Fine Dining

My wife and I went out with another couple last night to a 4-star **** star local restaurant that has rave reviews from the critics. Its in a quaint location in Clifton VA and we've been wanting to go for some time but have resisted because of the price. We decided to go last night (and our friends were excited to try it as well), as sort of a dining adventure. Something we've never done before, we usually limit our dinners out to about $ 25 a person. Here's the place:

http://trummersonmain.com/home/

They have a Chef's Special for $ 78 a person where the Chef makes something for you in five courses, and in order to get it everyone at the table has to participate. So we did, rather than order off the menu.

Both my wife and I barely touched any of the five courses. Nor did the lady part of the other couple. Now its not that I don't think the food was well executed, its just we don't eat that sort of cuisine and can't appreciate it. Five courses came in as follows:

1) Raw Tuna done with spices (gross)
2) Homemade bread drizzled in clam sauce with baby shrimp and clams (barely OK)
3) Wedge of Sturgeon with Pears (not for us)
4) Rib Eye Steak sliced with Spinach (FINALLY, something we could eat)
5) Ice cream and small cakes with caramelized vinegar sauce/brandy (yuck, the vinegar and brandy mix ruined it)

So, for $ 78 a head, three of us got four bites of a steak and when we got home I made myself a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. Our fourth in the party (he's a real foodie) loved it all. I can't slam the restaurant, because I think they probably did a really good job of what they fixed and some people really appreciate that sort of dining, but it wasn't us.

This morning my wife commented, "That place was a bit of ripoff" but I said "probably not, but its more like getting someone to try to enjoy a Porsche when all they want in a car is a Corolla. And we eat like Corollas."

Quote:

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Originally Posted by drcollie

...when we got home I made myself a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich.

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haha, classic!

My problem is that my girlfriend is such an excellent cook, most restaurants can't compare!

Umm it sounds like you would have preferred a nice steak house. Oh well live and learn.

Funny - to me everything on that list looks good except the steak (not a steak fan).

Yeah... sounds like that would have been right up my alley...

But, like you, I try to keep it down to under $60/couple when we eat out... (If it's under $30, so much the better!)

Looks like a great place. I can't speak to the quality of the food, but the price is roughly what you'd expect to pay for a tasting menu at a nice restaurant. Given the guy with more adventurous taste liked it, I doubt I'd call the place a ripoff.

In my opinion, if the restaurant isn't publishing a tasting menu such that you know what you're getting, the waiter should inform you about what will be served or the chef should interview the table to find out general likes and dislikes. For example, sashimi and seared/rare tuna are pretty much part of the mainstream these days, and flash freezing has made sushi-grade fish safer than ever, but there are plenty of people who can't get past the idea of "it's raw fish" - they deserve a warning or an alternative.

I've had a number of pleasant tasting menu experiences, but I've also seen any number of tasting menus that included items that I knew I would not enjoy and thus chose other options. I've also taken advantage of the possibility that, even if something doesn't sound quite right, having one "miss" on a tasting menu isn't that big of a risk, and sometimes things taste better than they sound. (I would hope that "Homemade bread drizzled in clam sauce with baby shrimp and clams" tastes better than it sounds to me. ;))

In the future, my tasting adventures will be limited to Baskin-Robbins.

:)