Date Dined: February 14, 2014
Rating: 3 Stars
Jess and I kicked off our Valentine’s day weekend by trying out a new venue, Acero. We had heard great things about this place and its pre-fixed menu, so we decided to try it. Granted, I have a certain cynicism about holiday meals. They’re typically overprices and often the food isn’t nearly as good as what’s on the normal menu.
We
arrived at 6:00 pm and encountered a restaurant that was only about 10% full.
This already had me at little wary. Granted 6 is a little early, but there were
literally only about 10 other people in there. (To their credit by the end we
left at 7:30 about half of the restaurant is full).
The
restaurant itself is actually kind of charming. It’s dimly lit while still
being able to see. There’s wood as far as the eye can see, and large windows in
the bar area. There also seemed to be a main dining area, but we weren’t seated
there. I will say that they squeeze the tables pretty closely together. I was
almost butt to butt with the guy behind me and I could have reached out and
stroked the cheek of the guy on my right.
Let
me get the service out of the way at this point. Our server was a very nice
man, but he was a little awkward. There were multiple times where we would say
we needed a moment only to have him return literally one minute later. I didn’t
think we was trying to be rude, he just seemed a little inexperienced, and just
kind of an awkward person. He did have a few nice touches which I’ll note in
the following paragraphs.
We
began our meal with a glass of Prosecco which was fine, not the best I’ve had,
but definitely drinkable. This was followed by a yellowfin tuna crudo. The fish
was very nice and the bread was soft, but it was unfortunately overpowered by a
liberal amount of olive oil. There was oil on the side of the plate, I didn’t
think there was any reason to put it on top.
This
was followed by a red pepper seasonal soup. Luckily, for Jessica it was very
mild. However, once again there was multiple streaks of olive oil or fat in my
soup which made the dish taste… well oily. As you can see, the presentation was also a little sloppy. Not a deal breaker for me, since I care more about how food tastes, but still a little weird considering the caliber of the restaurant. It was also fairly bland, with very
little hint of the red pepper. Strangely enough, there were no salt or pepper
shakers on our table, we had to ask for them.
It
was during the soup that I really started to notice the rushed feeling of the
restaurant. I still had about a third of my soup left when I paused to take a
drink of water and discuss something with Jess. At this point, one of the other
servers tried to clear my dish off without first asking me if I was done. Now,
I don’t mind you asking. Not all servers and patrons are trained in the
universal language of fine dining (placing your utensil on the dish). But you
need to ask me before you touch my food.
For
our next dish Jessica chose the gnocco fritto “meat donut” and I chose the
smoked duck with baby arugula, picked red onion, and pecorino. The “meat donut”
was actually a little misleading. I’m familiar with gnocco fritto, but I
thought that maybe this was a twist with the meat filled in the pastry. It was
actually three slices of fairly mediocre prosciutto on top of the donut. Good
prosciutto in my opinion is a little on the moist side, salty, light, and has
some nice marbling. I’m pretty sure this had been left out on a tray as it kind
of had the consistency of jerky. 
The
smoked duck was fairly enjoyable as well (despite the overwhelming use
of olive oil once again). There were three nicely seared slices and the plating
and presentation was quite nice. The duck itself was tender and the char on the outside was well done. If I had one complaint it was again the extraneous oil used in the dish. Our table had an olive oil pour, we could have always added more if we wanted to.
We
chose two different options for our pasta course as well. Jessica had the risotto
with spinach, truffles, olive oil and parmigiano. I settled on the stracci with
lamb ragu, rosemary, and parmigiano. This actually turned out to be my favorite
dish of the night. It was nicely seasoned with a fairly impressive amount of
lamb. Really, it was just hearty, warm, and satisfying.
I
actually didn’t care much for Jess’s risotto, but she liked it which was all
that matter. There was something a little off about the taste for me. It might
have been the truffles, I haven’t been able to adapt to that earthy taste.
At
this point our server did half refill our glasses with prosecco which I thought
was a nice touch. Enough to finish the meal with, but not so much that it would
discourage individuals to buy separate alcohol.
The
entrée followed. Mine was vension with Yukon potatoes, spinach and red wine and
Jess chose the Sea Scallops with fingerling potatos, pancetta, parmigano, and
melted leek. I thoroughly enjoyed my venison. I wasn’t asked how I’d like it
cooked, but it came out medium rare which is my preference. They did a good job
of toning down the gamey taste that plagues a lot of wild meat and the cut was
large.
The
scallops came three to a plate and they were tender, fresh, and so so SALTY!
When she started trying them I thought she was exaggerating, but she was not
kidding. It tasted like they took them straight from the ocean, didn’t wash
them and proceeded to prepare them.
We
finished the night with desserts. I had the cheesecake and Jess chose the panna
cotta. Both were adequate, but nothing special. While I appreciate exceptional
desserts (the pie from Annie Gunn’s or
the crème brulee from the Refectory in Columbus), I’m not picky.
As
an after thought our server brought out a small glass of Serendipity gold coast
dark chocolate ice cream which is just… heavenly. It's based on a dark chocolate, and it has a rich, creamy texture that you'd only find in high end chocolates. A scoop this size should be enough for anyone. I loved it so much that I actually stopped by
Local Harvest to pick myself up some after dinner.
No comments:
Post a Comment