. "0"^^ . "2014-03-20T00:00:00"^^ . . "1"^^ . "2"^^ . "2"^^ . . "You know you are starting to take the responsibility of writing Yelp reviews very seriously when you are kept awake at night by your mind having a heated debate about whether or not a restaurant is worthy of two or three stars. Wtf brain. \n\nBut alas, The Chase, you have earned yourself the below average two stars.\n\nThis 2/3 star debacle carried on in my head, because I had trouble separating the charm of The Chase that was its high ceilings, fashionable yet still warm & welcoming air, roman-nautical decor, and sharply dressed staff..... that it disguised the dissatisfaction of infant portioned, average tasting, and hence, overpriced food. This debate was settled when I truly thought about what my criteria is for judging these things....food above all else. \n\nThe food:\n- Oysters: Prefer oysters with a creamy taste so I went for the west coast BC Kusshi from BC and DC Shigoku. Ugh these were so good. But in all fairness, they don't take too much culinary skills to prepare \n- Lobster bouillabaisse: Closest thing you will get to a normal sized restaurant portion. I haven't had lobster bouillabaisse before so I can't compare it to others. In absolute terms, I'm not a fan...just tasted like boiled lobster in herbed soup?\n- Albacore tuna grilled cheese: Basically, imagine one thin grilled cheese sandwich with tuna sashimi and slaw on top. Also not sure how this is valued at $24 when ingredients aren't particularly fresh/difficult to procure or prepare\n- Pan roasted scallop: This $24 dish came with the very generous portion of...one scallop. One scallop on brioche that was a tad too sweet. I think I am just too turned off about paying $24 for one measly scallop and shred of foie gras on a sweetbread to say anything further.\n\nSo basically food is below average relative to the high price tags. The same can be said for the service. Our server did the minimum basics such as taking our order and answering questions that were asked, but did not seem pleased to be there. At all. I think he managed to get through the entire night without cracking a smile. \n\nI am not one to stinge on food, but I think you can get a lot more value for your money elsewhere. Sorry, The Chase Fish & Oyster...but as the saying goes, pun intended, there's plenty of other fish in the sea."^^ .