The place was packed on a Saturday night. Mon cher chou et moi arrived without reservations. Silly us! The hostess said she could fit us in at the chef's counter, by the kitchen, if we wanted, otherwise there would be a very long wait. We were game-- and ended up getting the coolest seat in the house!
I'm a fan of the recent spate of Gordon Ramsey programs on the Food Network. The moral of all Ramsey's tales: running a restaurant is not just about creating really good food, but doing it efficeintly, consistently and well. To say this kitchen operated like a well oiled machine is simply not good enough. These fellows exemplified what it meant to work a a team-- seemlessly attending to their own portion of the art while assisting collegues who got in the weeds with nary a misstep. Amazing!!
We got a chance to chat with them after the rush-- they were really fantastic! The chef himself was really nice and obviously in love with what he does.
The food was good, really good! The polenta crusted calamari was an interesting, crunchy/ chewy take on the classic. My seared scallops were wonderful-- and there were 6 or 7 giant scallops! Great value for the money! The skin-on mashed potatoes were God's food! the real stand out of the night was Mon cher chou's pretzle crusted trout. It was moist, tender , flavorful and balanced. Get that.