Himalayan Fusion
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Death to Fusion (the fusing of Some Asian Cuisine with a helping of Pretentiousness) and the horrible gastronomy it has created. At least at some restaurants the bizarre blend leads to delicious food, served with as much arrogance as can possibly be squeezed out of some blonde bimbette that's now convinced she's made it in the waitressing world. Why? Because she's serving Fusion Food, of course. The status. The charm. The life. It's the top of the fucking food chain.
But no, Himalayan Fusion couldn't even do that. Poor food paired with worse service, leading to a fusion of two shitty things into one, even shittier restaurant. I'm being harsh, but it's completely deserved. The other places I've given piss poor reviews have been fairly inexpensive. Himalayan Fusion gives the worst experience at an outrageous price no less - coming to over $25/person for routine Indian food. Somebody has to stop this from happening.
Food rundown:
1) Veggie samosas - burnt on the corners, too much dough was used causing this weird chewy/crunchy texture that made it taste, if anything, stale. The samosa was far to heavy on the salt, which seemed to have crystalized in the cooking process. No sauces - well, that's a lie. Two shmears of sauce, roughly enough for one bite each, sat on the plate.
2) Naan - made from pizza dough. Acceptably good as bread, a horrible substitute for Naan. Burnt, stretchy, way too chewy. Where's the fluffy Naan lightness?
3) Rice - mushy. Just mushy.
4) Chicken Tikka Masala - no spice. That's fine, but if you're gonna do a mild dish, the Masala sweetness has to be there to back the dish up. It wasn't. The chicken "cubes" were so overcooked, they actually had the texture of biting into a tire.
5) Lamb Vindaloo - the menu warns you away because it's spic(e)y hot. It's not. So much for that.
I frankly wanted to get over the poor food just so I could get to the ridiculous, atrocious service. Now in narrative form!
When we walked in, we were granted by a frantic and apologetic host, who didn't quite seem to know what he was doing. It's ok, I've had that experience dozens of times, where suddenly I find myself working at a Fusion restaurant thinking "what am I doing here? Who am I?" Then I wake up in a cold sweat, angry that I couldn't seat that last customer before my alarm reminded me I have class to go. I felt a tinge of sympathy that this host would not be waking up any time soon. Instead he worked this weird back and forth between the reservation podium and the outside seating (to make sure people hadn't skipped on their bill? I guess?) flustered and out of breath, knocking into diners and those waiting to dine alike. As he was about to offer us a table immediately next to the door outside (which had the misfortune of being both by the cold, as well as in our host's bumbling line of fire for bumps, jolts, and spilled drinks), we told him we didn't mind waiting for another table to open. One did - immediately by the restroom and the exposed kitchen. A glance inside showed a kitchen of Mexican cooks. Just say it over and over again. Fusion.
The company was good so I frankly don't remember how long we waited for service, but it came at some point and we ordered. Then there was a snafu. We didn't order drinks, which was a combination of our oversight and the waitress'. Let me establish that at this point I don't hate her yet. When she comes back around, we ask for the drink menus back and she returns. Here's where things start getting a little weird.
My friend had already ordered the Vindaloo. She was looking at red wines that would stand up to (what the menu had promised) extreme spice! That would actually be a great Indian Sports Drink. Extreme Spice! Or, conversely, Spice Extreme!
So when the waitress comes over, and my friend asks for help in narrowing down the list of reds to a particular selection, the waitress was remarkably helpful. In selecting a Riesling. Oh yeah, totally fruity and chilled and it'll calm down the Spice Extreme!(TM) in your Vindaloo. Definitely get the Riesling. I think.
After ordering a Syrah, our Samosas arrived. See above for complaints on the actual food. Service-wise, we hadn't even finished the appetizer when the entrees came. -10 points people. I don't mind waiting a little extra time if it means I'm not rushed. If I'm in a hurry, I'll tell you. At the end of the day, cluttering my table with 3 courses at once just means I'm putting on more weight than necessary.
I can't stress this enough, it's a huge pet peeve. When the entree comes while you're still eating the appetizer, it means poor communication between the kitchen and the front of the house. It's a typical and unwanted sign of mismanagement and confusion, and the one that suffers is the diner.
We ate our meal (again see above for complaints). As we were eating, I caught the waitress out of the corner of my eye, holding the check, staring at our table intently. She stood there for a solid 3 minutes, as though she had nothing else to do. I try to communicate this to my friend without moving my lips (in case she could make out the words). Eventually, she comes over, and asks if my friend would like hers to go. Earlier, things got weird. Now things got ugly.
