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Old 12-06-2009, 11:19 PM
 
824 posts, read 1,808,304 times
Reputation: 604

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Quote:
Originally Posted by kittykat13 View Post
The last restaurant: The Yard House.
Funny you should mention that...I met some friends out there today to watch a football game. I had a decent-enough steak sandwich and 4 draft beers, and my bill was...$55 (before tax and tip). Add amateurish service and arguably the most obnoxious music imaginable (think...the best of early 90's radio rock...ugh), and I won't be headed back.
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Old 12-07-2009, 12:24 AM
 
2,359 posts, read 6,401,357 times
Reputation: 658
Quote:
Originally Posted by dvlpr View Post
Funny you should mention that...I met some friends out there today to watch a football game. I had a decent-enough steak sandwich and 4 draft beers, and my bill was...$55 (before tax and tip). Add amateurish service and arguably the most obnoxious music imaginable (think...the best of early 90's radio rock...ugh), and I won't be headed back.
I went to the one in houston at the new city center, and the service was great and the food a little pricy. But overall it was worth it, may want to give the one here in town a chance.
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Old 12-07-2009, 09:20 AM
 
Location: Texas
1,848 posts, read 4,667,746 times
Reputation: 1216
Had a friend in town looking for a scene.

Went to Wildfish Friday night for a pre-dinner drink. Around 7:45, so HH was over but the bar was still busy with large crowds wrapping up their stay. Dinning area was nearly full with patrons sitting down for dinner.

Enjoyed a drink and ordered the Truffled Mac and Cheese to split 3 ways. Talk about adult comfort food. The macaroni was soft, the dish was hot and the topped bread crumbs had a salty bite. Scallions mixed in last minute and a hint of truffle oil brought this dish from a childhood cure all to an adult treat deluxe. The martinis were amazing as always, we are usually there for HH and quickly remebered why - $5 martinis vs $10 martinis. Still a good drink, with great service and hip ambiance.

Headed over to Stonewerks for yet the second scene. Hubby had a pizza, which he can order anywhere and be perfectly happy with - a few slices made it to the box for lunch the next day, Hubby is a finisher, must have been the mac and cheese.... I had the portobella mushroom salad. The warm mushroom strips were a welcomed alternate texture to the cold, crisp leafy greens. The mushroom, crisp lettuce, red onion, pine nuts and goat cheese was far from innovative but done very, very well - especially noteworthy was the tart vinageratte. The salad was so large that it was my dinner Saturday night and lunch on Sunday. Friend had a soup (creamy chicken poblano) and salad.

As the DD, I enjoyed one glass of Mark West Pino Noir through the evening. Dropped off the car later and the threee of us cabbed it to Flying Saucer to prove (!) that our location is (gasp) nicer than the Dallas location.

A few beers in we decided it was a great idea to order a few pretzels with a cream cheese dipping sauce and a queso dipping sauce. I swear, I don't know what frozen plastic bag these pretzels actually come from - but they are the best. Better than any NYC street pretzel I swear.

So there are the last 3 (three!) places - yes all in one night, oink.
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Old 12-07-2009, 09:28 AM
 
915 posts, read 1,895,693 times
Reputation: 546
Keste Pizzeria, NYC - much hyped Neapolitan pizza spot in the West Village. A good meal with good friends, but i'm spoiled having Dough here.

Pizza Del Papa - butternut squash cream, smoked mozz, artichoke, and red/yellow peppers. Very good and very rich vegetarian pie. 1 of the better veg-head pies i've had.

Prosciutto E Arugola - a favorite combination, but I have to say Dough's version is superior.

Salsiccia E Friarielli- italian rapini, italian sausage, smoked mozz, and evoo. Terrific.
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Old 12-07-2009, 09:34 AM
 
Location: Texas
1,848 posts, read 4,667,746 times
Reputation: 1216
Quote:
Originally Posted by jwebtx View Post
Keste Pizzeria, NYC - much hyped Neapolitan pizza spot in the West Village. A good meal with good friends, but i'm spoiled having Dough here.

