Alan B.
Yelp
It was a busy Saturday evening at the Buttercup, and tables were filling quickly. We were ushered to our table for four, in the middle of this rather loud venue. Our waitress arrived promptly, and discussed the special with us, which was a little difficult to hear over the din from other diners. She invited us to review the menus and said that she would return. One of our party asked if they would provide the table with some bread.
The bread and water both arrived quite quickly, and we thought the bread was excellent, fresh, a little salty and doughy. When the waitress returned after a spell, we each ordered a glass of wine, which ranged from $11 to $18 per glass.
For appetizers we began with shared salads (we had to ask for plates, to share the salads when they were served):
* Sunwashed farm arugula, edamame, English peas, homemade ricotta, preserved lemon vinaigrette - $11
* Quinoa, avocado, delicata squash, tomato, cucumber, champagne vinaigrette - $13
It took a while for the salads to arrive, longer than one might expect for salads. Everyone like the arugula salad better than the quinoa salad. The former had a very tasty champagne vinaigrette, with great flavor which didn't overpower the salad. The latter had an interesting presentation, but we found there to be too much quinoa and too little else. The flavor was underwhelming, and we wouldn't recommend this dish unless you happen to be a quinoa fanatic.
For our entrees we selected:
* Lamb chops, mashed potato, baby spinach, red wine - $30
* Hanger steak, hen of the woods mushrooms, fingerling potatoes - $30
* Pekin-Long Island duck, hazelnuts, umeboshi plum sauce, figs - $30
Two diners selected the lamb, one thought it was good, the other thought it was too salty and that the portions were too small. The diner who ordered the steak said it was nothing special, and he had a better steak the night before in Boston. I had the duck which I ordered medium rare (as recommended), and as soon as I cut into it, found it to be dry, tough and overcooked. I like restaurants where the wait staff asks diners to cut into their dish to determine if it was correctly served. At Buttercup, the waitress returned several minutes later, and I then informed her that my dish was overdone. She courteously agreed and asked if I'd like another duck.
I accepted, but suggested she leave the plate, so I could sample the accouterments. She returned a few minutes later, however, insisting she had to bring the dish back to the kitchen so "they could see" how the original duck was prepared. About 15 to 20 minutes later, my new dish arrived, which was properly cooked, and overall was quite tasty. It would have gone a long way if a manager stopped by to see how the 2nd dish was prepared, or to take our temperature to see how the meal was progressing, or to merely apologize for the misfire. However that did not come to pass at any time during the evening.
For dessert we shared an ice cream sandwich ($12) - vanilla ice cream surrounded by two brownies, with whip cream on the side. One diner liked this dish, one diner did not, and two diners though it was "OK".
Service was somewhat spotty throughout the meal, with the waitress apologizing many times for the extended waits. I appreciated her polite gesture but would have appreciated attentive service even more. The waitress likely had too many tables and found it difficult to spend sufficient time with each party.
The bill totaled $312 with tip. I reviewed the suggested Yelp rankings with the other diners, and received votes of 3, 3, 3.5 and 3.5. On this evening, Buttercup receives a 3-star review. Would I dine here again? Perhaps so, but I wouldn't go out of my way to do so.