A quick background: Indian food, nearly everywhere that I've had it, is served in a couple of different dishes. There's a plate of rice, the dish holding in this case Vindaloo, and an empty plate to mix before eating. The rice dish was empty, but my friend had food both on her plate and in the little bronze dish. So when my friend said, yes, she would very much like the rest of her food to-go, we were kind of perplexed as to why the waitress only took the plate, and not the bronze dish, with her. Was she not going to pack half of the food? Why were they being separated? Wasn't it all going to the same place?
She comes back with a large brown bag, a small Styrofoam cup, and no plate. And throws the packing supplies down at the table, without a word, before turning her back and leaving. So half of the meal had been trashed. And the other half we were going to pack ourselves. It was certainly an adventure. Before you say "you're too pretentious, haven't you packed your own doggie bag at a restaurant before?" let me answer you. Yes, I have. But I've never paid $28 for the pleasure.
We tipped poorly and left, never to return again.
-M.
Showing posts with label Fusion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fusion. Show all posts
Ten out of Ten!
Restaurants:
Fusion
Ten Penh
A coworker of mine just yesterday realized why this place is called Ten Penh. That's ok, it took me a month to figure out 15ria. Both of them join the ranks of restaurants like 2941 which are necessarily good because their name is their address. It's like they always say with real estate: location, location, location.
Despite having panned it, I can't seem to stay away from Asian fusion (the blend of Asian and Pretense). It's so wonderfully arrogant, and part of me enjoys the horrible service/delicious food combination that accompanies the cuisine. It speaks to the masochist in all of us.
Now in it's 8th year, Ten Penh (and its sister restaurants Ceiba, DC Coast, and Acadiana) are now staples of the DC food world. While none, frankly, rise to the quality/bang-for-the-buck of the Jose Andres fleet, they offer some interesting and creative twists on food genres Jose has never touched. Which is, frankly, the only reason they're still in business.
Ten Penh is unquestionably known for the lobster. A full lobster (shelled but then presented in the shell, so there's no fighting with it) served on a bed of spicy hot crispy spinach. The spinach is amazing, the crunch adds the perfect contrast, the heat gets you in the back of the throat. The lobster is amazing, smooth, silky, tender, other words that could be used to describe a softcore porn. This is what you come to Ten Penh for. But at a market price typically exceeding $40, this is not what you can afford at Ten Penh. My personal suggestion? The lobster is big enough to share. Bring a date, each person should order an appetizer, split the lobster and a dessert, and it'll be plenty of food without creating that "guuuuuu" post-tandoori-feeling.
If that's not your gig, other entrees include the lambchops with chow fun noodles in a mustard-type sauce (3 small chops) or the sea bass on a potato-radish-ginger-cake. Both are good, but the lambchops are a little sauce heavy and the sea bass is missing...something. Maybe just some more seasoning? Not entirely sure on this one. Don't let these criticisms dissuade you - both are fantastic alternatives to the Awe Inspiring Lobster.
For appetizers, the surprise stand out is the Roti stuffed with chicken. Here's where the fusion kicks in - Indian flavors abound in this dish. The duck roll is also fantastic, particularly because they don't leave you feeling greasy, slimy, dirty, and other words that could be used to describe a hardcore porn. Skip the shrimp dumplings - they sound good but they're forgettable. The pork and shrimp spring rolls (as a substitute for the duck) sounds much better, looking back.
And for dessert? Maybe it was because Pupatella hasn't been making them, but I've been craving donuts. Three extremely light donuts covered in cinnamon sugar and served with a chocolate dipping sauce. The perfect bite to end a fantastic meal.
The "Power Corridor" of Washington, so to speak, offers a lot of options. Central, Fogo, Les Halles - they're all lined up next to each other. Just like all the rest, expect great things when you head to Ten Penh.
-M.
A coworker of mine just yesterday realized why this place is called Ten Penh. That's ok, it took me a month to figure out 15ria. Both of them join the ranks of restaurants like 2941 which are necessarily good because their name is their address. It's like they always say with real estate: location, location, location.
Despite having panned it, I can't seem to stay away from Asian fusion (the blend of Asian and Pretense). It's so wonderfully arrogant, and part of me enjoys the horrible service/delicious food combination that accompanies the cuisine. It speaks to the masochist in all of us.
