by Tracey Lee D. on The food here was fantastic and the drinks were so very yummy. We were a party of 8 and Kevin took very good care of us. We were never wanting for anything! AND he even suggested splitting the check eight ways and didn't bat an eye when we said that would be great and handed him 7 credit cards. I had the fried green tomatoes, and they were my favorite that I had while in town. Their fried chicken was excellent, and the Knock-out Rose is a MUST HAVE drink! So different and tasty! All of my friends really enjoyed our time here. Highly recommended!
by Britt W. on Happy early birthday to me!!! The girlfriend, J, and fellow rateclubsers Michelle L and Charles D pulled a fast one on me Saturday night with a surprise dinner at XIV. I feel that before I get too far into my review I should qualify the 4-star rating because it is definitely not a slight on the company I was with and the tremendous effort they put forth. So why only 4-stars? For the most part it is my own fault for having unrealistic expectations. I did not perform proper due diligence prior to my visit but since this was a surprise I think it is excuseable. I knew three things about XIV prior to last night. Michael Mina, Philippe Starck and the 35-course Gamut. I have logged a few meals at Mina's Orange County gem Stonehill Tavern and it is a five star restaurant. I have stayed at Philippe Starck's The Royalton and The Delano. I have had tasting menus that were well past 20-courses. If I had done my research I would have known that XIV really doesn't belong in the same group as those past experiences. Another reason that I can only give XIV 4-stars is because I try to make apples-to-apples comparisons in my rateclubs reviews. Mexican restaurants should be compared to Mexican restaurants. Fine dining should be compared to fine dining. For me a 5-star burger joint doesn't mean it is better than a 4-star French restaurant because everything is relative. So keeping that in mind XIV gets 4-stars because Alinea in Chicago is a 5-star tasting menu experience. Alinea beats XIV in every category (food, presentation, service, décor, wine list, etc.) but that comparison is not exactly fair. It's no different than saying that Kobe Bryant is a 4-star basketball player because Michael Jordan was a 5-star and Kobe ain't MJ. Well Jordan isn't playing anymore and Kobe is in his prime. If you've never been to Alinea then you don't know what you are missing by dining at XIV. Bonus points for me for sticking to the Chicago/LA motif in this paragraph. So on to the meal. We had 6:45 PM reservations but thanks to traffic we arrived fashionably late at 7:10. Arriving at this hour had a distinct advantage because we caught the end of the "mature and distinguished" crowd and the beginning of the "young and pretty" crowd. At 8:00 the music was turned up a little and the moms, dads, grandmas and grandpas were soon filtered out. That was also about the time the celebrity at the table next to us left too. Of course this assumes that you classify Sumner Redstone as a celebrity. Right off the bat I noticed that the tasting menus stopped at 14 selections. The 35-course Gamut has been suspended due to the state of the economy. Darn the luck. We decided that the 11-course "Something More" option was our best bet. With 37 items on the menu we chose to let the chef pick our courses based solely on my request to make it as interesting as possible. Here are the 11 courses we enjoyed: APPETIZERS Ahi Tuna Tartare - ancho chile, pears, mint, pine nuts, sesame oil Dungeness Crab Crepe - basil, capers, scampi hollandaise Sea Scallop Tempura - cauliflower, passion fruit, edamame, almonds Spring Garlic Soup - preserved Meyers lemon, parsley, country bread ENTREES Tai Snapper - tapioca-crusted, broccoli rabe, white soy vinaigrette Berkshire Pork Loin - crispy pork belly, pea leaves, salted cashew California Lamb Chop - loin, Merguez sausage skewer, chickpea, raita Prime Rib Eye - potato trio, roasted beet Diane sauce CHEESE Delice d'Argental - preserved plum, juniper shortbread DESSERT Brandied Bananas - jasmine ice cream, cashew shortbread, English toffee Macallan Butterscotch - winter squash cake, toasted milk ice cream, malt Edible "candle" for the birthday boy - wick and all! All of the courses were exceptional with the snapper being my favorite. And how many times have I complained about the dining limitations I deal with because I am dating a picky eater. J's yummy phase finally paid off as she didn't touch her Ahi (no raw fish), the Lamb (eww) or the cheese (too pungent). So in a way I had 14 courses for the price of 11. The service was friendly but less formal than I expected. I was a little disappointed in how they set a silver platter with four dishes in the center of the table for each course. But that's a minor offense that in no way overshadowed the amazing food we sampled all night. The décor was interesting and fairly well thought out. I was expecting something a little more modern and minimalistic. J, the award winning interior designer of the group, described it as a Parisian apartment. We all agreed that there was a Parisian influence but I must confess that the closest I have been to Paris is the France Pavilion in Epcot. Towards the end of our experience I noticed a waiter carrying a moose-antler chair across the restaurant. I nudged J and told her that's what I wanted for my next birthday. If it's good enough for Starck it is good enough for me.
by Joseph Quann on Really nice place and cool staff. Just wish they would book more acts that I want to see! They have a bathroom attendant in the mens restroom... oooookay that's just weird too me.
