Dovetail Disaster

I asked Shaina if she wanted a delicious neighborhood brunch or an experience. I figured I'd give her a less expensive option after their Craft tasting menu. But she said experience, so I looked at the list of Michelin starred restaurants & wow did we have an experience. 

They sat us, brought us menus 9 mins later. Asked for a drink order, but hadn't brought us a drink menu...

The menu was prix fixe. So we were told we would get all of the starters and desserts and just to choose a main. Shaina and I both chose the Patty Melt Madame...a veal patty with melted provolone topped with a fried egg. It was seved over bread cubes and a grain mustard sauce, which was good, but overwhelmingly mustardy. It doesn't say anything about mustard on the menu. And in fact likely would have deterred us both from ordering it. They brought our mains before the starters. But forgot to bring us silverware. 

I had a shocked look on my face and told them we had been sitting for 20 minutes without anything to eat, and now we had mains but no starters, except a bread basket that we devoured since we were so hungry. It had banana ginger muffins, cornbread scones and an herbed bread of some sort. I would write what they actually were without guessing, but I could not understand our mumbling waiter.

The starters were a cucumber soup, a smoked salmon belini, a duck meatball and a yogurt parfait. Everything underwhelming.

Then they made us sit with a table full of dirty dishes for several minutes before they brought dessert... But we got silverware this time. A fork and spoon. Randomly set on the table with a half awkward apology about not being able to reach. Cheesecake. Chocolate something. And a dense cake with caramelized apple chunks. Again, didn't understand the explanation. They walked away without asking if we wanted tea or coffee, though we all did. They cleared the dessert and then asked if we wanted tea or coffee. I said, "I would have wanted it with my dessert but now we are done."

Matt asked for the check... When they offered him, (but not Shaina) a second drink. Then I asked for it again while he was in the restroom, then on the 3rd ask they comp'd 50% of the bill, realizing I was not happy.

I've been to this restaurant before & loved it. So I spoke to the manager after to thank him for the comp, but also told him how disappointed I was to have a place that I loved treated me and my out of town guests so poorly.

I said told them that I don't like to be the complaining New Yorker, because I prefer to be a friendly Californian... But this needed to be said.

He said he looked at my reservation history and he would hate to lose me as a patron ... Offered to comp a meal if I would think about returning. We shall see... I wonder if they will stay on the 2014 Michelin list.