Foodie Digest

We’ve had some phenomenal meals in Chicago, some OK meals, and some oh why did I waste the calories on that meals (usually because we’re in chicago and alcohol is involved. Or family. Either way, some random excuse. Usually alcohol).

Our first night in we decide to check out Avec. It’s the sister restaurant to Blackbird and we loved our meal at Blackbird.

Anyway, there are a few things to note about Avec:

• No reservations. In our case a bonus since we didn’t know when our flight would get in
• Small and big plates, but all good for sharing and not coursing to yourself
• Communal tables. Usually a good thing; here they are communal to the point you’re trapped in your seat by complete strangers who can control whether or not you can get up/go to the restroom/leave the restaurant.

Anyway, get meet our friends there on a Saturday night. They did the first half hour of table waiting w/out us and we joined them for the next hour. Was fine; we sat outside and enjoyed some beverages and the nice weather.

We’re finally seated (at a communal table where I have to ask some random strangers to get  up whenever I want to use the restroom. I guess I could have sat on the outside seats but then my friends would have had to ask random strangers to get up to use the restroom).

Anyway, the random strangers sitting to the left of us offer menu suggestions. Our server comes and we order away. As in seriously did we miss anything from the menu? Oh yeah. the pork belly. because when we tried to order it they said they were out.

We order:

• house-marinated mediterranean olives: these were a nice variety, plump, and juicy. They also came with bread to sop up the extra olive oil.
• chorizo-stuffed madjool dates with smoked bacon and piquillo pepper-tomato sauce This is a signature dish and it’s clear to see why. Really fantastic flavor. The dates and chorizo are nice balance and the bacon is just a bonus.
• Housemade baccala with red and yellow watermelon, cucumber, pickled watermelon rind, mint aleppo pepper and olive oil This was just OK. The baccala was a bit stringy. The watermelon was lovey but not enough to make the dish a winner.
• mixed salumi platter Very nice assortment. Came with 4 types and 4 pieces of each so perfect for sharing.
• pan-roasted hanger steak with rapini, roasted corn, smoked paprika lima beans and beans herbed butter Ugh. This was inedible. Like chewing steak flavored gum. Don’t get me wrong; the flavor was nice. The lima beans were great. The corn tasted a bit tired. But the steak? Terribly awful. We mentioned this to our server who responded with “Well, hanger steak is a tough cut”. Sure, we know that. But even as novice chefs we know it’s low and slow to make hangar steak taste good. It shouldn’t be on a menu if it’s not. She did say she’d have the chef try it. 10 minutes later she reported back that it was taken off our bill. I’m going with the belief that we just had a flukishly bad serving. Which should never happen in a great restaurant but…
• slow roasted crispy duck with marinated market plums, tarragon, grilled onion and savory streusel I don’t eat duck so I didn’t try this. I was told it was good but very salty.
• wood-fired pizza with blistered tomatoes, grilled sardines, fresh ricotta and basil This was interesting. The sardines were in chunks rather than whole pieces. The flavor was nice, though.
• “deluxe” focaccia with taleggio cheese, truffle oil and fresh herbsTHIS was fantastic. Worth going back for. Imagine your most favorite grilled cheese sandwich. Then add truffle essence. There’s a truffle cheese we love that melts like this. I would stop by for drinks and order just this and be happy. Actually, if we’d ordered just this I probably would have been happy.
• 6 cheese selections (which I can’t remember) We ordered these after being underwhelmed by the dessert choices and because they had a large cheese selection. The portions of cheese were nice and all were good. A couple were outstanding (alright, one was outstanding). We also got the quince paste which was nice.
• sorbet We didn’t actually order this. It came as a gift from our server after she stabbed my friend. Or accidentally dropped a knife off a plate that COULD have stabbed my friend. I think she missed. Or my friend was properly anesthetized from the multiple bottles of wine that she didn’t know if she was stabbed. Either way our server was nice to bring it and it was a nice flavor.
  Would I go back? probably not. If I lived in Chicago I might. My friends who live in Chicago usually have enjoyed their meals here but found tonight’s menu not as interesting in as some of the ones in the past. I think we just landed on an off night so…

  Overall thumbs: Sideways. We had a great time but were underwhelmed.

  Food tastiness: What a range. From fantastic (focaccia) to inedible (steak).

