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| - A Light lunch? Maybe because I didn't want to eat it...
After reading previous reviews I wonder if my distaste for Light stems from the fact that I visited during the lunch hour. Everyone else seems to have had a wonderful experience and I can honestly say I won't ever be rushing back.
The atmosphere in the restaurant is lovely; a long hardwood bar gives way to a cozy room with tables. The staff is just exceptional. They were incredibly friendly and very attentive; my glass was never empty. I really had high hopes for the food, as well.
As previously noted, the bread comes in a white paper bag (not the most "green" practice); today's selections were french baguette and Parmesan. I only sampled the french baguette and I can honestly say it was on par with what I would get at Panera. Not bad any account, just not overwhelmingly good. The breads were accompanied by organic fresh butter - apparently unsalted and very, very bland. I purchase fresh butter all the time at the West Side Market just blocks away - I wanted to give them the name of my vendor and tell them to ditch this stuff.
For my entree I had the boxed lunch - butternut squash bisque, caesar salad and an apple and brie panini. The soup - which is usually a favorite of mine - was so flat. It had no sweetness, no spice, nothing. I was hoping for a note of nutmeg or curry - something. It tasted like pureed squash with cream and salt. Maybe some garlic. I left most of it behind. The caesar salad was good, but I defer to the fact that it takes talent to truly mess up a caesar salad. It was accompanied by tomato preserves; the only wonderful, memorable taste of the trio. The sandwich disappointed me the most as I was so looking forward to it. It was billed as brie, granny smith apple and celery on a french baguette. It tasted like uncooked celery stuffing. All I could taste was celery and bread. There was no tart bite from the apple, no creaminess from the brie. I actually had to force myself to eat half of the sandwich to not appear rude to my host, who was enthralled with the food at Light.
Lunch did end on a good note: I was served a warm chocolate chip cookie as part of the boxed lunch. However, I could have gone to Max and Erma's for a hot chocolate chip cookie so it's not really all that impressive.
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