In my last post, I told you about the concert my husband and I attendedon Friday. Well before hand we used a gift certificate we obtained with that package to visit a local eatery. I won;t say which restaurant because they might see this and decide not to donate GCs to charity.
The menu says they give small portions so you can taste more. Portions run from about $12 to $25 and they recommend you get three or four plates. Each item is the size of a small appetizer. Each plate is the normal price of an entree. My first item was a tuna niçoise dish. Four die sized (as in the singular of "dice") pieces of tuna sprinkled with salt and egg white on a 4 inch strip of red pepper terrine.The tuna pieces here are about what I got. It was pretty and fresh and delicious but it did not say on the menu the tuna would be raw and it was not enough food for a Barbie doll.
My next dish was a Duck item with duck breast, duck sausage and polenta. The dish consisted of three 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces of breast, a dry sliver of sausage about the size of a half dollar and the same size piece of polenta. Had we saved room for dessert? Apparently! I got Indian pudding—classically a steamed and molded cornmeal pudding flavored with molasses served with ice cream This was a cornmeal soup served with a 11/2 by 1 inch log of nice vanilla ice cream and3 cubes of a birch gelee. A sample dinner menu from 2010 appears at right.
For their pricing you would think they might update the menu on the web site.
Was it pretty? Yes. Was it tasty? Yes
Was it a reasonable amount of food for the price? NOPE.
If they want the plates to be small they should call them appetizers or tapas. I left starving and when we got home we had wafffles.
Also we called for a six o'clock reservation and were told they only had quarter after six. Well we got there at six, they were fully staffed and had at least three-quarters of the tables empty. They did not fill by the time we left at half-past seven. Humph!
Now I have had tapas and small plates and they come at $8 to $15 so I naturally assumed, since we were not in Manhattan, that the plates would be small but not cuisine minceur! The food was good, but took a long time to arrive and was not good enough to justify the prices. Tapas are meant to be readily available and not break the bank. At other Portland restaurants the servings are larger, less expensive and while they may not be so lavishly styled they are every bit as delicious. I have eaten at other chi chi restaurants around the world and this place is only chi chi in its own chef's mind. Fine dining does not mean you rob your customers by sticking to some silly mode of description. If you want to cook like NYC, go to NYC.
You know who you are, I am being kind and not giving your name. Get over yourself!
The menu says they give small portions so you can taste more. Portions run from about $12 to $25 and they recommend you get three or four plates. Each item is the size of a small appetizer. Each plate is the normal price of an entree. My first item was a tuna niçoise dish. Four die sized (as in the singular of "dice") pieces of tuna sprinkled with salt and egg white on a 4 inch strip of red pepper terrine.The tuna pieces here are about what I got. It was pretty and fresh and delicious but it did not say on the menu the tuna would be raw and it was not enough food for a Barbie doll.
My next dish was a Duck item with duck breast, duck sausage and polenta. The dish consisted of three 1 to 1 1/2 inch pieces of breast, a dry sliver of sausage about the size of a half dollar and the same size piece of polenta. Had we saved room for dessert? Apparently! I got Indian pudding—classically a steamed and molded cornmeal pudding flavored with molasses served with ice cream This was a cornmeal soup served with a 11/2 by 1 inch log of nice vanilla ice cream and3 cubes of a birch gelee. A sample dinner menu from 2010 appears at right.
For their pricing you would think they might update the menu on the web site.
Was it pretty? Yes. Was it tasty? Yes
Was it a reasonable amount of food for the price? NOPE.
If they want the plates to be small they should call them appetizers or tapas. I left starving and when we got home we had wafffles.
Also we called for a six o'clock reservation and were told they only had quarter after six. Well we got there at six, they were fully staffed and had at least three-quarters of the tables empty. They did not fill by the time we left at half-past seven. Humph!
Now I have had tapas and small plates and they come at $8 to $15 so I naturally assumed, since we were not in Manhattan, that the plates would be small but not cuisine minceur! The food was good, but took a long time to arrive and was not good enough to justify the prices. Tapas are meant to be readily available and not break the bank. At other Portland restaurants the servings are larger, less expensive and while they may not be so lavishly styled they are every bit as delicious. I have eaten at other chi chi restaurants around the world and this place is only chi chi in its own chef's mind. Fine dining does not mean you rob your customers by sticking to some silly mode of description. If you want to cook like NYC, go to NYC.
You know who you are, I am being kind and not giving your name. Get over yourself!