  Service rating: Pretty good. We had to ask for water 2x when we were outside. Our server needed to confer with the chef before giving credit for an improperly prepared dish. But she did try to compensate for dropping a knife and she helped conspire with us to steal the bill away from our friend. I found her helpful and attentive.

so we zoom ahead to end of June. Still to come are visits to Mercat a la planxa and Graham Elliot in Chicago. Beretta in SF. But I figured I’d write about Jar while it’s relatively fresh in my memory.

We road tripped to Los Angeles to visit a friend and buy some booze. We’ve never really been able to explore too many restaurants in LA, so when the opportunity arose I did some Chowhounding and Yelping. We wanted reservations with an hours notice or so. Jar showed up on Open Table at the right time, so we grabbed the reservation.

We walk in the door and are immediately impressed with the clubby retro steak house atmosphere. We’re a few minutes ahead of our table so we grab comfy seats at the bar. We’re presented with bowls of mixed nuts and housemade potato chips and dip. A friendly bartender answers questions about the dinner menu (and drinks) for us. We have time to devour 2 bowls of chips and get our drinks, then our table is ready.

The maitre d’ treats us warmly and carries our drinks to the table. I point out the treats us warmly part since some of us are dressed a little SF casual and sometimes that can bring out the snootiness in a well dressed restauranteur. Not here. Our table is central in the dining room and again has very comfortable chairs. On wheels. With arms. 

The menu here is very meat focused. And we’re hungry. We start with:

• Crab deviled eggs recommended to us by the bartender and our server. These were good but not better than any other deviled egg (which isn’t a bad thing, mind you).
• Pork belly and watermelon salad the pork belly here is a little tough, but the flavors mixed with watermelon are quite nice.
• Grilled calamari salad I can’t actually remember the description or what else came with this. I do know it was fine but we all missed the grilled flavor on the calamari.
• Roasted beets salad I think this one a friend panic ordered so we ended up with quite a few starters. This was flavorful but tasted like most other beet salads.
• Celery root soup this was served with a parmesan cream drizzle but my friends ordered this sans cheese. The tiny sample I had was light yet flavorful. The soup was completely polished off by the two who ordered it.

At this point I’ll mention that our service has been outstanding the whole time we are there. I enjoyed a great cab by the glass (neal family, I think). For entrees we had:

• Yankee pot roast one friend ordered this; another friend coveted it. Very rich tasting and a delightful rendition.
• Bone in dry aged filet This was one of the specials of the day. Two of us ordered this. It was a phenomenal cut of meat.
• Dry aged kansas city steak This is regularly on the menu. Was good but couldn’t compete with the bone in filet.

The steaks came with your choice of sauces; we sampled horseradish, peppercorn and tamarind. The steaks did not need it but it was nice for variety.

We went a little crazy with the sides, and had:

• french fries because they were recommended by both the bartender and server. They were good but maybe because I haven’t eaten french fries in 6 months.
• duck fried rice this was polished off by two people. I don’t eat duck so can’t really describe but it was deemed very delicious.
• Turnips braised in veal stock good, but not phenomenal
• Japanese purple yams served with creme fraiche and chives. Caramelized perfectly and quite tasty.

I’m sure I’ve missed something. Anyway, after all of this we still got 3 desserts.

So I love the atmosphere, loved the service, and really enjoyed the food. And the walk to my friend’s house afterward was exactly what I needed after dinner.

Overall thumbs: Up. I think all 4 thumbs up.

Food tastiness: Good. The steak was fantastic. The sides were good. 

Service rating: Very high. We were treated well, service was warm and friendly yet very professional.

Would definitely go back.

Small and Big commute most days, and Small’s birthday was just another one of those days. On one of their treks home they popped in at Wakuriya, a new kaiseki restaurant just opened in San Mateo. The restaurant apologized that they couldn’t accommodate us without reservations and encouraged us to plan ahead and come back.

Wakuriya is owned by two couples with experience at the well known Kaygetsu restaurant in Menlo Park. We haven’t tried Kaygetsu, either, but reservations are hard to get there. Since Small’s birthday was approaching, Big made reservations at Wakuriya.

We arrived a little early for our reservation so we were the first diners at the restaurant. Wakuriya is teeny; there are two 4 top tables, one table for 2, and 8 seats at the bar. We were seated at the bar opposite Mika, one of the chef-owners. Mika is also the resident sommelier and sake expert. 

