Apple Blossom is a restaurant that is oriented towards serving locally-sourced/seasonally available dishes. Being at the ground floor of the Hyatt Centric Hotel is fitting as the new Hyatt concept looks to highlight local sights and activities in its decor. The restaurant's hotel-based location also allows opportunity to experience a full portfolio of menu items -- from breakfast to late night Happy Hour, every day of the week. However this is not your typical hotel-based restaurant food and service, and a visit will squash any bias a diner may have had.
Following a restaurant design trend, Apple Blossom has a variety of seating configurations and semi-private nooks, and as such is poised to meet the needs of a range of diners' needs, from solo hotel visitors to large gatherings of friends, family, or colleagues (even event-sized (20-30 people)). The restaurant design appeared as if it came from Anthropologie's design and buyer teams, with modern, organic dining chairs, large olive glass water tumblers, and wall art.
Service is impeccable, being attentive, yet non-Intrusive, as well as informative. Service tips are embedded in the bill at a flat rate of 23%, and are reportedly distributed to all restaurant employees as an equity move. Another impressive move was the serving of gratis appetizers at dinner.
Since menu changes, it might be best to solicit the recommendations of servers. The following were recommended fall 2022:
Breakfast: The egg sandwich, smoked trout sandwich, burrito, and Croque Madame were recommended by two servers (apparently beloved pancakes are not on the menu at the time). The smoked trout is complimented by peppery arugula and think slices of tart green apple, and served on a toasted poppy seed bagel. Hot Earl Grey tea paired well. The egg sandwich also included peppery arugula, but also a thin layer of beet purée. This added brightness and color to the common sandwich. Don't recommend selecting the optional addition of bacon as it is chewy, rather than crisp, and difficult to bite into. Macchiato paired well with this dish. Both dishes are served with French bistro style potatoes-- small cubes with crisp exterior.
Dinner: The skate and fried chicken dishes were recommended. However we hesitated to order as they were relatively expensive, and one dish was totally unfamiliar (skate), while the other was overly familiar (fried chicken). We went with the duck French dip, a twist on popular beef sandwiches served with a cup of broth for dipping. This was disappointing. Unlike the other restaurant dishes, there was no effort to add color or surprise to the dish. The sandwich would have benefited with some color and complexity, such as adding pickled Julienne carrots to the sandwich. Just doesn't belong on the menu as is. Sticking to server recommendations would likely have supported a better introduction to the chef's creative efforts.
Dessert: A trio of sweets were spectacular and I bookmarked the idea that the restaurant is a worthy late night destination for this desert, coupling it with a glass of wine. The mocha -themed trio included Mexican wedding cake cookie with ground ancho pepper and coffee beans, a slice of layered opera cake, and a tiny bowl of Panna Cotta.
Valet parking is available at rate of $10 for two hours, but metered parking and parking garages are also in the vicinity. read more