The majority of my posts are positive, because I like food and I think that most places that I go to try their best to please their customers. There are some restaurants, however, that while I want to like, had some serious problems during my visit. I had encountered
Eleven|Eleven at a few benefits around town, and while I had liked what I had tried from them, they weren't really on my radar. Most of the dinners that I've had with
Tasting Collective I have really liked, so I trusted them to curate a good meal at a restaurant that might not be known well by the greater dining community, but should be, so when I signed up for dinner I was pretty excited.
The menu is very eclectic with global influences, so I was very interested to see what would come out. We started with California "Maki" Rolls with Grilled Calamari, Avocado, and Hibiscus Rice. While three of the rolls were wrapped with Nori, they were all essentially the same. I really liked these. It was presented nicely, the rice was very flavorful, and the calamari and avocado made a good combination. It was better, in my opinion, than a standard California Roll which uses Imitation Crab instead of the calamari.
The second course was also very good and kind of a show stopper. It was a spin on chicken and Waffles, a dish that I like, but it was presented in a very unexpected manner. The Breaded Chicken Nuggets were presented in a Waffle Cone with Buttermilk Dressing in the bottom of the Cone, Green Mango Salad topping the nuggets, and XO Sauce, a spicy sauce made with roughly chopped seafood like scallops and shrimp, originating in Hong Kong. The chicken was tender and flavorful. The Green Mango salad added a tart flavor, along with the buttermilk dressing, the XO Sauce added a spicy seafood flavor, and the waffle cone added a nice crunch.
The third course was when the wheels started to fall off. To start, the third course had actually been listed as the fourth course on the menu. This isn't a big deal most of the time, but it seems now that it was foreshadowing. The course was Charcuterie and Cheese presented with accompaniments and served with Rice Crackers. We were served three different meats, 3 different cheeses, Celery, Olives, Cranberry, and Peppers, and Rice Crackers. The idea of this was good, but we only received one tray of each item for the table, which was set to receive two plates of each. All of these items also arrived separately, so it was a bit confusing trying to try things and/or combine flavors, without knowing if the last plate had arrived yet. All of the meats and cheeses and were from good companies (La Quercia and Smoking Goose), so it all tasted good, it was a bit confusing.
Our fourth course also arrived in two separate parts, was not explained, and we weren't brought enough, so the kitchen had to come back with another service. We were first served our Salted Shishito Churros that were supposed to have been drizzled with Butterscotch, but seem not to have been. The churros were very light and flavorful, it just seems that we weren't served enough. After we wolfed down our churros, the Bourbon Glazed Pork Belly arrived. It was tender and tasted good with a nice flavor of bourbon and wood with the sweetness from the pork, but the presentation looked like a joke. There were three pieces of meat on the plate (for six people) and they looked like they were thrown on the plate and sprinkled with baby greens.
There was a pause for a bit before the fifth course showed up. It was essentially Steak Frites served on two plates. We first received a large bowl overflowing with Sticky Black Truffle Fries with Grana Snow which were the side to the main course, the Steak, a Wood grilled Bavette Steak with Pesto and Chips. The steak was very good, flavorful, tender, and perfectly cooked, but it took about half an hour to arrive at the table and there really wasn't enough for the people it was serving. The fries (Frites) were also perfectly cooked and flavorful, but there was enough for the table.
When we finally got to dessert, there were many people waiting for it to be over. Luckily, dessert wasn't a fail, though it wasn't completely what is was advertised. We were supposed to be getting a three pie flight. What we received were three Shortbread Cookies with some very good pie fillings, Mama's Apple Pie, Banana Cream, and French Silk. My argument in this case is semantic. What we received tasted good and the pie fillings were there, if not the crusts, along with some very nice Whipped Cream.
While this dinner was ultimately a fail, it was not a failure of flavors; all of the food that we had tasted very good. Our service also seemed polite, if harried. This seemed a failure of poor planning, something the management has vowed to correct, so i am willing to give them a second chance soon.
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