10/29/11 DINNER.\n\nMixed emotions on this one. Came hoping to love, left a little disappointed.\n\nME: Linguine w/ triple cream brie w/ toasted walnuts, mushrooms, prosciutto, fresh herbs & Parmesan. Added chicken for $3 more, per waiter's suggestion. There was brie, even some chunks, but it wasn't very strong, in aroma or flavor. (When I drank a sip of Point Noir with a bite, that seemed to bring out the brie.) There were absolutely no mushrooms, which were greatly missed in this dish. And there was hardly any prosciutto, again, missed. Basically I ended up with walnuts & chicken in linguine in a creamy cheese sauce. And I didn't need the chicken after all, I think the dish would've been better without it. Overall, an OK dish, but not as interesting since it didn't follow the menu description. (FOLLOWUP: I had some left over the next day, and it actually improved in brie flavor having set overnight in the fridge.)\n\nSPOUSE: Filet Oscar, which was the classic filet of beef topped w/ king crab and Bearnaise sauce, w/ asparagus, then drizzled w/ Cabernet sauce, all on top of leek mashed potatoes. OK, there was a POOL of Cabernet sauce, and hardly any Bearnaise. The beef was good, for a filet, and exactly as ordered, rare. But for the money spent, spouse wasn't thrilled. Good, not great. His meal did come with choice of a salad or soup, he chose butternut squash soup, which was good, tasted more like pumpkin, earthy & sweet.\n\nDESSERT: We split the pear dessert, which was again good, not great. We also split a glass of Chilean dessert sauvignon blanc, which the waiter brought in separate glasses, a nice touch. The wine was recommendable: fruity, aromatic, not too sweet.\n\nWINES: All we drank were wines-by-the-glass. It was nice to find a Patricia Green Pinot Noir on a by-the-glass list. The cheaper-line-by-Schraumsberg Mirabelle sparkling rose was better than I had expected. (LONG time ago, I had tried Mirabelle Brut and thought it smelled/tasted like bug spray! Obviously Schramsberg has improved the wines on their secondary program!) And the nebbiolo was fine. But the bill for 4 glasses of wine skyrocketed the cost of our experience.\n\nSERVICE/VENUE: Attentive, nice waiter. Nice setting. (We had to sit outside, cuz it was crazy full inside, but the heater sufficed for the outdoors at night.)\n\nOVERALL: If we had not had our $50 Groupon with us, we would've paid $170+ for this meal, which I found rather crazy. I'm glad I finally tried Grape Street, but I won't go outta my way to return.\n\nPS: I wish we could have tried the food at Nora's Wine Bar, which closed recently. The only day we visited, we only got to do wines. THAT menu looked incredible, authentic Italy Italian, AND they had a fantastic selection of wines by the glass as well. Sigh.
places reviews