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| - Offering HH is an opportunity for restaurants to give customers a glimpse of their menu offerings, and leave them wanting more so that they will stay or return for a full meal. Given all the local hype about "oyster hour" (5-6PM, oysters are $1/ea), we started off with that- seating in bar/lounge area is limited and awkward (very low couches/tables or two large tables for 10+?). Service was disinterested, slow, and careless, so we scaled back to just doing HH instead of a full dinner and even with those lessened expectations, food was mediocre.
OYSTERS: Fine, fresh, served with a mignonette and lemon. Ordered by the dozen, tray was plopped on our table without a word. No clue what kind of oysters they were or where they were from.
FRENCHIE BURGER: $15 at HH, and one of the menu items the restaurant has been using in publicity materials. Below average. Meat was not overcooked but dry, toppings were harmonious but very understated, overall flavor of burger was muted to the point of bland. This was incredibly boring and not worth any raves whatsoever.
ARTISAN CHEESE PLATE: Again, dropped off without a word. No clue what kind of cheeses I was eating, one was clearly a bleu variety, another seemed to be an English cheddar, who knows about the third. Accompaniments were a cranberry bread, candied walnuts, grapes, and a fruit chutney that did not remotely go with the bread. Odd assortment but good quality cheeses (thankfully!), the only good point of our visit.
Unfortunately, getting some good cheese at a French restaurant is not enough of a justification for me to stick around and try more of the menu- a quick analysis of other reviews clearly shows a correlation of higher ratings with HH and dinner receiving lower ratings. I wasn't about to shell out more money for more mediocrity. What a disappointment for a Daniel Boloud restaurant- and for the Venetian in general. I've had better service (and burgers) in a food court.
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