Not my first time - in fact, I've been here I think four times now, beginning in 2006; this dining experience was decidedly the worst (Mother's Day, with my mother as the guest). I'll speak for myself, and what was on my plate.
The menu today was billed as a five course menu, but, strangely, not singly-priced for all five courses - which was somewhat confusing. So even though they included "appetizer, soup, salad, entree, and dessert", the appetizer and entree had prices next to them, but the other three didn't. That led me to think that dessert, like the soup and salad, was included in the entree price, but it wasn't. Not a big deal, but consistency and transparency are good in all facets of life, including running a restaurant.
I'll also mention that there was only one waitress waiting on several tables on what is always a busy day for restaurants. That was also a minor bad note.
But let's get to the food: After perusing the short, half-dozen or so entrees, I settled on the grilled polenta with the "secret sauce". I also decided to spring for one of the three appetizers listed - shrimp cocktail, baked scallops, or stuffed mushrooms. I like all three, but the thought of a nicely-baked dish of scallops sounded particularly appealing, so that was it.
Now what would you picture when you think of baked scallops? Probably not what came out of the kitchen and was presented to me - the most bizarre concoction calling itself "baked scallops" that I have EVER seen: An oblong dish, looking like it had come out of the oven, with a bunch of bay scallops floating in an unappetizing liquid full of what looked like cheese curds. Ummm.... where's the "baked" part of this? I should've said, "What the HELL is that?" Instead, I un-characteristically kept my mouth shut and started eating them. They were awful and I hope I don't get sick. I should've said, "Take these back to the kitchen - don't want." But I soldiered on, thinking that maybe the kitchen/chef knew something that I didn't about "baked scallops". In the final analysis, they don't. They apparently also have a very bizarre notion of what the term "baked" means. Indeed, what is it about "baked" that you folks don't get?
On the plus side, the grilled polenta was decent, but could've used other veggies in the secret sauce other than the overwhelming number of mushrooms that were the veggie accompaniment. How about, say, grilled zucchini, for example? A little variety would have made this a bigger hit than it was.
Because of the abysmally bad "baked scallops", this experience has to be a "one star". I might have given it a three, otherwise, tops, but this lack of basic kitchen savvy for a simple dish is simply un-forgiveable. Avoid the otherwise quaint, old-timely village atmosphere, if you're looking for quality food. read more