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| - (Note: LaVecchia's has moved to Hearst Tower, taking over what used to be City Tavern's spot)
Honestly, this is more a 2.5 than a 3 star review.
Let's start with service. First time I've ever seen a hostess at any decent restaurant sitting down smack at the entrance... something sloppy about that. Our party of 4 decided to sit out on the patio. We had to wait a good while before our waitress appeared (frankly we had to ask if she's our waitress as she walked right by us without acknowledging anyone), who wasn't at all enthusiastic or apologetic. She asked us for our drink order, yet we had no wine list. She didn't even bother to light the candle that's sitting on the table. We ended up getting the one from next table on our own. The delivery of food was chaotic, 3 people for 4 patrons and it was all over the place. I waited table before, 4 tops aren't difficult to manage. Needless to say, verdict on service is: NOT GOOD, plenty of room for improvement.
Now, food... I ordered the crab cake appetizer and the crab & corn chowder. Other items ordered were crusted halibut, stuffed shrimp and seared tuna. I can't speak for others, but my crabcake was awful. The crab meat was more shred-y than lumpy (to me an indication of lesser quality crab meat). It was overly seasoned with some kind of vinaigrette based product that I barely could taste the crab. It was simply overpowering and it was not complementary to the dish. I never not finish my food, let alone crab cake, and I couldn't finish it. The soup was good. Creamy and a good balance between sweet & salty with the corn, and the crab meat was lumpier. I tasted a bite of the halibut, it was good, but not sure if mashed potato is the best side option. The stuffed shrimp was ok... at least the crab meat they used with the shrimp doesn't have that awful seasoning. Verdict on food: HAD BETTER, for a restaurant that specializes in seafood, that was one disappointing crab cake.
Lastly, the surrounding. We were very impressed with the patio. For a space that overlooks the back of Connelly's... I was skeptical of sitting out there. But it's well put together. The big pillar actually blocks the non-scenic view. With the nice early summer/late spring breeze, I think this was the most enjoyable part of the dinner.... that and the bread & herb garlic butter.
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