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| - Thumbing through the reviews on Yelp after visiting Lola for myself, I have to say that I am pretty surprised with the general consensus. Perhaps if I hadn't gone in with the high expectations associated with the Michael Symon franchise and bolstered by the great reviews, things might have turned out differently. But as it stands, I only remember biting into one of the famed beef cheek pierogis and thinking, "this is it?"
I've eaten some truly creative, unique dishes in my life, as well as some truly great preparations of the simple classics. I was expecting both walking into Lola, and I was shocked to receive neither (and that neither came with a hefty price tag). The one exception was the 6 a.m. special dessert, which was inspired and delicious, but it's hard to forgive the transgressions of the rest of the meal simply because of a great dessert.
If you are swimming in cash, it is certainly worth checking out. The food wasn't bad, and Lola is an icon in the area for better or worse. But for the financially conscientious diner, you can do a lot better for the money. As a student who eats out at a restaurant in this price range a handful of times a year, I wish someone had advised me to take my business elsewhere. There is a lot of hype surrounding the Michael Symon brand, and that brand is what you pay for when you eat at the restaurant-- not an earth-shattering meal.
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