It had been in the works for months, voted on by the wives and agreed to by the husbands. Roadfoodjunkies would try another stab at a fine dining restaurant after having a couple of other disappointments. We opted for something a little more special. We had eaten previously at David’s, for Mother’s Day, and had an exceptionally excellent Prime Rib dinner.
David’s is a wonderful place to go to in the day-time; to have a drink, and sit in the beautiful lounge. Choose a table by the window, taking in the millionaire’s view of the lake. Night time is nothing special, still great ambiance but it is too dark to see anything. We had an evening sitting by the window and a dark view. I would rather have been by a fireplace. The room was too cool for dining and not at all comfortable.
What was nice, eight of us had our own room and privacy. We could enjoy conversation.
The specials of the night were a mixed grill of pork tenderloin, veal and shrimp served with grilled vegetables. $34. Mahi-Mahi was the seafood special of the night. $38.
I chose the mixed grill special and my wife had beef tenderloin from the menu.
We shared an appetizer of Brochette bread. 1 glass of wine (for her), 2 bottles of Ricker’s Red (for me) and one serving of key lime pie, for a bill totaling $127.50 minus tip.
The beer was good; I find beer chef’s usually consistent.
Our friend Gerry had a surf and turf. Steak and 2 pcs of perch.
It came with Fritos, which is not the usual fine dining gourmet fare, especially frozen fries. But Hey! What do you want for $35 or $40 bucks?
Fine dining means; exorbitant prices, gourmet food, exceptional service and ambiance. It means special; a night to remember. It was a great night with friends so it will be remembered, in fact, we will reminisce about the night many times over but it will not all be positive.
The wine was a half glass of Pinot Grigio for $9.00. Talk about a rip!
2 beer reasonable at $9.50 (or so I tell the wife).
The appetizer was wafer thin rounds of French bread. It was very good but way over priced at $10.00. Strike 1.
The mixed grill was an abomination reserved for amateur cooks. Grilled vegetables, peppers, snow peas, mushrooms. and purple potatoes. Lost amongst the vegetables were a couple of medallions about the size of a silver dollar, of pork and veal, on the side maybe 3 shrimp. There were no flavor bursts, no special sauce, nothing that stood out as different or should I say special. Not much of a bargain at $34 for an average dinner. Strike 2.
Unfortunately, even my camera was shaking.
My wife enjoyed her beef tenderloin ($39) although, she couldn’t eat the mashed potatoes. She wasn’t alone, a couple others felt the same way. They tasted as if vinegar had been added plus some unknown seasoning. I tasted them and they were definitely different. The women found them uneatable.
A consensus among others in the group was one of a less than a satisfying meal. Not one happy camper. The steaks were small, or they were not tender, the fish was just alright, or the vegetables were cool.
The Caesar salads were terrible, very little dressing and wilted lettuce. Strike 3.
Deserts were fine. Key lime pie
or a pecan tart with a very small scoop of vanilla ice cream were more of a bargain at $8.50.
And there was a lemon square that was supposedly very tasty.
A small cup of coffee($2.50) topped off the meal. There were no complaints with the service, in fact, what we were really paying for was ambiance and service; the food was below average for fine dining and way over priced.
There was perhaps, two other tables being served. The restaurant was not busy. Not hard to fathom, why?
That’s it for me and fine dining.
I have vowed to never again venture out fine dining and putting on the Ritz with over inflated prices. Hell, I will fill my own water glass, grind my own pepper or buy a whole bottle of wine if that is what it takes to classify an eating out experience, as Fine Dining. Maybe even have some Fine Dining Poutine.
