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| - So what happened to Quiessence?
I've been to this restaurant many times and thought it to be one of the very best places in the Valley. I've often had 5 star meals here and never less than a 4 star night, until this past Friday.
What happened to the fantastic vegetable side dishes?
What happened to entrees that were actually cooked?
When did the prices nearly double?
What in the world is an 18% house service fee?
To start, we ordered the vegetable crudité plate. In the past, this consisted of various farm fresh raw vegetables with several dipping sauces. This go 'round the plate was a mélange of various vegetable presentations, from grilled squash, pickled vegetables, and cheese to a fantastic terrine plated next to goat cheese-stuffed squash blossoms. While I miss the simplicity of the raw vegetable plate, this new take on the crudite was a success and the highlight of the entire meal.
Our next course was the inventive octopus sopprasotta with candied red peppers and pickled veggies. The octopus was extremely tender and was uniquely paired with the garnishes. On its own, the candied red pepper was far too sweet, but combined with the pickled onions, cucumber, and a bite of the thinly slice octopus, the dish was balanced and flavorful.
As for the entrée courses, this is when the disappointment truly sets in. I ordered the pan seared black cod in a roasted onion cream and my dining companion ordered the Mangalista Pork Loin, a unique type of pork known for its heavy marbling and thick cap of buttery fat. In both cases, the proteins were dramatically undercooked. For me, cod is a fish that should be cooked to medium doneness. You want to make sure that it is heated all the way through, though still light and moist. The cod I received was so rare, it had no texture at all. It nearly disintegrated in my mouth. Had it been raw it may have had more texture. In this case, it was mushy. I was so put off by the strange consistency I could not finish my dish, though the onion cream it came with was delectable. As for my partner, his fatty pork was also so rare I had difficulty eating it. It was a soft pork with a odd "beefy" flavor that also picked up the subtle earthy notes from the mushrooms it was prepared with. Not for my palate. I missed the actual flavor of pork in this dish and was again put off by the weird texture. As for my partner, while he was somewhat more comfortable with the level of doneness, he was very disappointed at the inedible hunk of connective tissue in the center that could not be cut with a steak knife. Both entrees were unfortunate. Had the meat been a better cut and both dishes actually cooked, they may have worked.
I was also tremendously sad, there were no longer any side dishes offered on the menu. In the past, one of the very best features of Quiessence was the broad offering of simply prepared, farm fresh, ripe vegetables. Too often, fine dining restaurants offer vegetables as an afterthought... just a garnish or a shmeer of puree on the plate. Quiessence was one of the few places were their "grown on site" vegetables were a feature to be enjoyed at the peak of freshness. We were so hoping for a side of roasted butternut squash or another featured fall vegetable. Outside of the crudite plate and the two salad options, there were no veggie choices to be had.
To end the meal, we did enjoy the Honeycrisp Apple Tart with homemade vanilla ice cream. It was a delight. The apples flavorful, the granola topping crunchy and sweet, the ice cream rich and creamy.
As we looked at the bill noticing how much more expensive Quiessence had become, my companion and I reflected on the starts and stops of the night. We discussed whether or not the crudite plate was worth $26 (it was) and if the "designer" pork was worth $42 (most definitely not), then we see a charge we had never before seen, an 18% house service fee. When I asked the server if this was for her tip, she responds with "Oh, this is the house service fee." What does that mean? Has Quiessence now affiliated themselves with Ticketmaster? I am not used to random, unexplained fees on my restaurant bill. This strange charge clenched it for me. Quiessence is no longer the place I once loved.
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