| rev:text
| - Honestly, the food is just okay (Tuna Poke Bol, served with sticky rice, harissa yogurt, scallion, papaya slaw & sides of 3 crispy wonton chips and 3 small steamed tortillas, $9). I would give it another shot though since the restaurant is new, beautiful in a trendy pop-art way, and a big attraction for the new Public Square!
----------
FOOD:
I ordered the Tuna Poke Bol -- what better place to get some good raw fish than a hip, trendy new restaurant dedicated to organic, non-GMO, healthy fad fresh foods? Unfortunately, the tuna was a little fishy, the sticky rice mushy, and the entire dish soon became soggy as the excess liquid from the shredded green papaya slaw (with red onion and maybe carrot?) soaked into the food and through the paper bowl. I also didn't get much from harissa yogurt sauce. Overall, the flavor was very flat -- only sweet, maybe a little tangy, and really noticeably lacking in salt.
Although I found the deep fried wonton crisps ironic for a place selling itself as healthy, it did add the nice crunchy texture and saltiness that were both missing from the dish. The scallion garnish provided a much-needed texture and flavor boost as well, as well as a great pop of green color against all the orangey colors. I ended up eating everything with the wonton crisps, and ditching the tortilla -- more softness and sweet for a dish that has enough of that.
I appreciate that they use only quality ingredients and charge reasonable prices. The dish is very boldly colorful like your surroundings, which is cool.
ATMOSPHERE:
This was wonderful! Modern and trendy, with friendly service. Bright and bustling, as expected in this prime location, which also reflects the vibrant, bold swatches of primary color. Sleek, modern and cool, with the wall made of glass showcasing Public Square, the ceiling of protruding wood, and modern pop art depictions including of hip Einstein graffiti-ing the wall. There is outdoor seating as well on wooden benches.
P.S. Some of the early food pics here on Yelp and the menu presented in the various news articles online don't reflect the true menu offerings -- the menus here on Yelp are accurate.
|