I am honestly stunned by the exceptional reviews this establishment has received, and it leads me to believe that any restaurant that charges $30-$60 per plate, serves "high-end" ingredients such as scallops and filet, and calls green beans "haricovert" can achieve a reputation of excellence in a town that offers next to no real competition for quality food.
First, I sat at the bar. This was to be expected as I had no reservation. Service at the bar was initially quick and friendly, and the selection of available liquors was pretty good. I was given a menu, and after a few minutes I came to the conclusion that (based on price and menu), this was the sort of restaurant that had the potential to really wow me with their food. Therefore, I ordered the calamari with fried jalapeños, and for my entree the surf and turf which consisted of a 6 oz filet mignon and seared scallops. For my "seasonal sides" I asked for the mushroom risotto, and the parmesan haricovert.
Shortly after this I received a cracked black pepper biscuit with "salted butter" with a drizzle of maple syrup on top of the butter. This was my first moment of concern, as any restaurant that takes the time to highlight the fact that their butter is "salted" (my waitress said this with distinct pride), really doesn't understand the vast majority of butters available in today's market. Salt is pretty basic. In addition, someone failed to "crack" the "cracked peppers" in my biscuit, and so what I really got was a rather decent biscuit laced with the culinary equivalent of land mines -- whole black peppers that destroyed your entire palate. The butter was entirely overwhelmed by maple syrup, which did serve a purpose in restoring some sense of justice to my palate after the black pepper assault.
A few moments later, I received an enormous appetizer of fried calamari, fried jalapeños, some sort of fried onion strips, and all the fried bits left floating in the top of the frier. When I say enormous, I mean this appetizer was enough to make me not only full, but stuffed. For some perspective, I am a fat man. I eat a lot of food. I weigh at least 100 lbs more than I should, and I love to eat large quantities of good food. This was an enormous appetizer for me -- I could probably have split this with someone and both left satisfied. The size of this appetizer alone went quite a long way in confirming my suspicions that this place was not in fact a "high end" restaurant, but instead a failed attempt at a "high end" restaurant that didn't understand food or even basic portion sizes. In addition, the calamari was rubbery, and the highlight of the appetizer was the fried jalapeño slices purely because I love jalapeños. The two sauces (billed with some fancy names I can't remember) amounted to poorly clarified butter, and a mayo with cajun spices whipped in.
Then, my entree arrived. I received 5 "seared" scallops, mushroom risotto, and haricoverts. Devon clearly has a different understanding of "seared" than I do. I envision a crispy golden crust on the top and bottom of my scallops. Devon serves a truly blackened top to your scallop, and apparently takes a few moments to wave a bic lighter under the bottom of your scallop just to take the chill off. This provides you an interesting contrast in flavors -- first you get the crunchy taste of grill char, then you get the overcooked texture of rubberized scallop, and finally you get the nauseating texture of raw scallop and a bit of oil from the pan at the end. The whole experience rushes you off to your "seasonal sides" to deliver your already affronted palate from the terrible experience you just had.
Sadly, this wouldn't help. First, the "mushroom risotto" was way overcooked, to the point that the rice was gummy. Second, the mushrooms were huge -- whole bites of mushroom. This was, for me, the point where I truly realized I wasn't just having a "bad meal" at Devon's, but that Devon's didn't know what the hell they were doing. Any chef worth their salt will have basic knife skills down and emphasize them in their kitchen with their whole staff. For example: I can get evenly cut vegetables at Chipotle. I would expect evenly diced mushrooms in my risotto. I can put up with a rough chop, but when one piece of mushroom is a sliver that melts away, and another is the whole mushroom stem and all... I can only come to the conclusion that the chef doesn't care enough (or know enough) to pay attention.
The "parmesan haricovert" was simply undercooked green beans in oil. I didn't taste even a hint of parmesan on the one half of green bean I gnawed my way through.
You will note, sadly, that I have not commented on the filet that was part of my "surf and turf." It is not, I assure you, that I was saving the best for last. I didn't comment on my filet because the restaurant forgot to serve it with my meal and my waitress didn't reappear after dropping my food for a full 40 minutes.
Avoid Devon's. It isn't worth it. read more