| rev:text
| - So I can't quite put my finger on it, but I just can't give this place a raving review.
The boyf has been wanting to try this place for a while, primarily because he and some guys at work had unsuccessfully been able to get lunch reservations a couple of times. So we had a date night after work one day, and I got off at Union Station and had a quick walk there.
The menu all looked very appetizing, but you won't find anything creatively out of left field. Just a mish mash of comfort food that's been elevated. We started with the standard bruscetta, which I whole heartedly recommend. The crostinis were tasty and crisp, but oddly, didn't result in a messy bite. Impressive and delicious!
After that, I'm afraid - things didn't go downhill, but they became sort of mediocre. My boyf tried the famed mac and cheese - incredibly rich as promised, but the portion wasn't as satisfying as the waitress had claimed. Nor did it have much variation in flavour, despite its richness. I had the pancetta & mushroom pizza with whole wheat crust ($1 more, how obnoxious!). Which was fine, but didn't have much flavour either - pancetta was the primarily taste. Don't get me wrong, I love salty pancetta, but I thought I could use some highlights from the arugula and the parm-reg cream, as well. I even had high hopes for the crust, after the delicious crostini bruscetta vehicle. Alas, no. However, nothing was terrible, it just simply wasn't remarkable.
The overall ambiance and decor seems to be trying a little too hard to be cool - like it wants to be a place you come to be seen, instead of place you come to eat. And yes, there were in fact, many beautiful people to be seen! (I guess this strategy is working?) Our waitress was extremely attentive, but just slightly too pleased with herself - and definitely displayed an air of superiority when she learned it was our first time dining there. Girl, it's not that complicated here!
I'm ambivalent about the Q-water option. On one hand, I'm happy that I'm not being forced to purchase expensive bottled water. On the other hand, $2.50 per person for filtered still/sparking water, isn't an option that I ever thought I needed? What happened to the other option? Just water? Our super pleased waitress presented us this option, or lack of option, as if O&B was doing us a huge favour. Thanks, I guess?
In the end, the Q-water was gratefully drank, the food came out in a timely manner, was as described on the menu, and the waitress was terribly positive. However, the boyf left with a sense of disappointment after all the anticipation, and I have to agree - I think this place might be all sizzle, no snap?
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)