Wakuriya offers a set kaiseki menu each night. The menu remains constant for a month or so; we arrived to a relatively new menu. You can choose whether you want 3 courses, 6 courses, or 9 courses. With 3 you get to choose one entree type course (which wouldn’t be a completely satisfying meal). With 6 courses you can choose 3 and with 9 you get all the courses on the menu. Since we were celebrating, we chose all 9.

We had:

Saki-zuki was the starter course. This was seared white tuna on a mizuma leaf salad. Very light and delicate.

Zensai (appetizers) was next. This was a plate of 4 small bites. We both loved the uni. The mustard served with the chicken made that dish and I love anything to do with fava beans. The octopus salad was fresh and tender. Overall we both liked all 4 of these bites quite a bit.

• uni and ikura okawa sea urchin and salmon roe on steamed mochi rice
• simmered petaluma chicken with snow peas and Japanese mustard
• chilled soramame (fava bean soup)
• nama tako (fresh octopus) salad served with japanese turnip and tomato

On mono (steamed dish) asari clam in creamy chawanmushi (steamed dashi egg custard). I’m a big fan of egg; Big isn’t as much. This was perfect comfort food to me. Mika noticed my smile while I ate this and said it made her happy. Made me happy, too. We were sitting opposite the steamer so we got to watch these cook for other people all night long. The egg came out a little runny on top. I thought it tasted fine; I think Big would have preferred this cooked a little bit more

Tsukuri (sashimi) with hirame, maguro, amaebi. All of these pieces were very tender. The hirame was thinly sliced. The maguro was buttery and the shrimp were quite sweet. A very delicate touch on all of these. Extra bonus—the sashimi was served with fresh wasabi.

Age mono (deep fried dish) snow crab and portabella mushroom wrapped in soybean and deep fried, served with vegetable tempura. This was one of the dishes I would have skipped if I’d gone with the 6 courses. It tasted good to me because I haven’t had fried food in such a long time. The vegetables included pumpkin and asparagus. Was perfectly fine but not one of my favorite dishes of the evening.

Hashiyasume (granite) fresh peach and sake sorbet. This was very strong sake flavor with barely a hint of peach. I thought it was just OK, though I loved the little spoon they serve it with.

Yakimono (broiled dish) broiled salmon with shredded ginger, radish and mountain berry. This would have been another dish I would have skipped. I tend to not be a fan of cooked fish and salmon is high on my list of fish I prefer raw. However, this was very good. It wasn’t dry at all and the salmon still had a fresh and non-fishy flavor. 

Gohanmono (rice dish) choice of sukiyaki (stewed beef with enoki mushroom and green onion or unagi boiled in dashi sauce with egg. We got one of each. I loved the unagi and Big preferred the beef. I thought this was one of the best preparations of eel I’d ever had, and I realized yet again I’m a fan of eggs and broth. Big would rather his eel be caramelized. Would absolutely get this dish again. and again. The rice served with these dishes was cooked to perfection. 

Dessert strawberry parfait with flan, kuromitsu (black sugar) jelly and seasonal fruits. We watched Mika meticulously place mint and fruit on this parfait to the point we thought she was obsessing for show. The resulting dish was beautiful. Again, I was pleased with an egg-based (flan) dish. The strawberry in this was ice cream which was a bit too frozen. The black sugar jelly was a layer of rich caramel.  This was light but, except for the detail put into presentation, wasn’t all that special.

All in all I’d have to say the dinner was a success. They have a tiny but impressive wine list including Turley zinfandels by the glass. Next time I go I might try some of the sakes based on Mika’s recommendation. I’m now very curious to try Kaygetsu as well.

Overall thumbs: Two thumbs up. The atmosphere was cozy and relaxing. We had an incredibly leisurely dinner and appreciated the slow pacing.

Tastiness rating: high. The presentation and flavors were very interesting. 

Service: high. From the moment we walked in the door until we left we were treated well. Sitting at the bar gave us an insider’s viewpoint into the kitchen and Mika was happy to answer any questions we had.

Celebrating a beautiful sunny Sunday in San Francisco Big and Small ventured out with a final destination of Bi-Rite Creamery in mind. That, combined with the desire to sit outside, led us to Farina. We’ve gone to Farina for lunch one time before and remembered really enjoying it.

We head to the Mission and drive around the church-infused parking lot streets. As luck would have it church was just getting out and parking spaces were freeing up. We drive past Farina and into a parking lot across the street. Score!

