CAV Wine Bar: I'll take Top Ramen instead, please

CAV wine bar had a lot going for it. Nice environment, friendly people, tasty wine, a chef who knows how to cook fish. . . but, have you ever been to a restaurant where 1 dish was just so atrocious that it ruined the entire dining experience? Well, that's what happened to us at CAV. I know, you're saying what a bunch of lunatic foodies overreacting. . .but when you pay top dollar for noodles that are worse than ramen, and you pay an automatic 20% gratuity for an evening filled with service mistakes too long to actually list - you can't just chalk it up to an off night.

Diners this month included Phu and Jon Carter and their harem (Winnie, Mollie, Avis, Patricia, and Mo.) It was a cold foggy night in the city, but our spirits were high as we started the evening. We launched with some lovely cheese selections and crisp white wine, crudo and pleasing salads. But, the food went down hill from there and the service never took off. The relative high bill at the end sealed the deal for us. . . none of these diners will be back for a 2nd tour.

Food: 73
Started strong with good, not-too-smelly cheese, nice Gem salad, salted watermelon & tomato salad, and delicate crudo. Fish plates were definitely the high light, the chef here knows how to cook fish. Very light but rich Branzino and Arctic Char were very strong. Steak underwhelmed and the lagging noodle soups were absolutely appalling. We rarely complain about anything after all our dining experiences, but this time Phu had to speak up about the poor quality of this noodle dish. We've all had better Top Ramen. Desserts held their own (especially the fig tart), but they couldn't save the other misses.

One bright spot - the wine. The white Schmelz GV Steinwandfed '06 paired nicely with the cheese, and the Limerick Lane '05 Zin was fabulous (strong notes of cherry and fig, with a soothing, but sweet aroma.)

Atmosphere: 78
This small restaurant off Market has a hip, trendy feel to it. The focus is on the wine, the music is soft, and the table was just right for good conversation. But, nothing stood out and the bathrooms don't even deserve a Jon on the Jon - not as bad as Zuppa (see previous write up), but akin to something you'd see in a low cost diner.

Service: 72
This is where CAV really fell short. While the staff was pleasant enough, there were just too many gaffes, including no explanation of the cheese we asked them to select, forgetting to bring an ordered side dish, missing water glasses for the entire meal, consistently missing serving spoons, and the list goes on.

Value: poor
Given the other ratings, we all thought the final bill was steep for what we had just experienced.

You win some, you lose some. . . we'll be back on the horse in October!

Gone to the Dark Side.....

On 08/08/08 at 8pm, DASF journeyed into the darkness…COMPLETE DARKNESS!!! We dined at Opaque/Crimson Lounge using only our smell, taste, touch and sound to taste the food. We had a fun group of diners: The Phan's, The Curry's, and the Chan’s.
When we arrived, they had us wait in the narrow crimson hallway until everyone in our party showed up and since this was the last time we will have the use of our sight for the evening, our waitress (Coco – who was legally blind) took our food ordered. The menu was a pre-fixe menu and the price is similar to those of a dinner show or cruise, except here we are paying for the experience.

Once you enter the space at Opaque, you can’t see a thing…it is complete darkness. Coco has us formed a chain and she led us to our table. Without your sense of sight, the other senses take over and are heightened. I could hear conversations nearby and smell the steak and asparagus nearby. Once seated, my hands did a lot of the "leg" work, trying to find where things were.

Now close your eyes and use your other senses for the ratings. . .

Food: 88
Normally, the food here would have received an average score of around mid-70’s to low-80’s but with our taste bud on overdrive and our sense of smell heightened, the food really do smell and taste better than they really are. It was a challenged trying to cut your meat into bite sizes and getting food into your mouth. Winnie gave up her knife and fork and used her hands instead. So I decided to toss her some of my mashed potatoes. I know there was also a lot of food thief going on.

A note on the wine. . . the ladies didn’t want us to order red wine fearing that we may purposely spill it on them but we did it anyways and the bouquet smell fabulous!

Service: 90
Coco did a good job guiding us through a fun and successful evening. We had a chance to experience for a few hours what her world is like without sight.

Atmosphere: 85
Hmmmm…close your eyes and use your imagination. The chairs were comfortable and the music was decent, although a bit too loud. The room was bit too warm but since no one can see you, you can take off as many layers as you like (right, Victor??).

Value: Going in, we had the expectation that you are paying more for the experience in addition to the food. It is like going out to a dinner show or cruise. The interesting part is that "the show" is basically about you, your senses and your friends. This was a fun experience that adventurous folks should definitely try. Definite go with friends or guests visiting.

Until September, happy dining!