by Jess Etheredge on My Dad was in town, and after hearing about Woodfire Grill from my sister in LA (who had been watching Top chef), really wanted to go try this spot. Here's what we had: 1) Deconstructed Waldorf Salad- All in a spoon- delicious! The flavors and textures were distinct, but all worked together. A great first impression for what would come afterwards. (4.5) 2) Seared Scallop with lima beans- olive and lemon jus on the side. Fresh, tender, tasty scallop. (4) 3) Shogoki Oysters- honestly, I really don't remember that much about these.... (3) 4) Grilled Quail with apple/vegetable medley of sorts- this was GOOD. Flavor of the quail was not overly salty or sweet- had a very slight caramelized glaze over the skin. (4) 5) Banana cake w/ salted caramel & fried ice cream with banana chips- AWESOME. (4.5) 6) Chocolate Crepe w/ cream in chocolate sauce- solid, not too sweet, very tasty. (4) 7) Swordfish steak (entree ordered separately)- this dish, alas, was a bit disappointing. The steak, shaped like hamburger patty- was rather dry, and the accompanying greens were overly salty. (2.5) Service- Brandon, our waiter for the evening, was the epitome of what a waiter should be. He really was what made the evening complete. Professional, attentive, yet not hovering, courteous and warm, yet very professional. Why a 3? For several reasons, mostly unrelated to food. 1) Our table was literally right next to the kitchen, and while Chef Kevin had extended conversations with each and EVERY table in our vicinity, he proceeded to ignore us. Now, if it happens to be the case that people at the other tables were regulars to his restaurant, I could ALMOST understand. But come on, some common courtesy is appreciated- even just a "How did you like your meal?", acknowledging our very presence, would've been enough. I must also mention that we were pretty much the first people in the dining room that evening (5:30PM reservation), and there were only 4 tables (all in one area including ours) filled for at least 45 mintues before the dinner rush came. Our table was the lonesome that got no love. :) Haha. 2) Again, not food related- regarding the atmosphere upon entry, and disorganization in the waiting area. When we first came in (it was our first time at this restaurant), you get a strange sense that you have no idea where you're supposed to go. I finally found my way past the bar to the desk, at which upon informing the hostess of our reservation, we were told to sit in the 'waiting area', which seems to be as big as a coffee shop in itself. Ok, no problem. A different guy comes along and asks us if we want anything to drink- we take a menu, and peruse the wine list...when I make my decision a few minutes later, he then says, "oh, you can go sit at your table now, and make your drink order there." WTH? I was just told to go wait.... whatever. If this happened at some place like Chili's I wouldn't mind. Isn't this place supposed to be top notch? 3) Back to Chef Kevin- As we left, I wanted to acknowledge the kitchen and say thanks for a great meal- I managed to make eye contact with each of his helpers, and they were all friendly in sending us off, but when I looked over to Chef Kevin, he (seemingly intentionally) looked away and gave me some sort of a dismissive wave, as if to say, "Good riddance! Bye!" WTH? What in the world did we do to piss you off? First, you couldn't acknowledge that we were even there as you conversed with everyone BUT us, and second, you can't even make eye contact to receive appreciation from someone who's trying to compliment your work? (btw, the kitchen was NOT at all busy when we left, no one was handling anything on the grill or the kitchen table) Though the portions of course were small (I expected this anyway), I can give the food a score of (4), and the service a (5), but the other factors I just mentioned made this a less than desireable place to frequent in the future. Common courtesy seriously goes a LONG way. We had this meal exactly one month ago, and my semi-rant about this dining experience speaks of how much Chef Kevin made an impression on me.
by Nicolas Eckle on Ok I think I have located the perfect place to relax , have a great cup of tea and chat it up with some really great people. I just love the staff at this place very inviting, made me feel right at home. The Tea selection was also a plus seeing that I am not a big coffee person. So for all those tea lovers out there, this should be your next stopping point.
by Lauren S. on I wasn't particularly impressed. I think I just went on the wrong night. I don't really care for MC shows. And the music is usually too loud or the acoustics not really right to accomodate the song being attempted. I wanted to love Nuyorican. I really did. But I don't at this moment. I would consider it a rip-off had it not been for Captin Planit. You can't charge 12 dollars for me to sit and listen to your DJ for an hour while you problem-solve sir. That's not how it works. You communicate with the venue. Knock half off the price. Apologize for the delay and move on with an abbreviated version of what you had planned. You have to do something to make up for the paper cups the coffee comes in and the inadequate bathroom facilities. I forget the host's name. He wasn't very memorable except for he rhymes like a boy I used to like which makes me want to forget his name even more. He wasn't very talented off the top and his big thing was making a joke about that. The DJ was alright. The Beats Battle was an ass-whoopin' from Captin Planit for poor P.O. who couldn't even compare remotely to the talent of the Captin. Then some MCs followed who were not very good with the exception of Northstar from Division X. I was bored. And wished for my 12 bucks to magically reappear in front of me. I'll try it again but it'll have to be free and for the love of chocolate people, please start on time.
