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| - It's a lovely restaurant and a welcome addition to the neighborhood, but there are some major flaws that need attention. But first kudos to Larsen's landscape architect who gave it the most attractive exterior with access to two levels of parking. As for the flaws, sadly, it's the food that needs some attention if they want to keep guests coming back.
There are some important steps they're skipping in the kitchen -- most importantly tasting the food before it goes out. That's not happening. A tomato salad with three slices of tomato should have 3 perfect slices of the ripest, juiciest tomatoes ever -- it's summer, this isn't hard. But that didn't happen. They were mealy and tough - large, but totally inedible. The dish was billed as tomato and burrata salad but the cheese was plain old mozzarella - fresh yes, but not burrata.
Mac & cheese has promise texturally, but was flavorless - how is that possible?
Best dish was the steak sashimi - cooked rare with a nice sear and served over wasabi mash -- but it was an app and there was enough mash for this to be a main for 2 easily, large enough to be an app for 4 handily. On the plus side: the meat was tender and flavorful plus overall, the dish was good and recommended by our server.
Tuna tartare was HUGE - well presented... but even as a lunch portion by itself, it was huge. And dots of siracha need to be brushes of it, it helps the whole dish, as would some lemon. Tuna was okay, but cut in cubes so large, the mouth feel was off. There wasn't a balance between it and the avocado, but I will say that this was one great avocado. Probably one of the best I've had in a while out - so why couldn't they ripen that tomato?
Rotisserie chicken had been sandbagged by the cook a while earlier - so that the skin was rubbery and gummy. Sauce was strangely sweet. Not good. Again the mash - and tons of it. Only two spears of asparagus. Nice fat ones, but still...
I hadn't had Chilean Seabass in years because it's not sustainable - but I was curious to see how they handled it. This dish too, was served on a sea of mash, plus the fish had a strange texture. The gold standard is Nobu. And it's been trickling downward for years onto chain menus. Go try it, and you'll see why yours is not up to par.
I like that traditional steakhouses / grills are serving up lots of other options beyond simple steak. And dishes with sides already composed (but enough with the mash...). It would be great if they stepped up and offered more organic options - but kudos for having one grassfed beef steak on the menu. They had some sushi - but here too, the portions were HUGE.
I get that every restaurant in America thinks they have to compete with Cheesecake Factory and serve up portions that are enormous, but there's no need for it.
I didn't get the sense that they had any gluten free options at all. I didn't even bother asking for a menu, but I think today, servers should take it upon themselves to find out when guests sit down if anyone at the table has any food allergies that the kitchen should be aware of. And every kitchen should be able to deliver at least two safe meal options - free of any potential allergens. Even if there are only a few limited options, there should be at least two. And every server should know what they are. Period.
We ordered a ton of food because we like having a chance to get a feel for the place in one fell swoop - even though it typically freaks out the kitchen. But we're flexible and not weirded out by timing - particularly when there seems to be thought put into it. So we asked them to send it out as it was ready - but the food came out so quickly without consideration of coursing appropriate dishes that we weren't really able to enjoy what we already had on the table at proper temps or at a proper pace. Rookie mistake. So their solution? The table was too full -- so clear dishes! So they tried with every pass - and they passed a lot to take the plates away. Finally when we reached a stopping point, and were actually ready for some to be cleared because we were finally all complete, there was no one in sight, no one watching the table at all. And no one who noticed us trying to flag down anyone. Poof.
One other odd note: there are a lot of the same liquor bottles behind the bar all lit up intentionally - but instead of contributing to the design, it screamed "sad chain with poorly stocked bar."
And servers, please don't ask "how are We tonight?" "how do we like Our food?" Awkward.
Oh and one last note: aging beef - either wet or dry - does not increase beef's marbling. ever. When you say things like that to folks who know better, you immediately discredit yourself and the restaurant.
I know, we're tough. But we really want you to succeed. So sit down, taste the food -- benchmark yourself against folks who are serving up dishes that you're serving and be honest about how your stack up.
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