Starting w/ the valet, I had a great personable experience, no ticket and problem attitude. Cute boys.
We decided to sit at the bar tonight, because the restaurant was pretty quiet and the bar had a little more excitement going on.
As "pupus to go with your drink", you are given 3 little bowls of flavored popcorn, roasted almonds and herb marinated olives...which is a value, because my date got full on the popcorn, because they fill it up everytime it goes empty.
For appetizers we decided on the sashimi sampler and an ahi tartare. Before the appetizers came out they gave us a delicious crispy & moist popover each w/ a side of butter. Also a mason jar of chicken liver pate w/ toasted bread, which was really tasty.
The sashimi sampler was a selection of salmon, hamachi and ahi w/ pickled ginger & wasabi. It was pretty regular, nothing special in taste and presentation - $22. Then the ahi tartare was a perfect layered 2" square of diced ahi and avocado, in a pool of ponzu sauce. A beautiful presentation, but the taste was okay, nothing special.
For dinner we decided to share a meal, because we were getting full on the pre-pre-pupus, pre-pupus, and pupus. We had a caesar salad, hanger steak and sauteed cream spinach. The caesar salad was light and tasty w/ parmesan crisps - basic. The hanger steak was perfectly prepared and yummy - loved it. The steak came w/ 2 sauces - a chimicurri sauce and a 3-mustards selection, which I got to pick from a list of sauces, when I ordered. And the sauteed creamed spinach was not prepared like your usual creamed spinach. It was fresh spinach thinly sliced and sauteed in light cream. It was mostly spinach and very light on the cream, but very tasty and hearty - I would try another side next time.
The wine selection is still going through it's growing pains. I ordered a wonderful Albarino for pupus and a fruity bordeaux for dinner, but the selection by the glass is slim. The bartender commented that they are still tweeking it.
All in all, the ambiance of the restaurant is very big city steakhouse with warm browns, golds and rust colors - very inviting. The bartenders were engaging and personable, service was prompt and timely. The neighboring customers fun and colorful - new best friends. Prices seemed reasonable for a good experience. I would go back and try the restaurant experience instead of the bar experience, to really get a good example of the place. Rating 7+.
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