i had higher expectations for this place.
i'll get the good out of the way.
the steak was really good -
but i can cook a killer steak at home.
the creamed corn was really good -
i haven't tried my hand at this at home, so kudos to you 3 forks.
ok, that's it.
that's all the good right there.
steak and creamed corn.
if only we could just walk up to the window of the kitchen and pick it up ourselves.
let me see if i can remember all the bad.
i'll number them for fun.
1) had reservations and was seated in the bar area RIGHT next the way too loud piano. we asked to be moved and told them we didn't mind waiting for a quieter spot - so they promptly moved us to the other end of.... the restaurant? no. the other end of the bar. thanks for helping out, hostess. a little quieter, yes.
2) our waiter was a step down from a trained monkey. wait no, that's too harsh. maybe he is a rocket scientist. in which case, he should stick with rockets. he was not cut out to be a waiter. i will not number the many reasons why, but i will try to elaborate with some of the more notable ones. i ask straight questions, and i expect straight answers from a waiter. i don't want him to question me back. this isn't a game of "who's a bigger douche - me or you" i promise, you win. when i ask anyone a question that they don't know the answer to, i appreciate an honest, "i don't know, let me find out for you." really, i love that. no one has the answers to all the questions, but a smart person knows where to find the answers - i think this is good advice in any field, not just among those in the waiting arts. i %$&*( hate when the answer i get is a version of, "well... hmm, what do you want the answer to be?" e.g. i asked what bourbons they have in the bar, i got back "what bourbons do you like?" that doesn't answer my question. (when i finally coaxed a printed list from the bar, i was happy to see bookers, blatons, bakers, wellers.) later i asked him what the steaks are cooked on... a grill or a broiler. he looked at me like i had asked his neighbor's mother's maiden name or something. i know it's picky of me, but i like a really really really rare steak. and what's it's cooked on will determine if i order just really rare or black and blue. if it's on a grill that could have a really sweet hot spots - as in covered in flame - then'll i'll shoot for black and blue and get a nice char with my cool purple center. if it's a broiler, i'll skip the char. our waiter "wasn't totally sure, but was pretty sure it was a broiler" way to know your kitchen, chief.
3)
even the waiter's support staff was weak. mashed potatoes came with the steak, one of the waiter-lings offered me gravy. i put my hand up in a stop sign motion and said "no, thank you." he continued to lean in and prepared to pour at which point i looked at him squarely and said NO a bit louder. he smiled and poured the gravy right on my potatoes. seriously. that just happened. whatever. i ate 2 bites. that was enough.
4)
we asked for dessert. no, it wasn't offered to us. but we had the temerity to ask our waiter. our mensa man of the menu then asked us what we wanted for dessert. dude. we just told you we wanted it, and you haven't left the table yet, and we don't have menus. maybe we could see some menus? or is this a let's see if we can guess what's on the menu and maybe you'll have it OR is a your kitchen will make anything we can dream of ?? uh, no. this is me just really hoping our waiter is high. no one is this bad at their job in real life, right? no he never did bring us a menus, but he struggled through descriptions of what they did have. we chose a chocolate pudding / mousse with blue berries. the next waitress at the next table over brought out a beautiful dessert tray from which the patrons to chose.
99)
ok, so this might not be part of the restaurant, but it was part of the experience for me - the valet. when we parked, we asked if he wanted us to pay now or later. (if i think they're going to leave early, i like to get the pay out of the way, so maybe they'll give us a heads up about shutting down early and leaving without returning the keys) he said we could do either, so we paid ahead. and tipped $3 on top of the $7. why? it's freakin' christmas. i'm in a good mood. fast forward to the end of the eve. we pick up the car and get in without paying or tipping again. once is enough after the meal we just had. as we're about the pull away, the valet knocks on our window. "that'll be $7" he says. when we explain that we paid before hand, he replies, "well, he (meaning the other valet) says that you didn't" at this point we are really surprised and not sure what to do. we assured him we had paid, he accepted our assurance and off we went. just one more thing that could have been taken care of in a much classier manner.
thus ends the longest review i've ever written on yelp. read more