Weary O'Leary's

My husband and I were cheese-olicious this Valentine's Day and decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner out. We went to O'Leary's Seafood Restaurant in Annapolis (Eastport). I can't say that this was an inspired pick. It had V-Day reservations available the evening before the big day, and didn't have an outrageously expensive "special" Valentine's Day menu. I have no idea why restaurants think that people think that it is romantic to pay more money for less menu selection, but whatever. In keeping with the winter Olympic season, I would have to say that O'Leary's would not win a medal for best restaurant; if it were competing in a discipline where it would have to qualify to make the finals, it would be one of the bottom qualifying competitors, if it qualified at all. It simply made too many mistakes. I could have overlooked the fact that we had to wait at least 10 minutes to be seated despite having a reservation if the rest of the dining experience had turned out well. It wasn't terrible; it just wasn't good. It started out well, but like many athletes, couldn't sustain, and got tired toward the end of the meal. I liked the fresh lemonade, and the black bean soup with crab had a really nice flavor without being too heavy like some black bean soups can be. It needed a trifle more salt, though. My husband ordered the crab and lobster cake, which had a nice fresh flavor that let the crab and lobster meat stand out. On one hand, the server gets props for noticing (even though we didn't) that the cake was a lot smaller than it should have been; on the other hand, she said that she would bring a basket of bread, which never came. Main courses were disappointing. They took a long time to arrive after the appetizers. I ordered mahi-mahi, served with a Thai bbq glaze, rice, a pineapple salsa, and three jumbo cornmeal battered shrimp. The highlight of the entree were the shrimp, which weren't really anything to write home about. The fish, while fresh, was bland, and not even the salsa and the glaze could save it. The rice was inappropriate. It should have been stickier and of a finer grain to match the rest of the entree theme. It also tasted like the rice in rice pilaf that you would get at, say, Denny's. My husband said that the tuna was good, but that the soy-based sauce was too salty. His fish also came with shrimp, which appeared to be tempura battered. They were really good -- better than the cornmeal battered shrimp. O'Leary's dessert menu is uninsipred. Bread pudding, creme brulee, cheesecake, carrot cake, mousse, and coconut cake. Sometimes I wonder if there is a secret restaurant code of conduct that requires that there be creme brulee and cheesecake on every menu. It just gets old after awhile. I picked the coconut cake because the menu said that it came with blackberries, which I love. I was looking forward to the blackberry-coconut combo. Sadly, the cake came sans blackberries, and while good, was again, nothing special -- your standard coconut cake. Would I go back? No, but it's not a terrible place and has a nice atmosphere, so don't be dissuaded from checking it out. I think that our dining experience suffered somewhat from the fact that the restaurant was overwhelmed on Valentine's Day, and because we had a reservation on the later side. But, any gold medal restaurant would be at its best for any time that it accepted reservations.

Stoney River: Not So Legendary Steaks

My husband and I went to Stoney River Legendary Steaks in Annapolis (http://www.bambuza.com/) for a special occasion. The food was fine, but I would definitely try other steakhouses before going back. I remember being more impressed with Ruth's Chris's than with Stoney River. I gave Stoney River a chance even though it's a chain. While I don't turn my nose up at the chains that bind me, I prefer local restaurants. I think that the Stoney River ownership turns its nose up at chains because its website says that the steakhouses, located in several states, are a "collection" and not a chain of restaurants. Stoney River should just own its chaininess like Mortons and Ruth's Chris's. Enough philosophizing. The highlight of the meal for me? The bread with honey butter. The bread is unique; our server (who was really nice) likened it to fried doughnut holes. A close second? The coffee? Perfect, except that it could have been hotter. Sadly, the rest of the food wasn't a highlight. Not that it was bad, it just wasn't that good, especially for a supposedly high-end steakhouse. The salad offerings weren't imaginative at all. Standard steakhouse options. We got a mixed green salad, which included bacon and good cheddar and some almonds. It was good and fresh, just a bit boring. For steak, we ordered a coffee-cured filet and New York strip. The coffee-cured filet was interesting. The texture was good and the coffee flavor was noticeable; I wasn't wowed, though. The New York strip was disappointing. Although we ordered it medium rare, it came out more medium. It was tougher than it should have been (especially for aged steak) and only somewhat flavorful. The sides were ok; we had greenbeans cooked nice and firm, un-noteworthy asparagus, and scallopped potatoes that hit a nice cheese note without being too rich, but could have used more salt or flavor. We ordered the ganache cake for dessert. It was HUGE! I loved that it came with chilled shotglasses of milk -- a perfect accompaniment. The cake was so-so, served chilled, and the chocolate flakes on the outside tasted a bit stale. The frosting was yummy, though. I give Stoney River kudos for serving real cake. I hate ordering cake that turns out to be flourless, or in other words, not real cake. The verdict? Not bad, but not great.

