| rev:text
| - Being a tad late in the week making reservations, Habitat was our 3rd choice for the evening meal, but being fans of Faimont Hotels (President's Club members--lah-tee-dahh!) we were anticipating a meal with great attention to detail and a high level of service.
We'll start at the curb. Valet parked the car--by this I mean the Valet explained that the fee was $15 (uh, ok)--but he managed to work a deal with my husband for that exact price whereby our vehicle never left the spot. Hosed, I believe it's called.
Beyond the valet is the hotel lobby. The desperate effort to look SoBe-Cali-Euro chic in Pittsburgh just seems fake and cheap. We walked up the 2+ story grand bleach-white marble, plexi (glass?) and stainless staircase to the restaurant above and found our party waiting for us in the teeny-tiny bar. Good thing we didn't want to sit down, there were already 3 people there and I don't think it accommodated more than 4.
Off to the table. Passing LOTS of empty tables--around a corner in the dining room to where they were hiding all the diners. My impression of the dining space was that it seems unfinished--as if the kernel of their statement is present but not worked out yet. Minimal, as the lobby is, but the colors and materials are much warmer. Espresso woods and bamboo, brushed aluminum, dark brown leather and the color palette of desaturated teal, red-orange and gray carried from the hotel. This corner of the room has windows on two walls with the 3rd wall being completely open to the kitchen. A raised table for larger groups is in the middle of this room; very oddly placed and proportioned.
Our server, N. (ugh! "My name is N. and I'll be taking care of you tonight"---please find a better opening line, N!) handed us our eco-local-organic menus which were a brush-textured aluminum folder with the paper menu inside. The paper inside my folder was stained, dripped on--ew. Not the best first impression for one expecting better-than-average attention to detail. The bartender made up for my initial disappointment with his ultra-generous pour of Patron. It was more like a triple :)
Service: our server did not offer any detail or explanation of any of the dishes beyond telling us the specials of the night. I did hear the server at the table next to us deftly describing ingredients and components of many offerings and informing the patrons which were the local elements. (BTW, their whole "local, sustainable" theme is very superficial...or extremely understated) That said, we never really asked him any questions...
Our four entrees were brought out simultaneously by four servers, each with his/her own speech in the ear reminding us what we ordered. I've seen that at other places (Restaurant Gary Danko, for one) and I find it off-putting when the arrive en masse.
An equipment issue for me: the freaking almost-two-sided knife! There was most certainly a cutting edge, but it took more than a glance to decide which it was! The knife feels "right" either way. A small detail, but it pissed me off.
Ok, the food:
The menu was kind of all over the place--some Asian, some Indian. The items are arranged in Small Plates and Entree sized portions.
My order: small plate: crab salad in a squash blossom; entree: Curry Lobster with Lychee; dessert: Rice Pudding with Rhubarb.
The fried squash blossom being one of my all-time favorite food containers I could not resist. It was OK. The batter was heavy and puffy, obliterating all but the stem of the flower. The crab salad inside was light, cool and refreshing.
Accompanied by beautiful, chewy, sweet black rice, the curry was surprisingly under flavored; the lobster--two claws plus maybe 1/3 of a tail was a nice portion size for me, as I prefer to not feel like I've just left the Cheesecake Factory when done eating. I have never been a fan of Lychee fruit and never will be but I ordered this for the lobster and curry. Let me tell you--if you LOVE lychee, then this is for you!
As for the Rice Pudding: it was very delicate, not sickeningly sweet. Sprinkled with brown sugar and slivers of pickled rhubarb, the rice perfectly cooked. I could have eaten my weight in this dish.
I really wish there was a 2 1/2 star rating selection. They were better than Meh, but not A-ok. Hopefully, we will return at some point and try the next menu.
One last thing: If you walk down the staircase to exit, be careful running your hand on the metal part of the railing on the left side, there are some pretty sharp places where the seams are.
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