We went to Chef Geoff's for my sister-in-law's birthday, which just happened to be right during Restaurant Week. I'll be honest, the only reason I picked Chef Geoff's was because my sister-in-law is extremely picky and unadventurous about her food (she has the stereotypical "American palate"), yet she asked us to take her somewhere "adventurous". I felt that Chef Geoff's would offer that very narrow tightrope that would be different enough to satisfy her need for the exotic, yet is grounded enough in basic American cuisine that she would be able to find something to tempt her tastebuds (and I'm not running her down or anything. She's desperately sweet - but she thinks dining at Maggiano's is "adventurous"...and I just couldn't do another sad birthday dinner there...review on why I think Mag's is sad, later).
When we first arrived, I was a little disappointed in the decor. It was a bizarre clash between "Martha's Vineyard nautical" with "casual upscale yuppie dining". I wasn't sure what mood the decor was trying to convey (should I start calling out "aye maties" or flash my new Marc Jacobs bag?). If the weather was a little nicer when we arrived, we would have sat outside, which was quite pretty despite it being set in a little strip mall.
However, once I got over my disappointment in the decor, the rest of experience was remarkably decent. For the most part, the food was delicious without being overwhelming, the flavors were rich and strong without overpowering the palette. The inner (or not so inner) yuppie in me loved how much of our food was from local sources (the bread and ice cream were from local vendors), and some of the ingredients were from Chef Geoff's own garden!
My sister-in-law ordered the watermelon soup, and while she claimed she liked it, she only finished half. I had the seared tuna tartare which was quite fresh and well seasoned. I wasn't a huge fan of the mayo-wasabi that was served with it, but then, I very rarely rave about mayo-wasabi sauce. My husband ordered the duck spring-rolls (and he adores duck in all it's infinite deliciousness) and we were both a touch underwhelmed, as there was very little duck and too much filler in the duck spring-rolls. However, it was my sister-in-law's first experience with duck and she thought the spring rolls extremely tasty.
For our entree, she ordered the crab cakes (yes, we came to Chef Geoff's for crab cakes!), while my husband ordered the trout, and I ordered the scallops. My sister-in-law raved about the crab cakes, and from what I could see, there were nice large lumps of crab, and not just all breading. The trout was quite good, although I wasn't crazy about the sauce - I think something with a touch of spice would have pushed the dish to the next level. My scallops were delicious, and the risotto was flavorful and well cooked.
Ah, our server. She was nice and friendly - and tried to make small chatter (which was a tad annoying, as she did it while I had a huge chunk of tuna in my mouth...why do servers do that?!?), but her appearance was sloppy and her hair was very disheveled to a point where it was a little off-putting. However, her service was impeccable, and was able to steer my sister-in-law into some great recommendations that she enjoyed.
I would recommend Chef Geoff's for work luncheons or dinners with large groups of people, there will be sure to be something for everyone. read more