Other Seattle Notes

To conclude my culinary tour of Seattle and so as not to bore everyone to death, here are some quick thoughts on two more Seattle dining spots: Restaurant Zoe (http://www.restaurantzoe.com/index.html). Good, but but not as good as Palace Kitchen. Again, it had a casual vibe. Gourment food with jeans. Yay! Good coffee and cool non-alcoholic cocktails, like the very refreshing cranberry orange crush. Can't remember what type of salad I ordered, but I remember being underwhelmed. My entree, the Whole Hog, was creative, and consisted of pork mixed with various other things encased in a crust. Tasty and unique. I had the pumpkin pie sundae for dessert; excellent pumpkin ice cream with crust crumbles. Good coffee as well. Bambuza (http://www.bambuza.com/). The only truly disappointing dining experience I had while in Seattle. It may have been because we went too close to closing -- an hour close, not 5 minutes close. I ordered a shrimp and papaya salad. The shrimp was undercooked and bland to the point of yucky. The summer rolls were your standard Vitenamese summer rolls, and the recommended catfish hotpot, while somewhat tasty, was submerged in a half-inch of grease. Not appealing. The restaurant charged extra for rice, which I think is absurd for an Asian restaurant. I was told, however, that in Asia, rice doesn't necessarily come with dishes because it's viewed as poor man's dish, so maybe it's more authentic that way.... Pike's Place Market. I bought the best apples (honeycrisp) that I have ever eaten there. Definitely order a bun at the Chinese stand in the outer part of the market (can't remember the name), but stay away from the juice stand. I can't remember if it's the same stand as the Chinese stand, but I ordered fresh grapefruit juice and it tasted a bit rancid. I wish that I would have had more time because the food offerings were extensive and looked unique. I think that I need a good week to eat through the entire market....

I'm a Douglasite! Part II: Palace Kitchen...arguably the best meal of my life

So, Palace Kitchen (http://www.tomdouglas.com/palace/index.html). There's so much to say about it. Again, as noted in the title of this post, it may have given me the best dining experience of my life, which is saying a lot, because I have eaten out a lot and all over the place. What I love about Palace Kitchen is that it breaks the mold. It's known for having one of the best burgers in Seattle, but at the same time, features food that could be served in a fine dining establishment. You can go there in jeans and order gourmet food, like goat cheese and lavendar fondue and no one will look at you funny. It has a huge horseshoe-shaped bar, and offers some great cocktails. I highly recommend the French Kiss. I can't remember what was in it (maybe an elderflower liqueur and pear?), but it was nice and tasty. Also, the decor gives gives off a hip and relaxing vibe. The walls are dark and feature huge oil paintings but in a decidedly non-stuffy way. If you don't want to read any further, here's the brief synopsis. This is how good the food was. I ate this meal over a month ago and still remember most of the details as I ate there this morning. Everything we ordered was good. Definitely try the goat cheese fondue and anything from the applewood grill. To make things easier, I'll go in chronological order. The bread was fresh and crispy on the outside. It was served with olive oil. To spice it up a bit, we added salt, which we ground ourselves in the mill that was on the table. For appetizers, we ordered the dungeness crab and the goat cheese fondue. The crab was amazing. It came in an interesting thick-walled silver bowl and was accompanied by a caper butter sauce with lemon. The flavors complimented each other swimmingly. The goat cheese and lavendar fondue was to die for. The texture was perfect. It was light and foamy instead of thick and gelatinous, like a lot of cheese fondues can be. We only ordered one entree because our server advised us that we could split an entree and have more than enough to eat. She recommended the chicken. Usually, I'm anti-chicken, because I think that it's boring. This chicken was the least boring, or should I say most exciting, that I have ever tasted. It was cooked on an applewood grill. As a matter of fact, at the far end of the bar, you can actually see the big pile of applewood that the restaurant uses. Our server told us that the chicken is brined overnight. It was flavorful and had a wonderfully crispy skin and came with mashed potatoes and kale (which I could have done without). We ordered cocount cream pie for dessert. Even though I had eaten it at Etta's, I indulged my friend who wanted to try it. As much as I appreciate trying new things, I didn't mind ordering the coconut cream pie again. I can't wait to try the rest of the Tom Douglas restaurants! On a parting shot, the menus at both Etta's and Palace Kitchen change daily -- even the cocktails, to account for fresh and seasonal ingredients.

