We went out to a local winery for out 23rd anniversary on Saturday night. I had heard from someone that it was wonderful, so we thought we'd give it a try since it's close to home. Really neat place from the outside having been converted from an old barn. It's fall in New England so the decor was pumpkins and bales of hay with mums and gourds. Pretty.
Inside was a little strange. Cavernous and cold. Our table was near a floor to ceiling window and I could feel a draft on my legs. No big deal. The decorations on the table were fake fall leaves in a vase. Again, no biggie, but did I mention it's fall in New England? They were playing rock music when we went in then it changed to classical then to jazz. :crazy:
You have to order your meals online when you make reservations. When ordering for a party of 2 (it wouldn't work for bigger parties) you have to specify which person gets what - woman gets duck, man gets scallops.
There's a tasting before the meal and you sample up to 6 wines most of which were not to our liking, but we settled on a white. The b'nut squash and goat cheese souffle app came in a large deep soup bowl but there was only about a quarter cup of souffle baked (well done) in the bottom. A nice little 4 ounce ramekin would have been a better presentation. My pureed corn chowder was interesting and tasty with dehydrated carrots and herbs on top but wasn't hot.
When the entrees arrived, the server did that auction thing. Who gets the duck? Remember we ordered online which would lead you to believe that she would know who got the duck. Oh yes, we ordered onliine days before the dinner, so didn't really remember what we had ordered. The food was set in front of us with no explanation. I would have liked to hear a brief description of what things were as in "this is the pureed corn chowder topped with dehydrated carrots etc" In fact, we both tasted the soup and were guessing what it might be.
My meal was cold. The broccoli was cold and the duck was lukewarm. The side of sweet potato wedges were HOT and mushy having been reheated in the micro. I sent it back and it came out in 60 seconds and the server was holding it with a napkin. Microwaves tend to heat the plate, you know.
My husband's meal was just plain weird. He had some sort of braised leek and scallop dish which came in the same soup bowl that the souffle was in. His side was scalloped potatoes which had that curdled look they often get. No color at all- just a white meal on white china. He said the scallops were good, but the presentation in a soup bowl was strange.
Dessert was a pumpkin creme brulee with caramel (they spelled it "carmel") sauce. The only choice. I'm no expert on creme brulee, but I think either the sugar was burned or the caramel sauce was. It had a scorched taste to it.
And here's the kicker. My coffee was instant and wasn't hot.
The award winning chef (really) came out during coffee and introduced himself to us, but we were so disappointed in the meal that we could only say "nice to meet you". I mean where would we have started? It was embarrassing and he left us immediately.
The bill for the meal was $90 plus tip.
Oh yes, since the room was so chilly, one of the waitresses had on those bootie-type down slippers. They were black though, so technically could have been in line with the uniform requirements. Although she wasn't our server, we could hear her shuffling through the dining room. There's no other way to walk in those slippers but to shuffle.
I don't think we'll be going back.
On the up side, no one called me "hon".
Inside was a little strange. Cavernous and cold. Our table was near a floor to ceiling window and I could feel a draft on my legs. No big deal. The decorations on the table were fake fall leaves in a vase. Again, no biggie, but did I mention it's fall in New England? They were playing rock music when we went in then it changed to classical then to jazz. :crazy:
You have to order your meals online when you make reservations. When ordering for a party of 2 (it wouldn't work for bigger parties) you have to specify which person gets what - woman gets duck, man gets scallops.
There's a tasting before the meal and you sample up to 6 wines most of which were not to our liking, but we settled on a white. The b'nut squash and goat cheese souffle app came in a large deep soup bowl but there was only about a quarter cup of souffle baked (well done) in the bottom. A nice little 4 ounce ramekin would have been a better presentation. My pureed corn chowder was interesting and tasty with dehydrated carrots and herbs on top but wasn't hot.
When the entrees arrived, the server did that auction thing. Who gets the duck? Remember we ordered online which would lead you to believe that she would know who got the duck. Oh yes, we ordered onliine days before the dinner, so didn't really remember what we had ordered. The food was set in front of us with no explanation. I would have liked to hear a brief description of what things were as in "this is the pureed corn chowder topped with dehydrated carrots etc" In fact, we both tasted the soup and were guessing what it might be.
My meal was cold. The broccoli was cold and the duck was lukewarm. The side of sweet potato wedges were HOT and mushy having been reheated in the micro. I sent it back and it came out in 60 seconds and the server was holding it with a napkin. Microwaves tend to heat the plate, you know.
My husband's meal was just plain weird. He had some sort of braised leek and scallop dish which came in the same soup bowl that the souffle was in. His side was scalloped potatoes which had that curdled look they often get. No color at all- just a white meal on white china. He said the scallops were good, but the presentation in a soup bowl was strange.
Dessert was a pumpkin creme brulee with caramel (they spelled it "carmel") sauce. The only choice. I'm no expert on creme brulee, but I think either the sugar was burned or the caramel sauce was. It had a scorched taste to it.
And here's the kicker. My coffee was instant and wasn't hot.
The award winning chef (really) came out during coffee and introduced himself to us, but we were so disappointed in the meal that we could only say "nice to meet you". I mean where would we have started? It was embarrassing and he left us immediately.
The bill for the meal was $90 plus tip.
Oh yes, since the room was so chilly, one of the waitresses had on those bootie-type down slippers. They were black though, so technically could have been in line with the uniform requirements. Although she wasn't our server, we could hear her shuffling through the dining room. There's no other way to walk in those slippers but to shuffle.
I don't think we'll be going back.
On the up side, no one called me "hon".