Now in it's 8th year, Ten Penh (and its sister restaurants Ceiba, DC Coast, and Acadiana) are now staples of the DC food world. While none, frankly, rise to the quality/bang-for-the-buck of the Jose Andres fleet, they offer some interesting and creative twists on food genres Jose has never touched. Which is, frankly, the only reason they're still in business.
Ten Penh is unquestionably known for the lobster. A full lobster (shelled but then presented in the shell, so there's no fighting with it) served on a bed of spicy hot crispy spinach. The spinach is amazing, the crunch adds the perfect contrast, the heat gets you in the back of the throat. The lobster is amazing, smooth, silky, tender, other words that could be used to describe a softcore porn. This is what you come to Ten Penh for. But at a market price typically exceeding $40, this is not what you can afford at Ten Penh. My personal suggestion? The lobster is big enough to share. Bring a date, each person should order an appetizer, split the lobster and a dessert, and it'll be plenty of food without creating that "guuuuuu" post-tandoori-feeling.
If that's not your gig, other entrees include the lambchops with chow fun noodles in a mustard-type sauce (3 small chops) or the sea bass on a potato-radish-ginger-cake. Both are good, but the lambchops are a little sauce heavy and the sea bass is missing...something. Maybe just some more seasoning? Not entirely sure on this one. Don't let these criticisms dissuade you - both are fantastic alternatives to the Awe Inspiring Lobster.
For appetizers, the surprise stand out is the Roti stuffed with chicken. Here's where the fusion kicks in - Indian flavors abound in this dish. The duck roll is also fantastic, particularly because they don't leave you feeling greasy, slimy, dirty, and other words that could be used to describe a hardcore porn. Skip the shrimp dumplings - they sound good but they're forgettable. The pork and shrimp spring rolls (as a substitute for the duck) sounds much better, looking back.
And for dessert? Maybe it was because Pupatella hasn't been making them, but I've been craving donuts. Three extremely light donuts covered in cinnamon sugar and served with a chocolate dipping sauce. The perfect bite to end a fantastic meal.
The "Power Corridor" of Washington, so to speak, offers a lot of options. Central, Fogo, Les Halles - they're all lined up next to each other. Just like all the rest, expect great things when you head to Ten Penh.
-M.
Bollywood
Saravana Palace
Masala Country
Two Indian restaurants up this time, both recommended by Washingtonian Magazine: Saravana Palace near Fairfax Corner, and Masala Country in Centreville (not Charlottesville. Sorry.)
Saravana Palace is an all-vegetarian-but-otherwise-typical Indian restaurant. The service is lousy, the portions are large, and the flavors are expected. All these things, including the "I don't want to actually serve you" attitude, are the typical tandoori tropes we've come to know and love.
But because the menu is all veggie, you won't find your chicken tikka masala here. In fact there are a lot of dishes noticeably absent from Saravana's menu - and about 10,000 unexpected ones. The menu is actually a novel, but the author knew what he or she was doing; an appendix has been included highlighting the most ordered dishes, the magazine featured dishes, the spiciest dishes, etc. It's almost as if Saravana has already written the review. Which makes one wonder why I'm still typing...
The highlight is unquestionably the dosas (a trend which carries on to the next restaurant). A lot of people will tell you that a dosa is an Indian crepe (and by people, I mean wikipedia). I'm here to tell you that if you order a dosa expecting a crepe, you will be sorry. The batter for a dosa, and an idli for that matter, is a fermented mix of rice and lentils. It seems like a dosa is made like a crepe, in that it's a thin flaky pastry type deal, except that a dosa is crunchy. It's a small but key difference.
Don't think that these are tiny little things either. We made the mistake of ordering a jaipuri paneer dosa for an appetizer, and then each ordered our own dish. The dosa was huge, and frankly even after sharing it with a friend, it was plenty for dinner on its own. One dosa is all you need. That and love.
Beyond the dosa, I ordered a not-so-great veggie pakora...thing. It wasn't just pakora. They were pakora in something fairly gelatinous. I think this was just one of those dishes you had to have grown up with.
A side note: if you completely ignore my advice and get something other than a dosa, be prepared to make a tough choice. You can't get naan and rice, you're going to get one or the other. The other one you'll have to order separately, and they're known for the coconut rice. Get the naan, order the rice (which sounds kind of backwards, doesn't it?)
