Ad Hoc, an off night? (long post)
I know everyone has bad days. But there are times when you get one chance, and one chance only, to make a good impression. Ad Hoc, Thomas Keller's year old pri fixe addition to the Napa Valley restaurant scene, didn't. Make a good impression, that is. Somehow, when I drop $150.00 (with tax and tip) for two people who order a single glass of Reisling between them, I expect most of my meal to be edible.
I'd been avoiding Ad Hoc since it opened, because conventional wisdom had it that most courses were meat based. Though I am no longer the strict vegetarian of my younger years, I do avoid eating anything of the hoofed variety. My daughter, however, had been bugging me since day one to take her to Ad Hoc, so she made the reservation, and in good humor, I gave in. I figured it couldn't be too bad, it is a Thomas Keller production after all.
Just to be on the safe side, my daughter specifically asked if the chef could accomodate a non-red meat eater. No problem, was the reply. On the drive up, my daughter recited the menu, she'd pulled it up on-line. The four pri fixe courses consisted of an Italian Bean Soup, which I immediately informed her would contain proscuitto. She scoffed at me.
The second course was Roast Duck with Brussel Sprouts, Chestnuts, and a Parsnip Puree. I don't eat duck, at least not since my son raised an abandoned mallard duckling he named Quackits. However, my first husband was a chef and he loved to cook duck. It's a very fatty meat. Wild duck, in particular, is quite gamey. In order to achieve what my ex-husband considered the epiphany of duck, he first rendered out most of the fat, then skillfully roasted it in such a way as to crisp and carmelize the skin, minimizing the gaminess, while maximizing the innate savory sweetness of the meat. It was great. We liked it so much that we occasionally served duck for Thanksgiving instead of turkey.
The third course was a cheese course. No worries there, except the seasonal fruit provided as an accompaniment to the cheese happened to be a pear, the one fruit on the face of the earth I am allergic to. Not the restaurant's fault by any means. My daughter and I shared an eye-rolling chuckle over that one.
The fourth course, the dessert course, was listed as bread pudding. Not my favorite, but it's hard to screw up bread pudding, and since Ad Hoc is a Thomas Keller establishment, I assumed it would be pretty good.
The restaurant was two-thirds empty when we arrived and we were promptly seated. I was a little surprised to be stuck in a corner away the main dining room, where our only dining companions were a large party of very talkative tourists. But, there are worse things, and it was quickly forgotten.
I glanced at the menu and pointed out to my daughter the proscuitto in the Italian Bean Soup. She grimaced at me. At that moment, our server approached. She was very polite and attentive, though she seemed a bit nervous and inexperienced. For instance, she let us know she'd been informed that one of us was a non-meat eater, and she mentioned that there was an alternative main course. She didn't elaborate further. Because I've been in this situation so often, I knew beforehand what the alternative main course would be, but I played along and asked what it was.
"Oh, it's a fish selection," she replied.
"Um-hmm," I responded, "what fish?" (As if I didn't know.....)
"A pan-seared salmon fillet."
The ubiquitous pan-seared salmon fillet. I love salmon. It's a great fish. It's a healthy fish. I make it all the time at home. I only order it in a restaurant if I have no other choice. There's something about pan-seared salmon that makes me sick. It's simply too rich for me. I gave my daughter 'that' look, and she suggested I order the duck. I said, no, the salmon would be all right.
The server then asked about the proscuitto in the soup. I said, and I quote, "If the soup has been cooked with proscuitto, that's fine, I'll pick around it." But the server insisted that no, the proscuitto was added at the end, so she'd be happy to bring my soup without the proscuitto. My daughter than ordered a glass of wine and I order sparkling water.
Our bread arrived. It was quite good. The bagette had a wonderful crispy crust and tender interior, while the dark bread, made with rye flour, whole wheat and spelt was moist, tender and very tasty, with or without the too salty butter. The Reisling, which we shared, was light, fruity, not too sweet, and as it turns out, the best thing about the meal.
