The stand out moment of that evening was when M tasted the soup and a look of revulsion immediately came over her face. That facial expression has come to be known as "Cantaloupe Soup Face".
Last night, M and I were out dining at one of Baltimore's best known places that has a reputation for appealing to foodies such as we. It was my first time (not M's) and I had been eagerly looking forward to going. My anticipation was heightened by a recent and very favorable review of this restaurant by a national food publication.
We carefully considered many options on the menu. There were many tempting choices. Finally we settled on oysters (raw for M, roasted for me), a flatbread pizza with lamb, olives, feta cheese, etc., a short ribs dish and a chicken dish. As the food arrived, we found some of it to be good and some rather disappointing.
The chicken dish, in particular, was a let down. But, we pressed onto the desserts. There were numerous flavors of homemade ice cream to select from, but we instead opted for a slice of sweet potato pie and a slice of carrot cake. Both came with an ice cream so my love of the frozen concoction was being addressed.
When the desserts arrived, again, we experienced inconsistency. The major faux pas was the DRY little squares of carrot cake. I thought the crust of the pie too salty but M liked it. When the waitress came to the table, we gave her our feedback on the food. She was especially concerned about the cake issue.
We waited for the check but then a waitstaff appeared and set out more flatwear and told us that the kitchen was sending out something special for us. Oh, yes, it turned out to be special...
Out came the owner bearing a plate of two additional desserts: a pannacotta with figs and a poached pear perched on an almond tea cake with a scoop of ice cream. I got a shot with my thumb:
You will notice that only a small portion has been eaten and, in fact, no more was consumed after each of us initially tasted this thing because...it was the return of CANTALOUPE SOUP FACE for BOTH OF US!!!
This creature was inedible and I'm not sure if it was a case of a bad ingredient or the wrong ingredient or BOTH! It was gagging to both of us. I choked it down and M cleaverly snuck her bite out of her mouth and dropped it on the floor (our napkins were long gone from the clearing of the table). I could not go back in for a second bite to determine what the problem was.
In my whole entire life I've never tasted anything worse in a restaurant.
We thanked the waitress for the gift from the kitchen, but in good conscience, I had to tell the truth: that tea cake must not be served to anyone.
Because I believe that the kitchen had the best of intentions, I'm not publishing the name of the restaurant. We did the right thing by letting them know of the problem and I'm sure it will be corrected.
While we were dining, M said that when the place first opened it was truly smashing. Now that some time has passed and some local fame has been acquired, it seems they are losing their way. M observed that they seem to be aiming for more sophisticated presentation and intellectualizing the food and thus, the loss of taste. I, not having a prior experience to draw upon, was just disappointed -- although I was quite amused by the dual return of Cantaloupe Soup Face.
In this day and age, I want value. I don't mind spending my whole entire grocery store budget on one dinner if it's worth it. I truly don't mind that. But, at that price point, I want something that tastes terrific. I am regularly satisfied at the low end -- I can go to the BBQ joint around the corner from my house and spend $25 for two people and I'm quite happy with the quality and quantity at that price point. I can buy a slice of pizza at a festival for $3 and again be satisfied.
It's at the upper end where there are usually problems. I could start ranting now about how can someone send food out to a table for $15 a dessert and not know that it tastes so terrible. People should be ashamed that with all of their high end education, etc. that they can't or won't do better than the local diner.
The end result is that I'm careful with my restaurant dollars. I've gotten to the point where I don't experiment on the high end -- I stick to tried and true if it's a time that warrants an upscale restaurant experience.
So, it's back to the kitchen for us when we re-convene in two weeks. In the meantime, I'm going to beat a path back to my own kitchen. I have an eggplant and a head of bok choy that need to be addressed before tomorrow's farm share comes on the scene.
Sorry, folks, I would have loved to have posted about a wonderful, over the top, outrageously good dining experience.
Food & Kisses, GiGi
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