11.18.2008

Luna Blu makes me blue

So, if you haven't noticed, my reviews tend toward the melodramatic. I like to think that this is because I feel passionately about food. I went to Luna Blu in Annapolis (http://www.lunabluofannapolis.com) to celebrate a friend's birthday. The food actually did make me blue :( I don't think that I will give Luna Blu a second try. While it's not upscale fine dining, entrees go as high as the mid-twenties, and I really don't care to risk the money on going back to a place where the food was substandard. Things started off well, but then got progressively worse and worse. The bread, which I think was a ciabatta, was served warm with an oil/herb mixture, and was excellent. Sadly, it was the highlight of my meal. We ordered the four-course dinner special, which included an appetizer, salad, entree, and dessert. For appetizers, we ordered a baked brie and the eggplant napoleon. The baked brie was ok ('ve made better baked brie at home), and was garnished with mushy marinated strawberries. The napoleon was tasty and featured large slices of tomato, fresh mozzarella and grilled eggplant with a nice vinaigrette. We upgraded from the house salad, which sounded rather boring (standard greens in Italian dressing) to the Caesar. Sadly, it could have come from a bag. The romaine leaves were starting to brown, and the dressing tasted exactly like the bag dressing. Instead of nice shaved parmesan or romano, it was topped with dry grated parmesan (like in the bag). The croutons were stale. The main courses were the saddest of all. I ordered the rockfish, which came with pasta topped with crab meat. The crab/pasta was fine, but the rockfish was atrocious. I have never had worse rockfish. It was completely flavorless and ugly to look at. This is unexcusable for a restaurant in downtown Annapolis. Annapolis restaurants should be able to do rockfish! I ate barely any of my entree. My friend ordered the shrimp and asparagus risotto. While the shrimp was fresh and flavorful, the risotto, like the rockfish, was bland and flavorless. Desserts were so-so. I ordered an apple strudel that came in puff pastry. It tasted fine, but wasn't any better than a pepperidge farm oven strudel. All in all, one of my worst dining experiences in Annapolis.

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