The soup at Ad Hoc is usually served family style in a large bowl or tureen. Because my soup did not have proscuitto, ours was served in two separate, inordinately immense bowls. Each bowl could probably hold a half-gallon of liquid. It's not an exaggeration to say that my daughter and I were provided with nearly a quart of soup each. Hers was topped with proscuitto and shaved parmesan. Mine had neither. I didn't recall asking for the parmesan to be deleted, so we called our server over and requested some parmesan for my soup. She promptly brought us a small plate of shavings. Despite the overwhelming size of the portion, and an excess of undercooked chick peas, the soup had an appealing golden color and a nice, understated chickeny aroma and flavor. The vegetables, carrots, turnips, onions and bok choy, were cooked to just tender crisp, and the herbs added last to retain their individual flavors. The soup was good, but obviously neither of us was able to eat more than a quarter of our servings.
Fortunately, our second course was a tad more manageable in size. The portions were small, but perfectly adequate. That's the best thing I can say about it. My salmon was exactly what I anticipated, well-prepared, but oily and overseasoned. I took only a couple bites. The brussel sprouts, which would not normally be my vegetable of choice with salmon, were beautifully carmelized but way too salty, almost inedibly so. I do believe in salt, but I prefer to use salt to enhance the flavor of a vegetable rather than to have it become the flavor of a vegetable. Luckily, the parsnip puree was not overseasoned, it actually had a delightfully creamy texture without tasting too rich, and the usual cloying sweetness of the parsnips was muted. My daughter and I agreed that it made a decent dip for the brussel sprouts as it cut there overwhelming saltiness. The roasted chestnuts were a disappointment. Chestnuts, like parsnips, can be too sweet, and I was a little worried. However, in this case, they'd been roasted to the point of dryness, and instead of sweet, they were tasteless, mealy, and even unpleasantly chewy.
I noticed my daughter pushing her duck around on her plate. I asked how it was and she replied, "Would you like to taste it?"
"No," I responded. When it arrived it reminded me of slabs of raw liver, but I didn't say anything to her. I asked what the problem was and she stated, "It tastes metallic, like I'm eating raw flesh. As in RAW FLESH, not as in steak tartar or sashimi, which I love. There are lumps of fat in it, the skin is soggy, oily, and it's making me sick."
Then ensued a discussion about whether or not her duck was undercooked. She insisted duck should always be undercooked, while I maintained there was a not-so-fine line between undercooking and not cooking at all. And I pointed out the obvious, she thought it was disgusting. End of discussion. We agreed to take our remaining food home for my husband, her father, because like Mikey of the Life Cereal fame, he'll eat anything. To my surprised, the leftovers were brought to us in cardboard containers before the next course was served.
By the time the cheese course arrived, my daughter was too nauseated to eat much. Fortunately, there wasn't much to eat. We were served two paper-thin slices of cocoa cordona, a wonderful buttery, nutty, sweet, gouda-like cheese. The edible rind is rubbed with cocoa powder which imparts a delightful touch of bitterness. We each took a slice and my daughter took the three, also paper-thin slices of fresh pear. A generous handful of lightly toasted almonds accompanied the cheese. They were quite tasty. I ate several with my slice of cheese, then stashed the remainder in my little cardboard salmon container. It was an excellent cheese, and I didn't need more than a single slice, though if I could eat pears, I would have been disappointed in the almost microscopic portion of fruit provided.
Our server returned and offered us coffee with our dessert. I ordered an espresso while my daughter ordered a cappucino. Both were perfect, though I think we would have liked them a little better if the dessert had been at all appealing. Not only was it unappealing, it was downright embarrassing. Two lumps of cupcake-size bread pudding arrived on flat plates, each accompanied by less than a quarter teaspoon of vanilla sauce. The vanilla sauce was the only thing worth eating, but in order to do so, you practically had to resort to licking the plate as there wasn't enough to scoop into a spoon. We ended up using our fingers. The bread pudding itself was ice cold and tasteless, kind of like a loaf of wet cement stuffed with too many raisins and dried cranberries. My daughter picked hers apart and left it on the plate. I shoveled mine into the box for my husband.
I was steaming mad by the time we left. If I'm going to fork over that much money, then by God, the food better be edible. Regardless of whether I'm at a local taqueria serving Mexican food or Ad Hoc serving Napa Valley cuisine, the food should be done well. Customers pay the same price whether you have an off night or not. It's a whole lot easier for me to swallow an off night if my bill is $20.00 instead of $150.00.
My husband's verdict? He ate what I put in front of him without comment, until he got to the duck. Then he took one bite, turned an unusual shade of green, ran to the sink and spit it out.
"Jesus! What is that?!? Raw liver?!?," he exclaimed. He went on to hold his mouth under the faucet with the water running, while yelling for something, anything, to get the taste out of his mouth. I was laughing too hard to comply. When he finally came up for air, he said, "That's the most vile thing I've ever tasted."
Ad Hoc
6476 Washington Street, Yountville, CA
707-944-2487
Expensive
hi standards
Oct 23, 2007 12:36PM
I understand you didn't think your food was prepared properly, but why did you go on a night when you knew you wouldn't like the menu? Although the menu changes daily, there are some "regular" items in the rotation, including the fried chicken, which has gotten raves, and probably would have suited your personal food preferrences better.
BTW, I have to disagree with your server: undercooked means undercooked, that is, not cooked to the desired degree, whatever that might be. It is not a synonym for "rare" just as "overcooked" is not a synonym for "well-done" (if I order a steak rare and it comes medium, it's overcooked). Nothing should be "undercooked"!
Finally, how did your bill get to be $150? That must have been one expensive glass of riesling!
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Ruth, I think the conversation about the duck was between daughter and mother, not the server.
Sounds awful, hi standards, but I would have complained... unless with my mother, who, at any cost will not let me do so (I'd rather suffer horrid food than upset my mom).
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Oops, you're right. I guess I couldn't understand why the daughter was saying it was disgusting while at the same time saying that it should have been undercooked.
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I didn't know what the menu was until my daughter read it to me in the car on the way to the restaurant. Also, my daughter had driven in from out of town for the day, and she'd made the reservation in advance to make sure we could get in. The discussion about the duck only marginally involved the server. The server was uncertain as to the preparation of the duck. My daughter insisted duck should be undercooked, even though she was unable to eat it. She didn't want to send it back. There didn't seem to be a point anyway as I had the only alternate menu item and she doesn't eat salmon.
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The total, with 1 glass of a reasonably priced wine, 1 bottle of sparkling water, 1 espresso and 1 cappucino, with tax and tip came to just under $150.00. I replied to the reason we went that particular night below, sorry, and also the discussion about the done-ness of the duck.
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I recently ate at Ad Hoc and posted a less than impressed review of the experience. Like you, I didn't just like the entree (fried chicken) but most of the meal. The salad was great, one of the best I have ever had. The vegetables were over done, the potatoes could have been prepared by someone who was experiencing the vegetable for the first time and the table for two was over loaded with glasses, bottles, carafes, serving dishes, plates, condiments and bread. What really ticked me off was the insistence of the kitchen on serving the panna cotta instead of boxing it up as I requested, so much for service. Not only did I not enjoy it, would never go back but am just outraged at the bill for "value" received. (To answer Ruths question, I assume yours included the the tip and 2 espressos as well as the wine.)
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My question is why didn't you return the undercooked duck, instead of paying for it and taking something home you won't be eating anyway? I doubt the restaurant would've charged you for a dish that you sent back for good reasons.
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"On the drive up, my daughter recited the menu, she'd pulled it up on-line"
Where did you get the day's menu online?
