For many years, I have felt like a star-crossed lover as I tried to visit Country, Geoffrey Zakarian's Midtown dining room in the historic Seville hotel. I had reservations no less than five times, only to be stymied by bad weather, bad timing or bad friends.
As I trekked back to Manhattan on a snowy Winter night, having been rebuffed by the gods who control the LGA-ORD corridor and sentenced to another night in NYC, a last minute call to a friend yielded a "yes, would love to have dinner, but needs to be near my office - how about Country".
Splendid, I thought; my friend is a regular to the cafe given his proximity to work, but we enjoyed a prix fixe in the formal dining room just 30 minutes later.
A delectable set of dishes awaited us; Ouefs Au Plat - sunny side up, crab meat, simmered fish broth and crostini, rich yet light; a Duck Torte - filled with organ meat, rich and tasty; a savory Bison Wellington - perfect for the weather outside; a serviceable (although highly recommended not great) poached pear dessert.
The biggest surprise was that despite a fantastic venue and solid food throughout with a bit of flair, the place was empty - - it may have been the weather, but I blame the service. I would not return to the dining room for only service-related reasons. A sommelier who pushed wine he wanted to get rid of - two $250 bottles that were not ready to drink, despite protestations, and invisible servers when something was needed.
My advice to Monsieur Zakarian: the food is right, get the staff in line.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment