| rev:text
| - I was so excited when Stagioni opened because I live right around the corner and was hoping it could become a new go-to in the neighborhood. Maybe I was there on a bad night, but there were so many things wrong with our meal. First off, the service was terrible. Our waiter wasn't knowledgeable about the menu or the bar, and seemed disinclined to answer basic questions or do anything (including refilling our water glasses) to take care of our party of four. It took forever to get drinks and longer to get our food. At one point when we were attempting to order our food, our waiter literally turned away and began talking with someone from the kitchen as we all sat and watched. When the food did arrive, the plates were dropped in front of us. I ended up with my friend's cauliflower pizza and a Peewee Herman-sized pair of scissors to cut the pizza. Not only was it extremely gimmicky and silly, it was also awkward watching her cut a pizza with a pair of giant kitchen scissors. Our meals were all extremely salty and mediocre at best. Luckily, our waiter had left a carafe of water at the table so we could refill our glasses ourselves. We were repeatedly interrupted mid-conversation by bus staff and our waiter, suddenly all anxious to move us along with our meal. They removed our plates before we had swallowed our last bites. Still optimistic, we ordered dessert which arrived almost immediately. Just as we began to eat the gelato that was melting on the hot plate it came out, the open concept kitchen, which we were seated adjacent to, began breaking down. Within minutes, cleaning chemicals began wafting at our table and through the dining room. I could understand this if it had been midnight and we were the only table remaining, but it was 9:45 and the restaurant was still at least half full. One of the people in our party has a lung condition, so we choked down a few more bites and headed out. The grand total for our meal: $300.
For less money and a far better experience, I'll head a few doors down to Terra, which offers gluten free options (we asked at Stagioni and were told, "we don't have anything gluten free."), a cozy environment, knowledgeable waitstaff and great food.
|