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I will ask my daughter when I talk to her and post her source.
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It's definitely unfortunate that you had a bad experience and especially that your server sounds like she was unnecessarily argumentative about the duck. Not liking the food, I totally understand.
On the other hand...to go to a pre fixe restaurant which has a nightly set menu, which responds affirmatively to "can you accommodate a non-red meat eater?" and then not be happy with the alternate choices is unreasonable. It's not a full service restaurant. Anyone who has such dietary restrictions should ask what the alternatives are (if you care). Their format is very clear. In fact, it's one reason (along with a poor enough experience at Bouchon) that my wife and I haven't gone to eat there...she doesn't eat red meat.
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Yeah, I'm clear on that ccbweb. That's why I avoided going for so long. Had everything else been up to par, the fact that I don't like pan seared salmon would have been my problem, not theirs.
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I experienced a really off-night, too, and it was all the more disappointing to me as I had been looking forward to going since it opened. Maybe this is starting to be a "down-hill" report?
I got the opportunity when invited by visiting friends, who made the reservation well in advance as part of their vacation (hence no choice of day/menu strategizing).
We had a similar soup, but I thought it rather thin and the vegetables un-integrated. The best part (sorry!) was the proscuitto and parmesan eaten with the bread (from Bouchon Bakery). The main course was a shrimp and chicken dish with lentils. All of the elements of it were embarrasingly undercooked, with the shrimp and lentils lacking any proper flavor or texture, though not as bad as the chicken, my portion of which was seriously raw.
Our waiter never stopped by to check how things were during that course, and when he came to clear, I tried to politely and quietly show him that my chicken was raw. Instead of the expected quiet apology and maybe an offer of some substitution which I would have declined at that late point, he proceeded to lecture me about the sous-vides cooking process, and that though the chicken may look underdone, it was cooked to the proper temperature and I should not worry about salmonella! I was stunned speachless! The fact that our reservation was early, at 5, just when they opened, may have contributed to the undercooking, but it does not excuse it.
The cheese and dessert course were both sort of ok, but no big deal. Flagship cheddar was complimented by Marshall's Farm Napa Wildflower honey; I have borrowed this pairing already at home, but with a better cheese (Serena ewe's cheddar). The s'more dessert was not so successful, as the homemade graham cracker was really crumbly and unappealing.
There was certainly a lack of value for what was received considering the main was pretty inedible. The waiter's demeanor and lack of customer service training was about the worst I have ever encountered at any price point, which turns me off from the restaurant almost more than the kitchen's obvious lack of care.
Though, I guess it could have been worse: that duck sounds really bad!
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It is true that food that's been cooked sous vide can appear to be raw, even when properly cooked. However, since most Americans consider raw chicken disgusting, it's probably not a good idea to serve chicken that even appears to be raw! It sounds like the duck breast was also cooked sous vide, which is why the fat wasn't properly rendered. Again, not the best choice -- or perhaps just not the best execution -- for this cooking method!
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Unless we read a different post "hi standards" had "Roast Duck....so where does the sous vide come from? Besides, even if Duck (or any other meat) was cooked sous vide it will not have "raw" texture unless it was undercooked....
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I've eaten at Ad Hoc when they made pork that was sous vide style and then grilled. I have to say, the sous vide method is great for tenderness but not for appearance. The pork I had really did look raw even though it was properly cooked. So I have a feeling that's what happened to the duck.
I have to say, though, hi-standards, that reading your original post, it sounded like the dinner was all right and that the server did everything you asked. It just sounded like the bread budding was a major turn off.
This is just the gamble of a prix-fixe menu. I can see why as someone with dietary restrictions you've avoided it all this time. So now you know to avoid prix-fixe no matter how insistent your daughter is. (And BTW, now you have an example to cite to her when she insists again.) ;-)
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Ha! No kidding!
