Janet W.
Yelp
They are stuck in an old and tired loop. The best things were the waiter and the chef. Start with the very tired decor. No updates from the previous establishment. Booths are saggy, art is ubiquitous. Floors are worn. The same old floral wallpaper is in the back, practically like what was in the old hunt club restaurant. Very out of date. Ok, the food. First is a presentation of a white bean relish and brown, not quite rye, dense bread, not warm, but a bit chilled. Beans were ok, high in acid/vinegar and black pepper. The other herbs were overpowered. The bread, chewy and interesting but would've been better warmed, nothing worth writing home about. Next, our party chose salads instead of soups. Fresh with Romain and accouterments including tiny bacon bits and a vinegar based dressing, cold and tasty. Tomatoes were ok but not heirloom. Interestingly, another bread basket came out, this had warmed slices of a slightly sour batard and matzo cracker pieces with softened butter. The bread was very good, crusty, chewy, flavorful. Cracker was neither here nor there. Entree choices were whitefish and the mushroom pasta. The whitefish had a caper beurre blanc and appeared broiled, plate included green beans and two redskin potatoes cut into cute mushrooms. Beans bright and not over-cooked. Potatoes had an off taste, I couldn't discern if there was a metallic or a burned flavor (chef later said steamed, but almost as if the pan ran dry and burned under the steamer and infused with burn flavor.) Now the fish. First our mistake for ordering the old folk dish, but it was sooo boring, flavorless and overcooked. This was so disappointing. Sauce very minimal and few capers. I squeezed the entire portion of lemon on it and still lacked in flavor. Definitely skip this dish unless you are 85+. (2 of us had this and agreed on the review.) The other dish was the wild mushroom pasta with chicken. Again a B+ for the idea and a D- for outcome. Very creamy, light on the richness mushrooms should contribute, a bit "flat" in flavor. No spark or surprise to perk up the dish. And the chicken, chewy and although the chef said it was cooked to order it tasted much more like it was pre-cooked in the afternoon and added when the sauce was prepared. Too uniform in shape and not hot through. This was a no in our book. Again quite bland and too dull. Dessert was the lemon chiffon cake. Served more like a mini custard shape than a cake, blueberries were heavy on the cinnamon, they accompanied the cake and were served along side with a dot of whipped cream. Cake was tender and lemony, berries way too much cinnamon for me. Chef said there was lavender in them. Personally I'd have preferred lavender and lemon alone without the fall flavor of the cinnamon. It was like ruining a summer dish with the interruption. Best things, waiter and staff kind, fun and very attentive. Chef stopped by and listened, conversed and explained important info. I think his hands are tied to an outdated operation, when he clearly knows what could make a great restaurant. Our fault for ordering dish choices and would try some better options next time according to chef's comments and recommendations. I'd give it one more try, only because the staff is so great. Last point, the prices are high, especially for a disappointing outcome and should be top notch. They are not out of line with fine dining in the area, but should server much more exceptional dishes. Overall it's a bit old-school and boring. Oh and cleared clean out by 9:45. This IS you grandpa's old and tired club.
