hmmmm....
I really, truly, wanted to LOVE this place. Chef Moro has cooked some of the best meals of my life, when he was the Chef at Mirbeau/Giverny. He has outstanding talent and is a creative genius. No doubt about that.
But Moro's Table, for me, was a miss. For the record, I have been only once, but as it's over an hour drive for me, I won't be returning anytime soon and I do feel compelled to write this review.
1st off, the menu is weird. While the restaurant philosophy follows the trendy theme of local local local, there is a TON of seafood - which I don't think is coming out of any of the Finger Lakes. There are 5 menu sections - apps, salads, small and large plates - and then there's also a sushi menu, and a mussels menu. So with whole sections for sushi and mussels, and then more seafood selections from the apps and small plate menus, I'm just saying that's a LOT of seafood for a place that claims to have a local food focus. I realize I went in the winter, but local farmers markets are still offering onions, potatoes, radishes, apples, kolrabi, greens, carrots, parsnips, beans, etc, and of course plenty of meats are available all year round (no need to buy from the Hudson Valley).
and honestly, the sushi section just has no place on this menu. It does not fit.
So I started with a meat and cheese plate, which was not great. Unfortunately, there was some kind of horseradish something compote that had a juice that completely covered all the meat selections. I wasn't a fan, and thus none of the meat could taste good to me. I also thought the portion seemed small, though it didn't end up being an issue as I was so turned off by the meat anyway. Next up was a super yummy salad with bacon and dates and cheese and a bangin vinagrette. Best part of the meal, hands down. Alas, I'm not the person that wants the salad to be the star.
Now my entree. Eek. Ok let's 1st say that I was in the right mood the night we went. I had wanted to go for so long, and hubby and I REALLY needed a date night. I was stoked to be there and at the time, tried quite hard to see past any and all flaws. So when my duck confit dish arrived, I tried to ignore the fact that it was extremely salty and just enjoy it. Well I could only "enjoy" about half the dish before the salt prevented me from finsihing - and wow, when I went to eat the leftover duck the next day, I was blown away by how salty it truly was. Criminal, but I threw it away. Also, I just have to say that the dish was just plain boring. Going to a restaurant owned by Chef Moro, I wanted to see that brilliance that I had seen from him before. This was a duck leg on top of a few slices of roasted potatoes, and then a throwaway pile of greens and cherries on the side. Boring. Why not a sauce to bring it all together? This is the kind of food I can cook at home and save two hours of driving and a lot of $$.
My dessert was a perfectly good creme brulee, nothing special but just fine.
Price for 2 apps, 2 salads, 2 large entrees, 3 drinks, 2 desserts = $152. Too much for this particular meal.
Well it does kind of kill me to be a lone negative reviewer here, as I am actually a huge fan of the chef, but it's that reason exactly that compells me to write. The next time I go, I want my insanely high expectations to be a whole lot closer to being met.
oh, and bring a flashlight! It is DARK in there. read more