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I have a lot of respect for kitchens that serve poultry rare. The best duck I've ever had in my life was blood red in the center.
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i was there probably the same night as foodeye, because this was the exact menu. we had 7 PM reservations. we actually had a great meal -- yes, the soup was a bit thin but the broth was very tasty and the tomatoes in the soup were wonderful. our shrimp/chicken/lentil dish was delicious, all were perfectly cooked. the cheese course was good but not out of this world, and our group actually really enjoyed the s'more dessert, especially the caramel sauce. plus, our service was outstanding. perhaps the lesson is to go later in the evening? this was my second time at Ad Hoc and I can't wait to go back. perhaps someday i'll be able to make the fried chicken night.
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I had quite an excellent meal at Ad Hoc a couple of Friday's ago. Heirloom tomato salald with fresh mozzarella and cucumbers, Santa Maria Skirt Steak cooked sous vide served with potatoes and rocket, a soft sheep's milk cheese with an endive salad, and panna cotta for dessert. The salad was supremely fresh with very flavorful and sweet tomatoes and the house made cheese was perfect as well, the steak was tender like a filet, the cheese was fine, and the panna cotta was sublime.....the combination of buttermilk and creme fraiche made for one of the best versions i've had. the service was very good....not in your face, but very helfpful with questions and good with descriptions. with 2 glasses of wine a piece it was $140-something before tax and tip. quite affordable for what you get.
knowing the concept of the restaurant ahead of time, it seems to me that it would be a waste of time and money to go there and substitute/omit items. when a menu is built around certain ingredients that came in that day, there's going to be a bit lacking if you leave things out and/or substitute. essentially it's an affront to the chef...and then to write a negative review...........
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I have to agree with Larry. I live in the area and have not had a chance to go to Ad Hoc because of the limited diets of those I'd probably be going with. Will probably have to do it alone, and I look forward to it. Raw duck aside, the restaurant has a reputation for being a limited, set menu. Sure, they say they might be able to accommodate those with allergies and aversions, but be prepared for the seared salmon solution. There's a great chapter in Kitchen Confidential geared directly at "hi standards."
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Which chapter was that? I've got my copy right here, but I can't remember it offhand. He takes so many great potshots at finicky diners in that book, it's hard to parse them.
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Just took a fast look through Kitch. Conf. and couldn't find it, though there are many pot shots in it. Must have been in A Cooks Tour but I loaned that one to a friend 3 yrs ago. Definitely wasn't in the Nasty Bits.
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The only thing I specifically requested was an alternative to was the duck. I'm glad you had a good meal, and I assume most people enjoy a meal at Ad Hoc. As I titled my review, it may have been an off night. I essentially feel it's an affront to me, as a paying customer, when the food is ill-prepared almost across the board. I wrote a negative review because the product served was indicative of a whole lot of indifference in preparation, seasoning, presentation and cooking technique. As I said, if I had paid a lot less, I might have chalked it up to experience. I've eaten at a lot of restaurants, good and bad. At some places in Napa, I've been transported to food heaven. This was one of the worst examples of resting on your laurels I've seen. That's why I was moved to write a review. I've got plenty of glowing reviews in me, and now that I've found this site, I'll write them too.