We pop in to Farina and ask for 2 seats outside. We get prime seating right in the sunshine. We’re given glasses and a bottle of water, and we each order iced teas. We lean forward to relax and read the menus and OUCH. The outdoor tables are topped with steel and can get very hot. Well-placed napkins become your friend here. Big immediately orders a Salumi plate to get us started. 

We’re also served some nice bread. We ask about the daily specials (there’s always a pasta and soup of the day) and order our entrees. Service the entire time is warm and friendly. Our iced teas are constantly refilled and silverware is changed out between the salumi course and our main courses.

Our choices:

• Tagliere Di Salumi Misti this was the salumi plate. It came with normal thick slices of salami and shaved thin slices of both speck and bresola(sp?). The salami was fine but could have used more pepper or spice. The speck was my favorite. The bresola (dry cured beef) was Big’s. Both of these were very lean pieces of meat with great flavors. 
• Taglierni with meat sauce the sauce on this was more a braised beef sugo. Very rich flavor and perfectly prepared pasta. This was Big’s main.
• Spinach tortellini This had a much more interesting Italian name. It was handmade tortellini that were a cross between tortellini and ravioli. Filled with spinach, cheese and nuts. The recommended sauce for this was a walnut cream sauce but Small (in an attempt to make it slightly healthier) asked for tomato sauce. I was happily accommodated. I LOVED this dish. The pasta was perfectly prepared; it was delicate with robust flavor. I’ll dream about this.

Overall thumbs: Two thumbs up. Service is great, the pastas are incredible and the patio is really comfortable.

Tastiness rating: Very high. I think these are some of my favorite pastas in the city. The salumi plate also had some interesting additions. Oh! and they gave us cookies with meringue along with our check that were also very tasty.

Service: Very good. Our server was warm and friendly. Our iced teas were constantly refilled and we had plenty of water. Plates were cleared quickly and fresh silverware was provided.

Dog friendliness: Very good. We’ve been here before with our two big dogs. They also have a dog bowl outside.

WW points: 8 for the ravioli, 2 for the salumi (small avoided the salami).

Every month a group of friends join Small (me) for a night out. Small’s friends pick the place (with input from all attending). Some months have been great discoveries, some returns to fond memories, some forgettable, and others just unsatisfying.

This month’s location was Conduit, a relatively new place just barely in the Mission district.

First impressions once I figure out what door to go in, I’m greeted by a warm fireplace and a friendly host. The decor is cool and industrial but the fireplace tempers this and creates a warm ambiance.

Since we haven’t all arrived I’m welcomed to wait at the bar. My friends are all late (we’ve picked a rather early dining time) but we’re offered our table when only half of are present. We sit and wait for our delayed friends. Our server is nice and unobtrusive. We don’t feel rushed whatsoever as we linger over wine and read the menus.

By the time we’ve all arrived and are ready to order it’s an hour after our original reservation. The restaurant doesn’t seem to mind. This is constant throughout the evening; we never felt hurried and relaxed for hours.

The food: We start with some shared appetizers:

• skate—I can’t remember the description, but it’s 3 thin slices of pan fried fish. I enjoyed this; others did not.
• quail—the description said something about bacon. I resisted trying it when others raved about it. I finally tasted it and wasn’t a fan. Then again, I don’t like dark meat in chicken, turkey, or any duck so not so surprising. 
• fettucine—this was with some type of sugo and shaved truffle. Both pastas were incredibly small portions (which we were warned about). 7 of the 8 of us were able to get a taste (as in 1 bite). This was really good but I probably wouldn’t order pasta here again. The portion sizes are really just too delicate.
• gnocchi—this was served with crab and arugula. It came 6 to an order to our table of 8 ordered two of these. The gnocchi were very light and delicate. The portion was quite as, um, Small as the fettucine but was still on the petite side.

We’re all pleased with the appetizers, but realize we haven’t even ordered dinner yet. So we do. Across the 8 of us we sample:

• Halibut ordered by me because it seemed the most calorie conscious choice and preparation on the menu. Ordered by a couple others because the description sounded good. The dish arrives and it’s cooked for flavor rather than calorie conservation. The fish appears pan seared (can’t remember the description) and is served on what was described as a vinagerette but seems more like a light cream sauce. There are also artichokes below the fish. This is quite tasty.
• NY Steak served with root vegetables. This was prepared properly but those who had this and also tasted fish decided the restaurant really excelled at preparing fish.
• Sable served with chickpeas. This was also tasty; I must admit I preferred the halibut.
• Game hen cooked sous vide (I know, you’re reading this as I did; this must be the calorie conscious entree) served with pea ravioli. The server assures me this is indeed tasty because the breast is cooked sous vide but the leg meat is sauteed with butter and mushrooms and is served on the ravioli. I opt out of this one but get a taste anyway. Really good.

