstinate in refusing to cut the KFC-side-sized ear of corn provided with our entree screams "pretentious and grandiose" and tainted our entire experience.
To quote my dinning companion, "You are not James Beard and James Beard would've cut the corn!"