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I find it almost inconceivable that if the duck was as you described it, that you did not send it back to be cooked further. I also find it nearly so that anyone who has as many food dislikes and prerequisites as you indicate would go to a single menu prix fixee restaurant like Ad Hoc, at least without finding out ahead whether the menu was suitable for your tastes. We had the pleasure of a meal there this past August and although we took it as a second choice, as TFL was closed for summer vacation the week we were there, the meal was more than satisfactory. My wife is a bit of a limited eater, generally avoiding brown-eyed meat, an most exotics. We started our dinner with a glass of champagne, followed by a salad of baby romaine, heirloom tomatoes and english cucumbers. We had a Snake River Ranch Wagyu flank steak that was as tender as most fancy steakhouse filets, but with much more flavor. It was served with baked pequillo peppers, garlic chips, cranberry beans and roasted cauliflower with an enriched pan reduction. The cheese course was a Sally Jackson goat cheese served with white nectarines and a local wildflower honey. the cheese was a medium firm partly aged delight. the honey was an especially nice compliment to the cheese, and the nectarines were just ripe. dessert was a warm chocolate "brownie" (more of a flourless chocolate cake) served with some of the best caramel sauce I've had in quite a while. Our raves about it were rewarded with a small bowl of the caramel which we ate with some of the sea salt set out on the table with the main course. The check with the 2 glasses of champagne and a bottle of a nice Rosso di Montalcino was about $200(including a 20% tip). as a side note, your description of wild duck as"gamey" is an unreasonable generalization. prepared properly(mallard breast seared and sliced) it is anything but gamey.the description of your prep of domestic duck would get rid of all of the dick-y flavor along with the fat. there are many ways of cooking duck that will eliminate the fat without killing the flavor. wjhat most people don't realize is that you can't cook it all together to do it right. the breast must not be cooked as long as the legs need and the breast should be cooked at a higher temperature to crisp the skin without overcooking the meat. I am very sorry that you didn't enjoy your evening at Ad Hoc, but I can't see that all of the fault was theirs.
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I am genuinely happy your dinner was so much better than mine. The thing is, I didn't go there expecting to be perfectly satisfied. I was very clear on the concept and was well aware that this is not my usual kind of restaurant. I knew they were going out of their way - though not too much out of their way - to accommodate me. If it was only my dinner, I wouldn't have cared enough to comment on this site or any other site. My daughter ate from the pri fixe menu, she expected to be delighted as per Thomas Keller standards, and quite frankly, she hated her meal. (It was her decision not to send her duck back to the kitchen.) What I did eat from the pri fixe menu was surprisingly sub-par, as a matter of fact, some of it was awful. At that price, nothing should be awful. IMO.
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mrs standards:
surprised at some of the flack.
i thought you review was a good one and though your reflections
of price performance quite thoughtthful as well as your factoring in
what was on you [given your dietary choices] and what
would have been reasonable expectations in terms of food
and service on the part of the resto. [e.g. laughing about the
pear coincidence but still being offended on principle about the
unreasonable quantity of fruit ... or vanilla sauce ... contra the giant
tureen of soup.]
ok tnx.
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Her "I'll eat anything" husband SPIT OUT the duck, and it made the daughter nauseated to eat it... Well worth a negative review, if you ask me!! Blech!
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Wow, I thought I was picky. Your poor waitress.
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Actually, I'm not picky and I worked many years as a waitress, hostess, prep cook, manager, restaurant owner and caterer. I put myself through college as a waitress and I always treat my servers with respect. All we (my daughter) asked ahead of time is whether there would be an alternative main course. The server actually argued with me about the proscuitto in the soup. I didn't bring it up, she did, and I kept saying it was fine, nobody had to change anything, I would pick around it, and we preferred to simply have it served like they usually did. The server kept insisting that I get it without the proscuitto, not me. It was at that point I asked whether it was cooked with the proscuitto or if that was added later, because I didn't want the chef to make anything special for me. My daughter finally kicked me under the table and said, get it without the proscuitto! I said nothing about being allergic to pears, the only person in the restaurant who knew was my daughter. I simply didn't eat the pear. I was very nice to our server, left her a 20% tip despite the fact that she seemed pleasant but clueless. For example, there was a vegetable in the soup my daughter and I both really liked, but we couldn't identify. It was red, like a beet, but didn't taste like a beet and was ribbed like celery. When our server came by, we asked what it was. She said, "I don't know. Did it taste like a pepper?" We said no, and then she said, "Well, it wasn't in the soup when I tasted it earlier so I have no idea what it is." And she walked away. We were pretty surprised that she didn't offer to find out what it was. At no point during the meal did either of us call her back to complain. The only thing we asked for was the parmesan cheese that was left off my soup, and in that case, we waited until she made her rounds and then politely asked for some. So no, I can't say poor waitress.