Pizza Del Papa - butternut squash cream, smoked mozz, artichoke, and red/yellow peppers. Very good and very rich vegetarian pie. 1 of the better veg-head pies i've had.

Prosciutto E Arugola - a favorite combination, but I have to say Dough's version is superior.

Salsiccia E Friarielli- italian rapini, italian sausage, smoked mozz, and evoo. Terrific.

That sounds INSANE, yum!
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Old 12-07-2009, 01:54 PM
 
1,807 posts, read 2,954,281 times
Reputation: 1469
Quote:
Originally Posted by dvlpr View Post
Funny you should mention that...I met some friends out there today to watch a football game. I had a decent-enough steak sandwich and 4 draft beers, and my bill was...$55 (before tax and tip). Add amateurish service and arguably the most obnoxious music imaginable (think...the best of early 90's radio rock...ugh), and I won't be headed back.
I feel you the same way, went once and that was enough. If I want a steak sandwich I go to Mortons during HH when they are free, and the beer is cheaper also.
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Old 12-07-2009, 08:12 PM
 
1,836 posts, read 3,803,565 times
Reputation: 1735
Tonight: Restaurant Insignia

Jason Dady, creator of some of my favorite dining spaces in San Antonio (TRE, 2Bro's, The Lodge) has re-opened a dining spot in the always-doomed Fairmont Hotel front window. I figured that if anyone could turn that sow's ear into a silk purse, it would be him. He is, after all, been called the younger aire apparent to local culinary masters like Andrew Weissman, Bruce Auden and Nelson Gonzales.

I wanted to like Insignia... But I didn't. Here's why:


Starting with the dining space, it was entirely too bright for the large, floor to ceiling windows that face the building. I felt as if on display in an otherwise VERY empty restaurant. The chairs, while stylish, were totally uncomfortable and with ESPN being played on all of the plasma screens in the place, it seems as if Insignia was having an identity crisis of sorts: Are they a neighborhood watering hole with loud sports echoing around or an upscale fusion eatery that's able to charge $15/small plate and $15 for a 'handcrafted' cocktail? They need to figure that out now.

They also could use a better ventilation hood in the kitchen. I fought smoke from the fried chicken all night and ended up leaving Insignia smelling IHOP-fresh.

Food: Started with three small plates. Wagyu meatballs, their signature bone-marrow pudding and what sounded to be a nice foie gras on toast points. Plate after plate, they all dissapointed. Someone in the kitchen sure likes sea salt, as it was in and on everything in full-force. All of the dishes served tonight were either too salty, too dripping in its own grease or simply not hot. Nothing, IMO, is worse than serving a guest a luke warm meal. It's unacceptable. The marrow should have been savory, but it ended up being bland (likely from not enough marrow being used in the recipe). The toast points were way too flavorful and overpowered the foie gras, as well as the marrow-pudding. Wagyu meatballs are a novelty to begin with, but the meat at Insignia tasted previously frozen, incredibly bland and wasn't thoroughly warm.

Main course was their chicken & waffles. Fun concept, but somewhere in LA Roscoes (famous for creating the trend) is screaming bloody murder. Insignia's waffle was soggy and the chicken doused in some combination of cream gravy and maple syrup, making the whole thing look like slop rather than an interesting combo of savory-and-sweet. Luckily, this time, the chicken was served piping hot. I appreciated that.

The service was top notch, although the initial host was pretty flip about me having made reservations. The bartender made a mean gin & tonic as well (in a tall glass thankfully). Aside from one other couple in the corner, my partner and I were the only people dining.


For the price ($130 for two, w/tip), I'm not racing back to Insignia anytime soon. It's overwrought, overdone and Jason Dady does NOT have a hit on his hands with this current menu and space... Yet. I'm a firm believer of always being able to improve the dismal. This space could truly be something special if they make some needed changes.