Compare this to Masala Country, a self-proclaimed South Indian Fusion Fast Food Joint (pioneering the brand new cuisine of SIFFFJ). It's actually a chain, go figure. This ain't no Palace kids - there are few chairs and fewer tables (appropriately. Can you imagine a place where there were more tables than chairs? So awkward.) In a symbol of shrugging off Indian restaurant traditions left and right, they've abolished the known-and-loved horrible service, and replaced it with no service at all. That's right kids, you're on your own to order at the counter. They will bring it out to your table though.
While I've said before that fusion is a blend of Asian and Pretense, this place frankly has no business being pretentious. At the same time, you know the Indians wouldn't take any of that attitude, and they'd lose their voting bloc base. Or their clients. Something like that.
So how is fusion achieved without a dash of arrogance? Replace with a shake of Chinese. The menu covers everything from Idli (that batter mentioned previously, formed into a cake and then steamed) to Thai fried rice to Kung Pao chicken. All this ground to cover on a tiny menu means that there are no explanations as to what anything is. At all. You probably don't need help with "Black Pepper Steak" but if you limit yourself to what you understand, you won't get to the good stuff. At the same time, nobody would order a "mysore masala dosa" unless they knew what they were getting into (a dosa filled with potatoes and onions, served with an onion and a coconut chutney).
Fortunately, the guy at the counter is uncharacteristically helpful - feel free to ask him what the hell is going on. Enjoy the dosas and the idli, but stay away from the mango lassi - it tasted, frankly, like mango and yogurt. Not even blended or anything. Frankly, just way too thick to drink with spicy food.
The deal behind SIFFFJ is that nothing on the menu is over $10. It's the best deal than any Indian businessman will ever give you.
-M.
Masala Country
Two Indian restaurants up this time, both recommended by Washingtonian Magazine: Saravana Palace near Fairfax Corner, and Masala Country in Centreville (not Charlottesville. Sorry.)
Saravana Palace is an all-vegetarian-but-otherwise-typical Indian restaurant. The service is lousy, the portions are large, and the flavors are expected. All these things, including the "I don't want to actually serve you" attitude, are the typical tandoori tropes we've come to know and love.
But because the menu is all veggie, you won't find your chicken tikka masala here. In fact there are a lot of dishes noticeably absent from Saravana's menu - and about 10,000 unexpected ones. The menu is actually a novel, but the author knew what he or she was doing; an appendix has been included highlighting the most ordered dishes, the magazine featured dishes, the spiciest dishes, etc. It's almost as if Saravana has already written the review. Which makes one wonder why I'm still typing...
The highlight is unquestionably the dosas (a trend which carries on to the next restaurant). A lot of people will tell you that a dosa is an Indian crepe (and by people, I mean wikipedia). I'm here to tell you that if you order a dosa expecting a crepe, you will be sorry. The batter for a dosa, and an idli for that matter, is a fermented mix of rice and lentils. It seems like a dosa is made like a crepe, in that it's a thin flaky pastry type deal, except that a dosa is crunchy. It's a small but key difference.
Don't think that these are tiny little things either. We made the mistake of ordering a jaipuri paneer dosa for an appetizer, and then each ordered our own dish. The dosa was huge, and frankly even after sharing it with a friend, it was plenty for dinner on its own. One dosa is all you need. That and love.
Beyond the dosa, I ordered a not-so-great veggie pakora...thing. It wasn't just pakora. They were pakora in something fairly gelatinous. I think this was just one of those dishes you had to have grown up with.
A side note: if you completely ignore my advice and get something other than a dosa, be prepared to make a tough choice. You can't get naan and rice, you're going to get one or the other. The other one you'll have to order separately, and they're known for the coconut rice. Get the naan, order the rice (which sounds kind of backwards, doesn't it?)
Compare this to Masala Country, a self-proclaimed South Indian Fusion Fast Food Joint (pioneering the brand new cuisine of SIFFFJ). It's actually a chain, go figure. This ain't no Palace kids - there are few chairs and fewer tables (appropriately. Can you imagine a place where there were more tables than chairs? So awkward.) In a symbol of shrugging off Indian restaurant traditions left and right, they've abolished the known-and-loved horrible service, and replaced it with no service at all. That's right kids, you're on your own to order at the counter. They will bring it out to your table though.
While I've said before that fusion is a blend of Asian and Pretense, this place frankly has no business being pretentious. At the same time, you know the Indians wouldn't take any of that attitude, and they'd lose their voting bloc base. Or their clients. Something like that.