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Sounds like maybe the rib from Swiss chard? Red like a beet, ribbed like celery.
I'd have been annoyed by your server's response, as well. Keller goes so far over the top training his FL servers, I'd expect at least polite competence at any of his establishments regardless of cost. He's charging a pretty penny for family style dinners, and trading on his name to do it. Also, it's not like the server has to master 20 new dishes every night.
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Seriously, I've read and reread the original post recounting this experience, and all I can say is, where do some of you come off with the "customer is always wrong" attitude? I've been eager to try Ad Hoc myself, but an experience like this (along with other similar-seeming accounts) is giving me real second thoughts. No, one ought not to be expecting French Laundry food and service here, but let's be honest, having Thomas Keller's name attached to it was all the advertising it needed upon opening, and as such, ought to signify SOME degree of food and service quality that would reflect well upon the Keller "brand". From what I'm reading, this ain't that.
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i think the original post is terribly over-sensationalized to the point where it's hard to take serious. it's also hard to take a review serious from a person with self-imposed eating restrictions. tough to call yourself a chowhound if you choose to restrict your diet.....
"Then he took one bite, turned an unusual shade of green, ran to the sink and spit it out."Jesus! What is that?!? Raw liver?!?," he exclaimed. He went on to hold his mouth under the faucet with the water running, while yelling for something, anything, to get the taste out of his mouth. I was laughing too hard to comply. When he finally came up for air, he said, "That's the most vile thing I've ever tasted."
the reaction that the OP describes is what one would experience eating poop..... i find it hard to believe that food from Ad Hoc, which has received tremendous reviews and is another great restaurant in the TK empire, could ellicit a reaction like that. in fact, i'm calling BS on that line. it didn't happen.
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Sorry Big Larry, actually happened. Exactly as described. If you'd like, I can tell you my dog's reaction to the duck that he grabbed after my husband dropped the carton on his chair and ran for the sink, but I think I'll spare you. As a matter of fact, my husband came home from work the next day and said he hadn't been able to eat because every time he put something in his mouth, all he could taste was the duck. And yeah, you are right, the post was definitely snotty because the experience was worse than described and I was pissed. My daughter IM'd me from her job at a great S.F. restaurant and she said that the more she thought about it, the madder she was. Honey, it's bad when your twenty-three year old comes home with you from a supposed nice restaurant and has to lay down on the couch because she's nauseated. Like I said, if you read one of my responses above, I didn't have any expectations for myself and if it had only been my dinner, I wouldn't have cared. My daughter, however, really wanted this experience, based upon the tremendous reviews that you correctly point out. I'm not one of those gluten-free, sugar-hating, politically correct, food Nazis. I don't eat meat because when I was 14, my Sociology teacher had the bright idea that he'd take the class on a field trip to a slaughterhouse. I haven't eaten red meat since. But I do have a rule, I don't waste my hard-earned money and my calories on sub-standard food.
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I had a similar, very disapointing experience at AdHoc about 2 weeks ago, when I went with an ominvore friend and my 12 year old son, a vegetarian. I had checked with the restaurant that they'd be able to accommate him, and warned that he didn't eat fish. They said 'no problem'. This is the second time I've been there, and on a whole the meal was much better the first time. What was most disapointing was that my son was served the side vegetables from the main course (some green beans and tomatoes with a piece of fennel on top) as his main course. There was no attempt to provide him with something different (I'd been expecting pasta or rissoto, typical veggie food), and the veggies themselves were rather bland and boring. For this they charged the same price as they did for the main course--the same veggies with some sliced beef on top. I felt that there was no thought put into what to serve a non-fish eating vegetarian, and certainly don't plan to ever visit again.
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