BN
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Old 12-07-2009, 08:30 PM
 
Location: San Antonio, TX, USA
5,142 posts, read 13,068,103 times
Reputation: 2515
Red Lobster. Never had lobster before so I can't compare to any other lobster at another restaurant. Good eats to celebrate hubby getting hired @ Rackspace. New year, new job!
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Old 12-07-2009, 11:36 PM
 
2,359 posts, read 6,401,357 times
Reputation: 658
Quote:
Originally Posted by BenjaminNicholas View Post
Tonight: Restaurant Insignia

Jason Dady, creator of some of my favorite dining spaces in San Antonio (TRE, 2Bro's, The Lodge) has re-opened a dining spot in the always-doomed Fairmont Hotel front window. I figured that if anyone could turn that sow's ear into a silk purse, it would be him. He is, after all, been called the younger aire apparent to local culinary masters like Andrew Weissman, Bruce Auden and Nelson Gonzales.

I wanted to like Insignia... But I didn't. Here's why:


Starting with the dining space, it was entirely too bright for the large, floor to ceiling windows that face the building. I felt as if on display in an otherwise VERY empty restaurant. The chairs, while stylish, were totally uncomfortable and with ESPN being played on all of the plasma screens in the place, it seems as if Insignia was having an identity crisis of sorts: Are they a neighborhood watering hole with loud sports echoing around or an upscale fusion eatery that's able to charge $15/small plate and $15 for a 'handcrafted' cocktail? They need to figure that out now.

They also could use a better ventilation hood in the kitchen. I fought smoke from the fried chicken all night and ended up leaving Insignia smelling IHOP-fresh.

Food: Started with three small plates. Wagyu meatballs, their signature bone-marrow pudding and what sounded to be a nice foie gras on toast points. Plate after plate, they all dissapointed. Someone in the kitchen sure likes sea salt, as it was in and on everything in full-force. All of the dishes served tonight were either too salty, too dripping in its own grease or simply not hot. Nothing, IMO, is worse than serving a guest a luke warm meal. It's unacceptable. The marrow should have been savory, but it ended up being bland (likely from not enough marrow being used in the recipe). The toast points were way too flavorful and overpowered the foie gras, as well as the marrow-pudding. Wagyu meatballs are a novelty to begin with, but the meat at Insignia tasted previously frozen, incredibly bland and wasn't thoroughly warm.

Main course was their chicken & waffles. Fun concept, but somewhere in LA Roscoes (famous for creating the trend) is screaming bloody murder. Insignia's waffle was soggy and the chicken doused in some combination of cream gravy and maple syrup, making the whole thing look like slop rather than an interesting combo of savory-and-sweet. Luckily, this time, the chicken was served piping hot. I appreciated that.

The service was top notch, although the initial host was pretty flip about me having made reservations. The bartender made a mean gin & tonic as well (in a tall glass thankfully). Aside from one other couple in the corner, my partner and I were the only people dining.


For the price ($130 for two, w/tip), I'm not racing back to Insignia anytime soon. It's overwrought, overdone and Jason Dady does NOT have a hit on his hands with this current menu and space... Yet. I'm a firm believer of always being able to improve the dismal. This space could truly be something special if they make some needed changes.




BN

Thanks for the review was going to head out there this weekend, maybe not.
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Old 12-08-2009, 07:47 AM
 
915 posts, read 1,895,693 times
Reputation: 546
Thanks for the detailed review on Insignia. You saved me money.

I have had 1 bad experience at 555 & 1 terrible and 1 good experience at the Lodge. I don't get the appeal other than he is playing in a very small pond. To me the food has been uninspired & uneven. I can live with uninspired if the execution is solid, but that has never been consistent. I knew the menu at Insignia contained a lot of played out fad dishes (how many times have I seen chicken & waffles on a menu in the last 5 years?), but I was willing to give it a go. Now, i'll wait or pass...

I also think it is a stretch to put Dandy in the same company with Weissman. Weissman is without peer in SA.
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