Well, tonight was a special event. A beer and food pairing with Hooker brewery. Two stars is a gift. To begin with, we were given 1/4 full stemless wine glasses of the blonde ale, followed by the watermelon seasonal. To me this seemed a bit on the light side. We were then asked by the, I can only assume manager of the event, if we had toured the wine cellar. She said go ahead and look around, dinner will be served at 5. We had about 20 mins to kill so we took our time looking at the casks, artwork
on walls and were just having a good time. That was, until a woman came into the cellar and spoke to us in a tone reminiscent of middle school days when you're out in the hall without a pass, and told us that we weren't allowed in there. It wasn't until we said that Alexis, said for us to take look, that she backed off. Alexis being the one who was apparently in charge.
So here is the food review--- long story short, we were served 5 courses along with minuscule beer pairings. In fact, we drank the majority of the beers before the food even got to our table. It was a disappointment. The soup was the first course- gazpacho. Was tasty but a bit too much dill and certainly nothing to write home about. Second course was salad that was difficult to eat with grace due to the lengthy stalks. Third course was one, yes one sea scallop cut in half and placed on a pesto covered slice of crusty bread. A burned piece of bread with pesto, and it was almost laughable- really one scallop? The next course (notice I've stopped discussing the beer pairings, which is what we went there for? The representatives from Hooker could not get the patrons to stop talking, they just talked over everyone, so I really have no idea how each beer paired with each minuscule meal).
Anyways the next course was a pork tenderloin, but when the tickets of 75$ per person were purchased, the fact I was vegetarian was made clear and they said they would have another option. The other option was tofu or chicken. Ok chicken??? So I said ok to tofu. Not realizing there was a hidden third choice that only after the other vegetarians at my table were served did I become aware of. But I was too late. It would take the kitchen 20 minutes to get a plate of yummy looking gnocchi my way, so tofu it was. Seriously? This on my plate was the reason I and most people do not eat tofu. It was cold, flavorless and inedible. Plain tofu rubbed with some spices and slapped on a grill for 30 seconds. Wow. Anyways the the last course, NY style cheesecake. Expecting that a slice of thick heavenly cheesecake was heading our way at this point was a joke. We got what we expected, a small round and what looked like store bought basic cheesecake was next and last.
We left promptly and did not stay for a glass of wine, did not stay to enjoy the surroundings, we just wanted to leave. I spoke with the woman in charge about my concerns and how this did not even come close to meeting my expectations. I have done several food and beer and wine pairings and this was by far the worst. Worst food quality and quantity, worst customer service and what we came for- to learn about the beer and the food, well that was a wash. The chef didn't even come out to discuss his food preparations. They said he was too shy. Well, he should be shy after that mess of a performance. The management has to get their act together if they want people to return. 35$ maybe is what I would have paid for this, but still would have left disappointed. The woman did give me a $25 gift card to come back and get gnocchi off the main menu. This is where he second star comes in. Seriously Chamard, this was pitiful and if I were you, I would be embarrassed. This could have been an amazing evening of delicious food and educational beer pairings. Instead it was a comparison of why someone got 1 1/2 scallops when we only got 1 and why someone got wine when we were offered none. At least make the beer pourings even for goodness sake. I won't be back probably ever. Hopefully, if they do this again, they will read my review and take to heart how they made a customer feel. Not very good and it could have been a lovely night. It was all done wrong. Good luck Chamard. Hopefully their regular dining experience is better. We went to get a pizza afterwards because we were still hungry. Over 200$ for three people. I'm beyond disgusted. Really, this is an embarrassment. read more