date: 5/31/05
location: st. paul
grade: c

welcome to our planet, server from another planet. you need to speed up your human body so you fit in better, and if you can not, your guise of 'server' in a restaurant known for excellent service, as you won't last long there. because really, two sandwiches, a bowl of soup, and a bunch of vegetables should not take an hour to get to the table, unless they have to make it under their own steam. salads should not take 20+ minutes, and water should not have to be collected from dew. (it was up to half an hour to get a glass filled at one point.)

yep, i had a sandwich and some cheese. it took close to 2 and a half hours. and not on purpose.

was the service as bad as bobino? no. as good as expected? a whole heaping bunch of no. bad restaurant karma jr. strikes again, i guess. anyway, other theories bandied about was that the server received bad news that day, or something horrid happened to them at our table, or they just gave up in life.

the reason we were given for the way below par service was that it was the first day the patio was at least kind of busy, being that it was one of the few nice days of the year thus far (yes, we made it to the patio... maybe the sole curse has been broken!). i am not buying that, as everyone else out there had at least ok service. from the rep this place has, that seems kind of shoddy. not that i expect a bit of rust in unused parts, but this kind of service left everyone with a feeling of disappointment.

though the patio was one of the nicer ones i've been on, and the lighting was flattering to all involved. that part wasn't disappointing. the wine and cheese menus, and the menus in general were not disappointing. the wine and cheese menus were actually quite impressive.

the cheese wasn't disappointing (i went with the springtime only soft rind cowgirl creamery st. pats. good idea to go with what may not be there again. and yeah... yum.) alas, the cheese orders were plated on two plates, not three (three people ordered cheese), and when it was brought to the table, the person who brought it, one of the servers and our server could not quite figure out what cheese was what. it was allowed it was plated wrong, but that's about it. hrm. bread arrived about five minutes into the cheese course, maybe because i was overheard saying bread would be nice with it, or it was late. the english cheddar and two other hard cheeses were also nice, but i think the cowgirl won the day.

before the cheese (yum.), i had the chicken panini, with roated tomatoes, and fries with that. they were the coated fries, generally not my favorite, and didn't taste much like...potato. which is what i tend to look for in a fry. quaint of me, no? the fries with that tasted mostly like crunchy coating. the sandwich was well put together, flavorwise, but alas it was served on a crusty roll that was grilled to the point of making it hard to eat the heavily breaded ends without shattering the bread, which defeats the point of the sandwich experience.

the springtime vegetable composition was quite lovely (in the key of a minor, i think... the composition. ha. ha.), with some standout corn pudding and quite nice sweet pea pancakes. there was a bit of 'name that veg' going on with it, however. the panini with fontina, tapanade, and prosciutto was better thought out than the chicken one, though the prosciutto was salty. the bread was flat so therefore it was easier to eat, and it melted together a bit better. the chicken curry soup and arugula salads were also good, the salads were dressed just enough to bring out the flavors in the salad without drenching them in dressing or anything.

so the food was generally good. but given the high-end menu prices, sterling rep, history of awards, great reviews, it's kind of sad when these kinds of places disappoint, which is the feeling i walked away with. i would like to be able to try it again, maybe eat in the dining area, but with the experience i had, i'd rather go someplace where i know i won't get an excuse for service, just service. it's not like i am looking for perfection. just an experience that doesn't stand out in a bad way.