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| - I was excited to try Rosewood Grill based on the menu I'd seen online. They have an impressively broad menu and price range, with everything from steak to tofu to sandwiches. I went with the cashew-crusted tofu, which was served with a spicy chili sauce. I wish they would have used firm tofu, but other than that it was great. Others at the table had the butternut squash ravioli and the steak. Five stars for the food itself. Also, our server was friendly and competent, which is always a plus.
Beverage-wise, I was curious about the Sweet & Savory Sapphire, which is made with a crazy array of ingredients including Bombay Sapphire, fennel water, bitters, and pickled cherries. When I asked the waitress if it was any good, she said the bartender had actually won a contest with this concoction. That sealed the deal. I was going for it. In hindsight, I guess I realized that if none of the ingredients sound appealing, combining them is probably not going to be very tasty either. Luckily, the martini glass was only half full (or half empty, depending on your outlook) so I was able to finish it off.
The biggest aggravation was the lack of reservations. Rosewood Grill proudly states that reservations are not accepted but call-aheads are. So we called at 5:00 and were told that the next available "call ahead" was for 7:00. That pretty much sounds like a reservation. So we showed up at 7 and were told we had to wait til a table was free, which finally happened about 35 minutes later. What's the point of a call ahead system like that?
Once we sat down, the server was all over us: are you ready? what do you want to drink? what do you want to eat? how is everything? any dessert? here's your check! She was nice, but the service was just a bit too fast. After waiting all that time in the drafty entrance area we didn't need to feel rushed like that.
In summary, I would gladly eat Rosewood Grill's food in a quieter venue that takes reservations and doesn't rush people out the door.
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