fabulous experience. just wanted to note that i recently visited orsay again and had one of the nicest resto experiences ever. the service was friendly while diligent. while i had only wandered over to have 13 oysters and a glass of wine, the quality of theexperiencemotivated me to stay longer and absorb two dozen apalachicola oysters and sample three different white wines. left me in a fabulous mood for the walk home and the rest of the evening.
a bit of follow-up. just visited ro for another delightful meal and was treated to friendly and attentive service and high-quality foods artfully prepared. i can't think of a more perfect high-end restaurant in the bold new city of the south.
-----15 jun, 2011-----
as good as it gets in the bold new city of the south. for jacksonville this is a very good restaurant. by big city standards, it is lacking. on the positive side, the service here is far better than the typical sloppy and informal offerings by most places in jacksonville -- even expensive places. still, you'll occasionally get the "how are you guys?" kind of banter from waiters, which absolutely makes makes me cringe, especially, when a dinner for two is well into triple-digit territory. food seldom disappoints, although mrs. s. points out rightly that they have lousy cuts of meat. (a hanger steak, but no entrecote, for example.)
the place appears to have evolved from its faux french origins, which is a good thing. i have nothing at all against the french (except for dsk and some other creeps), i just don't need pay big bucks to be force fed edith piaf and pink martini, while studying a menu with all the accents aigus going grave and vice versa. it's better to forget about faking it and simply provide good food and good service.
the danger is orsay may go too far in the stateside american direction and become too informal. one thing i really like about dining out in france is that waiters there take the order, bring the food, and then leave you alone. none of that "how's your chicken?"-business every five minutes. (if i have a problem with the food, i'll let you know, thank you.)
on the negative side, noise levels are at time intolerable. pricing is uneven. an order of mussels for $19? i've paid less in new york and washington. as others have pointed out, the wine list is pricy.