HeatherHart

We had a great anniversary dinner here – the calimari was cooked well (not overdone) and the appletini was a delicious start. The salad wedges were perfectly composed and had a light (!) bleu cheese dressing to die for! The dressing was really like a light cream with fresh bleu cheese – I am getting that again next time for sure. We tried the crab claws, which were incredibly fresh but a bit of work to eat (maybe I’m just not that skilled). My scampi style shrimp was divine – a light lemon sauce with tender-firm shrimp and fresh pasta… like they were actually making the pasta and not just buying a box from Jewel! Our waiter was helpful and humorous – and very accomodating when my husband wanted his steak cooked a little longer. The atmosphere was pleasant and it wasn’t overly crowded… we easily made it to a movie after dinner. We will be coming back here in the near future!

My new favorite sushi restaurant!

We started off with a Tuna Carpaccio Salad and Gyoza – both very flavorful and the salad had a nice kick.
For dinner we tried 3 different maki rolls:
Totoro Kani (spicy fatty tuna over king crab) – so velvety, I can’t wait to try it again!
Dirty Old Man (mozzarella over cream cheese, tempura crunch and salmon tempura with spicy mayo) – I loved the combination of crunchy, creamy & spicy.
Scary Spider (black & white rice over soft shell crab, cucumber, avocado, cream cheese, Black & red tobiko) – this totally redeemed soft shell crab for me… it had a delightful little crunch and nice creaminess.

The restaurant decor itself is fun, hip and very contemporary… and the waitstaff was great too – we were seated promptly (on a Saturday night) and given great menu recommendations. The food was also moderately priced so we didn’t feel bad going out for a little ice cream afterwards. You have to try this place!

Noisy, but that is just part of the atmosphere and it seems that most people like it – there was live music being played loudly over the random background music and TONS of chatting going on… but we didn’t mind so much since the guy at the piano was great and had a marvelous voice! And of course the food was good too… Walnut Chicken, Mahi Mahi, Brie & French Bread, Caesar Salad w/ Shrimp, Crab Cakes – we liked pretty much everything though we thought the Crab Claw appetizer was on the small side. All in all it was a great evening.

OK, so they had some difficulty getting our check in order, but the shrimp tempura, empanadas, snapper & salmon were delicious… and our waitress was on the boisterous side – in a good way!

Hip, sophistocated Mediterranean food… dinner was wonderful and breakfast was amazing (ask for Greg, the BEST waiter ever!).

Wow, my best advice is: come HUNGRY! I think we had close to 18 different kinds of grilled meats – all sliced for you right at your table. The meats werel prepared pretty well (I only saw 1 go back to the kitchen for being undercooked) – bacon wrapped filet and sirloin seemed to be favorites at our table… though if you’re looking for any sort of variety in preparation, you won’t find it. You pretty much have to love the seared, smokey flavor of fire roasted meat… thankfully our table thorougly enjoed it. We were also pleasantly surprised at the delicisouly juicy & warm pineapple they sliced and served table side – it was a welcome change in the midst of all the meat. We were also served 2 different kinds of sauces (chimchurri & steak) to try with our selection as well as mashed potatos and fired bananas – the fried bananas were delish! If only I could make them at home. The salad bar was also a nice accompaniment to the meal – though with all of it’s variety you have to be careful not to fill up! Particulary the sushi, pasta salad, shrimp salad and the antipasta were little bursts of ‘something different’ in our heavily carniverous meal. Our waiter was attentive, though more than a little difficult to understand with his thick accent and the noisey atmosphere. This certainly isn’t the place for a quiet, intimate date… but it’s great for lively conversation and people watching. The rooms itself was large and even though it was packed, we weren’t terribly cramped. The decor was nicely understated and the dramatic windows provided an interesting view of pedestians and the hustle and bustle downtown. I’ll say it one more time – if you go, go hungry!

We had an enjoyble double date here, though some of the menu was beyond my normal dining palate…

We started off with the delicious Gage N-17 Fondue; I have no idea what the N-17 stands for, but the cheese and bread were warm and soothing on our cold February evening. For dinner I had the Duck Leg Confit & Roasted Breast – cooked perfectly and with a slighly sweet touch in the Apple Syrup. The smoked cheddar gratin that accompanied it was pretty good as well, though the celery flavor was a bit overpowering. Others in my party tried the Roasted Amish Chicken, Gunthorp Farms Pork Chop & the Roast Saddle of Elk – all were enjoyed.

Our waiter was knowledgeable, though a bit aloof at times. It took quite a while to place our orders… he seemed a bit preoccupied with making separate trips to our table for every little thing, but not asking for entree decisions for some reason. The ambiance was wonderful with dark wood and booths… and yet not overly ‘upscale’. Contemporary and welcoming all at the same time. One downside though, this place was busy enough that even with our reservation we had to wait about 15-20 minutes.