Overall verdict on the food by now is very good. Out comes the dessert menus.

A few decline but the table orders:

sundae with some really decadent caramel description served with a homemade graham cracker type concoction that’s really an excuse to caramelize butter. The table got 2 of these.

some chocolate espresso thing this looked almost like a small molten chocolate cake that was served with a potent coffee ice cream (so said all those who tasted it).

By this time we’ve been here over 3 hours. It was a very leisurely paced meal that worked out well with a group of friends trying to catch up.

Overall thumbs: 8 thumbs up

Food tastiness: Really high. There wasn’t anything that wasn’t good, and there quite a few standouts.

Service rating: Very high. The bartender and our server were really nice. Plates were cleared and water was constantly refilled. 

Weirdness factor: Well, I couldn’t exactly do dog friendliness rating here except to say it isn’t. But I will give a caveat on the bathroom. It’s coed ala Slanted Door in that there are 4 stalls and a single trough sink. Two of the stalls have a M; two have a W. The weirdness part? The stalls themselves are made of frosted glass so you can see the shadow/color/shape of the person next to you. This proved uncomfortable for some of us; others didn’t really care. Just figured you should know.
Weight watcher points: 11

Small and Big decided to try explore dining options to celebrate Big’s birthday. Besides, Orson had just opened in our neighborhood and we’re a fan of dining local.

First impressions: Great space. Large and LOUD as in SF Gate would need multiple bombs to rate it. It was a Friday night a little before 9 and the place was booming. We wondered where all these beautiful people live (it ain’t our neighborhood). We checked in with the hostess (we DID have 9 p.m. reservations) who apologetically said (yes, I’m paraphrasing) “We haven’t quite figured out the reservations yet—tables are staying longer than we anticipated. We hope to seat you soon so make yourselves comfortable and we’ll come find you”. There’s a very large bar. We had plenty of places to go make ourselves comfortable and the combo of Small and Big makes us easy to spot. To bullet first impressions:

• loud and booming space
• cool decor
• friendly but apologetic host
• disappointment that reservations didn’t seem to help

Off to the bar

We get to the bar area where there is one available seat. Big insists Small take it, so Small did. Moments later the couple next to us was approached by the host asking if they’d like to stay at the bar or go to their available table. An odd question one thinks, and the couple chooses the table. Big and Small both score seats at the bar. Things start picking up. The loudness seems to fade and converations are easy to be had. (as in the first impression of LOUD doesn’t last, though the place is lively). After a half hour of waiting for a table Big and Small decide it’s time to sample some food. Small is getting noticeably smaller (Small needs to self-sustain often). The bartender—who is fabulous—takes our order for a dozen oysters and two foie gras bon bons.

Next set of impressions Service here is phenomenal (well, except the host but we’ll come back to that). The main bartender in our area is incredibly attentive but any time her attention is somewhere else there is someone else nearby checking up on us. Runners bring out food quickly; servers walking by check in to see how we’re doing. Feedback on the food is encouraged and welcomed.

And now, the food.

1. First up, foie gras bon bons. These arrive and look like perfectly round truffles. Foi gras rolled in chocolate with orange zest and cocoa powder. Interesting, right? Should be delectable. These are one bite each. First taste is SALT. Next taste is orange. Then chocolate. Small thinks she can detect a little foie gras in a taste; Big says no. These were deemed unacceptable.
2. Next up, miyagi oysters. We’d requested not to have the garlic lemon whatever drizzled on them so they were pure. Mostly. We requested lemon to squeeze on them ourselves. Oysters were sweet. and salty. Which makese sense since they were oysters. But they were, well, extra salty. Looks like the oysters got a dusting themselves.

We start to realize there will be no hostess coming for us so it’s time to venture into the menu deeper. Sure, the first two dishes weren’t so promising. But we’re here, it’s in our hood and you can’t judge a restaurant on just two dishes. We order a larger sampling.

