Friday dinner..3/2/18

[Rocklobster]

- lots of connective tissue and gristle,

Sounds like it was from the larger end of the tenderloin..that should have been cleaned out..plus, I don't like to have to dismantle my meal before I can tuck in

 

[Steve Kroll]

How disappointing Steve!! Pretty doesn't always mean excellent does it.
Did you speak with the management? I'm positive I would have, but maybe you're nicer than me.

I very rarely will say anything unless there's something completely wrong that they can easily fix in the kitchen. As it was, the steak was cooked alright, but it wasn't a great cut of meat, nor was it seasoned particularly well. I never ask for salt at the table, but I did last night. One scallop was cooked adequately, while the other was undercooked. I specifically asked for no potatoes, but they showed up anyway. Like I said, everything was just okay. But anything I could have said might've come across as being nitpicky.

The bottom line for me is that the meal cost $120 (with wine) for two people, and for that price, I expect better. I won't slam the place, but I won't go back again, either.

 

[Kayelle]

I very rarely will say anything unless there's something completely wrong that they can easily fix in the kitchen. As it was, the steak was cooked alright, but it wasn't a great cut of meat, nor was it seasoned particularly well. I never ask for salt at the table, but I did last night. One scallop was cooked adequately, while the other was undercooked. I specifically asked for no potatoes, but they showed up anyway. Like I said, everything was just okay. But anything I could have said might've come across as being nitpicky.

The bottom line for me is that the meal cost $120 (with wine) for two people, and for that price, I expect better. I won't slam the place, but I won't go back again, either.

I know for sure I'm not nitpicky, and if I never go there again I don't care if they think I am. I do know that I expect the best the best possible for $120 dollars, and I would have never let it go. There again, you must be nicer than me. Jes sayin....

 

[caseydog]

A big city sure has some perks. I really wish we had access to high end restaurants but we just don't. That meal looks so lovely and special I'm really jealous.

You would love my Dallas suburb. Within a ten mile radius of my home, I have SIX Prime steakhouses, two Churrascarias, a Kent Rathbun restaurant (Iron Chef America winner), two wood burning true Neapolitan pizzerias, a Texas Monthly Top 50 BBQ joint (another even better one about 15 miles away), a gourmet Mexican restaurant, three gourmet TexMex restaurants, at least one gourmet burger joint (Impossible Burger is on the menu)... and that's what I can think of off the top of my head.

I don't eat out very often, but if I did, I would be hard pressed to run out of good, high end places to eat.

CD

 

[caseydog]

I very rarely will say anything unless there's something completely wrong that they can easily fix in the kitchen. As it was, the steak was cooked alright, but it wasn't a great cut of meat, nor was it seasoned particularly well. I never ask for salt at the table, but I did last night. One scallop was cooked adequately, while the other was undercooked. I specifically asked for no potatoes, but they showed up anyway. Like I said, everything was just okay. But anything I could have said might've come across as being nitpicky.

The bottom line for me is that the meal cost $120 (with wine) for two people, and for that price, I expect better. I won't slam the place, but I won't go back again, either.

If I spend that kind of money on a mediocre meal, I will tell someone about it. I'm not talking about making a scene, but IMO, telling someone with authority about your less than stellar dining experience is doing THEM a favor.

If my server asks me how my meal was, and I just say "fine," how is the restaurant going to know that they may have a problem or multiple problems they need to address.

I sometimes wonder how many restaurants go out of business because nobody told them that their food was just "adequate?" If they are under the impression that their food is good, yet they can't fill their tables with repeat customers, something is wrong, and nobody is talking.

CD

 

[Steve Kroll]

I know for sure I'm not nitpicky, and if I never go there again I don't care if they think I am. I do know that I expect the best the best possible for $120 dollars, and I would have never let it go. There again, you must be nicer than me. Jes sayin....

If I spend that kind of money on a mediocre meal, I will tell someone about it. I'm not talking about making a scene, but IMO, telling someone with authority about your less than stellar dining experience is doing THEM a favor.

Holy cow. I didn't mean to raise anyone's hackles here.

Let me just preface this by saying that I eat out a lot - at least two nights a week, and sometimes three lately. Some are high end places, some not. But I usually try to seek out places I've never been.

In Minneapolis (as in other big cities, I suspect) $60 per person is not considered best of the best. But you should certainly get a better than average meal for that price. That being said, I'm certainly not going to feel bad because I didn't get upset enough to complain. The restaurant business polices itself. Good places stay in business; bad places don't. And I won't say the place was bad, either. As I've said twice now, it was OKAY. It wasn't worth complaining about, in my opinion. They have 4.4 stars on Google with 100+ reviews. Obviously some folks like it. My meal was not 4.4, it was more like a 3.

There are plenty of people out there who are more than happy to be vocal, or share their negative opinions on sites like Yelp or Google. Unless my own experience was dreadful (and this wasn't), I'm not one of those. On the other hand, if I like a place, I will gladly share a positive review.

 

[Cheryl J]

JMO....it would depend on the circumstances. If I were on a date or dining with the boss , I'd let it go unless my meal was totally inedible. I wouldn't want my dining partner to feel uncomfortable with having to wait until my meal was corrected in order to start on their meal before it got cold.

If I were with family, that may be a different story. Either way, I'd be most likely to not say anything at the table, but make a note of the time, the meal, the server, and make a friendly phone call to the manager.

Haha...posting the same time as Steve....

 

[Steve Kroll]

JMO....it would depend on the circumstances. If I were on a date or dining with the boss , I'd let it go unless my meal was totally inedible. I wouldn't want my dining partner to feel uncomfortable with having to wait until my meal was corrected in order to start on their meal before it got cold...

Exactly, Cheryl.

In retrospect, I probably should've read some of the Yelp reviews before diving in. If I had, I probably would have ordered something else. Most of the reviews are glowing, but a lot of the ones that were just mediocre mentioned the filet mignon, which is what I had. The word I saw a lot was "ordinary." That pretty much describes it for me.

 

[Kayelle]

Holy cow. I didn't mean to raise anyone's hackles here.

I don't think there's any hackles to be raised at all Steve. Quite the contrary, it gives way to an interesting conversation about what the membership expects from a high end "fine food" restaurant.
That's all good I think.

 

[buckytom]

This reminds me of a place near me that specializes in seafood dishes, especially lobster and clams. I wish I had read the reviews before the first time I ordered steak. While their lobsters are almost always perfect, I wouldn't make a pair of shoes out of what they serve as a steak.

 

[dragnlaw]

Like Cheryl and also Rock - unless it is completely unacceptable I won't necessarily say anything at the table but either on leaving or in a note to the management later I will. They can't correct what they don't know.

Had mussels once in the most amazing sauce ever, I probably wouldn't have said anything but the waitress asked... I complimented them on the sauce but mentioned kitchen staff should have seen and removed a broken shell. I'm afraid her question was just something they are told to do - she certainly had a shocked look on her face when I answered!