first and last visit at the.... first and last visit
at the risk of beating a dead horse, or a dead game hen, as it were, i was a member of the dining party from samantha's review (below), and i feel compelled to elaborate. my cocktail was decent, albeit a bit overpriced at $10. the jackson salad was served deconstructed style, with comeback sauce and crushed saltines at the bottom of the bowl, topped by a whole head of hydroponic butter lettuce. the presentation required me to chop and mix the salad myself, a pretension, and more trouble than it was worth. the comeback sauce, however, was the only standout of the evening. in a town that reveres this condiment, saltine's version is a worthy competitor. the butternut squash was average, a tad under seasoned...the candied pumpkin seeds were the best part. the sautéed shiitakes were a bit...odd. there was some sort of aromatic seasoning that was almost floral in taste, like rose water or orange blossom water that was strange and off-putting in this context. and, no, it wasn't the thyme. i know what thyme tastes like. the stroganoff actually tasted almost exactly like what i make at home. not a bad thing, but slightly disappointing. the "roasted garlic soubise fresh black pepper pasta"
was indistinguishable from plain packaged thin egg noodles. but looky! the sour cream (possibly creme fraiche, pooh), is at the bottom of the bowl. like the salad, it's deconstructed! why? this is an oysterbarwith an expanded menu, not wiley dufresne's wd 40. finally, the infamous nashville hot chicken (half cornish game hen breaded and fried, spicy). yes, my son's food was undercooked. it came out ten minutes after the rest of the table was served, including another order of the same dish. i believe the kitchen or the server forgot, and they hurried it up. it wasn't simply red at the bone, as game hens normally are. it was bloody (liquid, pooling red blood),and still gelatinous at the bone. moreover, my daughter in law's bird was properly cooked. so, by our supercilious manager's logic, her dish must have been overcooked. overall, my real problem was not with the food, undercooked poultry notwithstanding, but with the attitude. if a dish is returned uneaten, for any reason, management should offer a replacement, or, at the very least, a no-charge. instead, we were offered a lesson in our lack of knowledge. rude, and ridiculous. i will give a restaurant a pass on sub-par food from time to time. it happens. there is never an excuse for poor treatment of customers. we eventually got the item removed from our bill, but only after complaining for a second time after receiving the ticket, and only after intervention from our waiter. never again, not even if the food were free.