So how is fusion achieved without a dash of arrogance? Replace with a shake of Chinese. The menu covers everything from Idli (that batter mentioned previously, formed into a cake and then steamed) to Thai fried rice to Kung Pao chicken. All this ground to cover on a tiny menu means that there are no explanations as to what anything is. At all. You probably don't need help with "Black Pepper Steak" but if you limit yourself to what you understand, you won't get to the good stuff. At the same time, nobody would order a "mysore masala dosa" unless they knew what they were getting into (a dosa filled with potatoes and onions, served with an onion and a coconut chutney).
Fortunately, the guy at the counter is uncharacteristically helpful - feel free to ask him what the hell is going on. Enjoy the dosas and the idli, but stay away from the mango lassi - it tasted, frankly, like mango and yogurt. Not even blended or anything. Frankly, just way too thick to drink with spicy food.
The deal behind SIFFFJ is that nothing on the menu is over $10. It's the best deal than any Indian businessman will ever give you.
-M.
Not With a Bang, But With a Whimper
Restaurants:
Fusion
Bang
If you're hungry, grumpy, or out to an obligatory dinner with acquaintances or clients you'd rather avoid, skip Bang. If you have a few hours and dollars to burn, and the company is good, then it just might be the place to go and be trendy hipsters.
Our evening started with a filler at Marco and Luca's - a dumpling shop serving roughly six different items (of which dumplings are 3) in the Downtown mall. Based on what we had heard of Bang, we decided to grab a few dumplings as an appetizer. Delicious and fast, Marco and Luca's "dumpling" order comes with about 6-8 dumplings in a tiny styrofoam container for $3. Grab this and the hot and sour soup and you can call it a night. The pork and veggie buns look fantastic, and taste great, but be warned: you get one napkin and one set of chopsticks, and these large buns would be hard to eat with an army of heavy utensils. If you're looking to eat gracefully, move on.
Marco and Luca's is in the center of the downtown mall, and shares patio space with their neighbors Cafe Cubano. On a nice September Friday night, with the town out in full swing, it's a wonderful place to grab some dumplings and people watch. Although it's a bit far from campus, the quick availability of cheap snacks makes this place a worthwhile study spot for those who need a crowd.
Across the street, behind the free parking, is Bang. Bang bills itself as Asian tapas (so...dim sum?) that's not dim sum (damn). Following in the passee tradition of Asian fusion, Bang's list of small plates is already only half a page, and reduced further by black sharpee lines across some of the more appetizing-sounding offerings. Given our dumpling first course, we skipped the dumplings and ordered (for four of us). The first to come out was the Korean beef in lettuce cups.
The 'cup' is a leaf of bib lettuce sitting underneath a thin strip of beef, with a tiny dipping sauce on the side. After one bite, the need for sauce became apparent. It didn't help the dryness, but certainly added much needed flavor. At this point, two of four ordered drinks still had not arrived, one of which was mine, and the beef was beginning to dehydrate me.
About twenty minutes later, the drinks arrived with the 'sides' we had ordered - coconut rice and edamame. While the small plates are meant for sharing, the sides are clearly a per-person deal. Fortunately, only one of the two was in demand. The coconut rice was milky and sweet, with just a hint of crunch (and this is coming from someone who hates coconut). There was nothing in particular that the rice went with, as none of other small plates had arrived yet, but it stood on its own. The same could not be said for overcooked edamame sprinkled with prepackaged bread crumbs. I'll let you imagine this one on your own.
About ten hours later, the second entree came out. There was more to go around (in the style of the Donner party, we had consumed one of our guests out of waiting hunger) of the Shrimp with noodles and chiles. One in our group was allergic to peanuts, so we opted out of that, and to Bang's credit the request was satisfied without muss or fuss. Unlike the rest of the meal. To be frank, I was so hungry that I don't even remember what this tasted like, except to say that there must have been a carrot truck that had broken down outside and started handing out produce for free.
Finally, a long awaited thai beef with soba noodles arrived in a heap of buckwheat. One bite and I was done - the food was drenched in cilantro, to a point where nothing else reached the senses.
In the end, our sesame tuna never reached the table - the waitress forgot, and we weren't interested in staying to celebrate Stefanee's December birthday. We told her not to worry about it, and after returning the check which still listed the dish, paid and left.