1. Market special of the day asparagus: This was served with a black garlic saboyan. We were greeted with Huge young asparagus. The black garlic saboyan was an upscale take on a french onion dip. For the most part this dish worked (only teeny bits were oversalted) but the uber large asparagus needed some extra trimming they didn’t get).
2. Charred octopus, beef tendon, sprouted nuts As served, this dish didn’t work. This is a vietnamese style salad take but was missing the necessary citrus. We asked for lime wedges to doctor up the dish ourselves and were much more impressed. Big really liked this. Small thought it was just OK.
3. Pork buns These model the baked donut style pork bun rather than the steamed style.Big proclaimed these would be good with more pork in them; Small shared half of one of hers that was appropriately proportioned. This is served with 3 pork buns; 2 out our 3 were appropriately proportioned. Both Big and Small deemed this dish good and recommended.
4. Carrot dumplings, blood orange, ricotta salata The dumplings were light, airy and lovely. The blood orange foam was delicate and the ricotta salata brought the appropriate contrast to the dish. Would return for this dish. Delicate, small, and not intimidating. Big and Smallwere both happy.
5. Roasted pig This was pig served 4 ways. Pork tenderloin, pork belly, pork, um, cake, and pork dumpling with pork jus. The pork belly worked. The tenderloin was NOT tender. Actually, was not edible. Big and Small struggled and subtlely placed said pork in napkins. The pork, um, cake could be described as crab cake with pork instead of crab. It was OK. The dumpling was missing pork (it was empty!) but maybe was just there to capture the pork jus (which was good). Oh, and the pork belly was perfectly prepared. This was one of the more expensive dishes on the menu. Big and Small would not recommend this.
6. Smoked fish, black rice, bacon The fish was a smoked trout. This was not substantial portion. There was a very lovely smokiness to this. Small liked this a lot. Big wasn’t convinced to change his opinion on cooked fish. Would recommend this to fish eaters.

By now we’re really going with a mixed bag here. A couple good things but nothing that made us say Yes, we’ll come back (except for the service at the bar. phenomenal). We’ve given up on being offered a table. We’re looking for the next thing to try. Something hearty. Something rustic. Something that’s not SWEET. We go for:

1. Chicken sausage with dino kale and pistachio pesto. Finally. This was a substantial portion of sausage (as in one big sausage) with little gnocchi. And Small loves dino kale. Only occasional bites of over-saltiness. The extra layer of salt that adorned the sausage was easily scraped away by Big. Big took one bite and said “that’s a fantastic sausage”. And trust me, midwestern Big knows sausage. The gnocchi were just OK—not quite delicate enough. Still, we both deemed this dish a huge success and could see returning for this.
2. Short ribs, spinach, espesso Small doesn’t like short ribs or most meat the requires this much slow cooking. Except these short ribs. They come out looking like tender filet. They’ve been cooked in a bag with moisture for 5 hours and taste like a perfectly rare corned beef (if you can imagine a perfectly rare corned beef). This was served with potato foam. Some bites of the foam worked-—the flavor really showed through. Others tasted like empty foam. Still, both Big and Small would order this again. Big recommends that Orson consider shaving truffle across the top of this dish for perfection.

Our bartender is now happy because we’ve had dishes we liked versus dishes we considered mediocre. We asked for the dessert menu. From here, we order:

• Pigwich This is reminiscent of one of our favorite desserts from Blackbird in Chicago. The Orson version has pizelles that are ginger snap like, with bacon ice cream and bits of maple bacon. This worked. Wonderfully.
• Gleaming the cube Described as date soft chocolate, stout foam, caramel gelato. The date soft chocolate is in a log and tastes like frosting (not a bad thing, mind you). The stout foam is most impressive. Still, this is just OK .

So all in all, it was OK. Very expensive for just OK but worth it to try some interesting takes on food. Now comes the highlight; our bartender and other servers have been asking us all along what we think of things. And we’ve been honest. Not complaining or whining, just honest. Because some dishes would work with a little help, and some dishes work. Out comes Elizabeth Faulkner to get some more detail. Many chefs have asked our opinion in the past, but we really felt like she meant it. She was incredibly open to our thoughts, acknowledged and agreed with some of our comments, and responded with “that was fair”. Her openness to our feedback made me decide I would come back again and give it another shot.

Overall thumbs: Trending upward. Some dishes rate thumbs up and others rate thumbs down. But the sum of atmosphere, service, and food is angling up.

Tastiness rating: Medium. Some dishes were yummy. Many needed work.

Service rating: With the exception of our reservations not working for us, incredibly High.