Thursday, December 21, 2006

Mostly in the Bag at Dupont Grille

After getting chased out of Gazuza by a barely-drinkable-even-though-it-was-free rose Champagne, the three chicks I live with and our friend Katie went over to the Dupont Grille. I was pulling for Firefly, Laura got her way. Sometimes, you just need to let kids make their own mistakes.

Dupont Grille is one of those hotel restaurants where inexplicable design choices have been made (it feels like a diner), mediocre service is tolerated (my steak showed up well in advance of my steak knife) and the food is fine (first "rare" steak was medium, second one was rare but unremarkable). To be fair, I was drunk and getting drunker, so, as they say, your mileage may vary. Hell, my mileage may vary.

Three of the girls at the table ordered one of those tender, moist, slide-off-the-bone braised lamb shank dishes, served in a shallow bowl. I bet it was sitting on a polenta -- just playing the odds. Please, can three of the five people at my table not order the same thing? This drives me nuts. I want to see what a restaurant has to offer.

Still, the lamb was a well-prepared dish, and I had a little entree envy. My side of smoked gouda grits was a hit, and enough for a few to share. I thought they could have been creamier, as the consistency was a touch mortar-like for my taste, but I'm picking nits here. It was a good, flavorful, non-potato accompaniment to my steak.

Someone, i think it was Laura, got a salad. I didn't try it, mostly because she had replaced the gorgonzola with feta. I know. I live with pagans from the Midwest. I'm sure if they had a pastie special, we would have seen a few less lamb shanks.

I am happy to report that I found their Maker's Mark highly potable.

Rating: 2/5 Unimpressed Locals

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