The food was certainly edible, but the service made the restaurant near intolerable. Fortunately, the conversation was good and so the time passed quickly. But for three small appetizers, the two hour dinner could have been cut down significantly. Bang forgot that the point of tapas is to sample different flavors at the same time. Instead, the menu was so slow that we found ourselves eating the garnish on the plates and drinking the dipping sauce for sustenance.
Rather than attempt to order a dessert, the group of us moved to the Flat, a crepe take-away window located a block away. The crepe suzette doesn't skip on the grand marnier, and anything with chocolate and nutella is filled to the brim. Seating is limited, but the crepes are the real thing and worth the drive downtown alone. Certainly the best dessert Bang has never served.
-M.
If you're hungry, grumpy, or out to an obligatory dinner with acquaintances or clients you'd rather avoid, skip Bang. If you have a few hours and dollars to burn, and the company is good, then it just might be the place to go and be trendy hipsters.
Our evening started with a filler at Marco and Luca's - a dumpling shop serving roughly six different items (of which dumplings are 3) in the Downtown mall. Based on what we had heard of Bang, we decided to grab a few dumplings as an appetizer. Delicious and fast, Marco and Luca's "dumpling" order comes with about 6-8 dumplings in a tiny styrofoam container for $3. Grab this and the hot and sour soup and you can call it a night. The pork and veggie buns look fantastic, and taste great, but be warned: you get one napkin and one set of chopsticks, and these large buns would be hard to eat with an army of heavy utensils. If you're looking to eat gracefully, move on.
Marco and Luca's is in the center of the downtown mall, and shares patio space with their neighbors Cafe Cubano. On a nice September Friday night, with the town out in full swing, it's a wonderful place to grab some dumplings and people watch. Although it's a bit far from campus, the quick availability of cheap snacks makes this place a worthwhile study spot for those who need a crowd.
Across the street, behind the free parking, is Bang. Bang bills itself as Asian tapas (so...dim sum?) that's not dim sum (damn). Following in the passee tradition of Asian fusion, Bang's list of small plates is already only half a page, and reduced further by black sharpee lines across some of the more appetizing-sounding offerings. Given our dumpling first course, we skipped the dumplings and ordered (for four of us). The first to come out was the Korean beef in lettuce cups.
The 'cup' is a leaf of bib lettuce sitting underneath a thin strip of beef, with a tiny dipping sauce on the side. After one bite, the need for sauce became apparent. It didn't help the dryness, but certainly added much needed flavor. At this point, two of four ordered drinks still had not arrived, one of which was mine, and the beef was beginning to dehydrate me.
About twenty minutes later, the drinks arrived with the 'sides' we had ordered - coconut rice and edamame. While the small plates are meant for sharing, the sides are clearly a per-person deal. Fortunately, only one of the two was in demand. The coconut rice was milky and sweet, with just a hint of crunch (and this is coming from someone who hates coconut). There was nothing in particular that the rice went with, as none of other small plates had arrived yet, but it stood on its own. The same could not be said for overcooked edamame sprinkled with prepackaged bread crumbs. I'll let you imagine this one on your own.
About ten hours later, the second entree came out. There was more to go around (in the style of the Donner party, we had consumed one of our guests out of waiting hunger) of the Shrimp with noodles and chiles. One in our group was allergic to peanuts, so we opted out of that, and to Bang's credit the request was satisfied without muss or fuss. Unlike the rest of the meal. To be frank, I was so hungry that I don't even remember what this tasted like, except to say that there must have been a carrot truck that had broken down outside and started handing out produce for free.
Finally, a long awaited thai beef with soba noodles arrived in a heap of buckwheat. One bite and I was done - the food was drenched in cilantro, to a point where nothing else reached the senses.
In the end, our sesame tuna never reached the table - the waitress forgot, and we weren't interested in staying to celebrate Stefanee's December birthday. We told her not to worry about it, and after returning the check which still listed the dish, paid and left.
The food was certainly edible, but the service made the restaurant near intolerable. Fortunately, the conversation was good and so the time passed quickly. But for three small appetizers, the two hour dinner could have been cut down significantly. Bang forgot that the point of tapas is to sample different flavors at the same time. Instead, the menu was so slow that we found ourselves eating the garnish on the plates and drinking the dipping sauce for sustenance.
Rather than attempt to order a dessert, the group of us moved to the Flat, a crepe take-away window located a block away. The crepe suzette doesn't skip on the grand marnier, and anything with chocolate and nutella is filled to the brim. Seating is limited, but the crepes are the real thing and worth the drive downtown alone. Certainly the best dessert Bang has never served.
-M.
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