Woodberry Kitchen

Our friends came into town from NY a few weeks ago for the Marine Corps Marathon. Since we were picking them up at BWI, we decided to head into Baltimore for dinner, since we rarely ever venture out there. I picked Woodberry Kitchen (http://www.woodberrykitchen.com/), which is located in the Druid Hill area. The atmosphere was great. The two-level restaurant is housed in an old foundry space. The second level is open and overlooks the first, so the ceilings are high. The ambience are warm and woody in a hip way with a wall of windows and walls of brick accented by stacked logs and wine bottles. It reminded me of a toasty restaurant at a luxury ski resort. The menu, which has a wine bar aura, centers around organic and local meat and produce and is extensive. We had decided what we wanted only to later discover that we had overlooked an entire menu of specials. The menu is fun with a selection of appetizers and snacks, for as cheap as $1 (popcorn). There's just something special about being able to get anything at a restaurant that is not McDonald's for $1. We finally settled on the pear flatbread, which featured pears, of course, and blue cheese. While highly recommended, it was a bit oily and soggy for my liking and the pears seemed to be drowned out by the other flavors. The bread itself, however, was excellent. I ordered the hanger steak, which tasted like it had been infused with cinnamon or other fall spices. It was delicious and cooked exactly to my liking. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the chicken, which was highly recommended by the server. It came to the table undercooked, and when I say undercooked, I don't mean slightly pink. It was raw -- translucent raw. The the server was apologetic and offered to bring out a soup while the dish was re-cooked, but our friend who ordered it was full from the appetizer and his yummy side of cheesey crusty spaghetti squash, so decided to pass. Disappointingly, the server had to be asked to remove the chicken from the check. We splurged and ordered coffee and a slice of the pumpkin roll cake. It was like a pumpkin jelly roll cake filled with cream. Very tasty. The coffee, relatively decent, was the French press variety. It was presented in a unique way. The presses came to the table with a miniature hourglass to tell us when to push the press. I'd go back if I lived closer, but wasn't that blown away that I would make a special trip out there to go again.

Jackie's Restaurant

We went to Jackie's Restaurant, 8081 Georgia AveSilver Spring, MD 20910, this past Friday for a friend's birthday dinner. Jackie's is a fun place. The decor and lighting are unique, and I loved that we were able to see right into the kitchen. The restaurant sported cool booths with some of the most interesting and funky upholstery that I have seen and nice seating areas for large groups. The bar looked like a lot of fun as well. Jackie herself approached our party and asked who the birthday celebrant was and personally said happy birthday to him. It was a nice touch. Unfortunately, I didn't try the coffee. Jackie's serves Mayorga, though, for anyone who wants to know. That's all I can say about the coffee, because I would have needed to taste it to see if the restaurant brews it properly. I didn't order coffee, even for the sake of the blog, because I've been sick and thought coffee might upset my stomach. I had a sip of a Jackie-tini (I think that's what it was called), and it was very sweet and fruity -- not that alcoholic tasting. As for food, we started off with the arugula salad. It was tasty. It was topped with goat cheese, roasted red peppers, and grilled (I think) pears. The dressing was excellent, although it may not be to everyone's liking. It was a spicy balsamic vinaigrette. While I like spicy food (especially if it makes me cry), a lot of people don't and could be thrown for a loop by the dressing. It wasn't exceptionally spicy, but would be to people who can't handle their spice. The table also got bread. Mind you, you have to ask for it, as the menu specifies that a basket of corn muffins and biscuits is available upon request. We requested it, and received baskets of corn muffins. They had a nice, sweet, buttery taste, but were a bit too dense or dry for my taste. They stuck to the roof of my mouth. It also took a long time for the server to get the bread to the table. For the main course, I ordered the pan-roasted cobia. Cobia is a flaky white fish. To be honest, I wasn't crazy about it. Having never before ordered cobia, I wasn't sure if I just don't like that type of fish, or if it could have been prepared better. It tasted a bit too fishy for my liking. However, it came with a delicious sauce, which I think was ginger and sesame based, bok choy, and an excellent mushroom and sweet potato tempura. My husband ordered the hanger steak, which was accompanied by fries and green beans. I had a bite of the steak, and it was excellent. I can't speak personally to the fries and the beans, but was told that both were good. Since I had been sick and my appetite was down, I didn't try dessert. Overall, it was a fun dining experience, and I would definitely return to taste the other menu offerings, and of course, the coffee and dessert.

Allison's Restaurant: So Close, Yet So Far Away

We had been to Allison's once before and were underwhelmed. We returned this time because there was a 2 for 1 coupon. We probably won't be going back again, but not because it was a horrible dining experience. It's simply ok, which to me, means not worth it. The post title has a double meaning. Take One. Allison's is just a few miles away from our house, but far away in that we probably won't go back. Take Two. Allison's could be a good restaurant; it's not horrible and with a little tweaking could be a lot better, but it's oh so far away from being my idea of a good restaurant. At some level, it seems like Allison's is struggling with its identity. It's not exactly Italian, but has a heavy concentration of Italian dishes (Americanized Italian) on the menu, although tonight's special was catfish with fries. Again, don't get me wrong. Allison's is not an unpleasant dining experience, it's just mediocre. Where to begin. I guess I'll start with the all-important coffee. The coffee, like the rest of the meal was okay. It was bland -- not weak, but bland, like it was brewed from Folger's. To its credit, the coffee was a good strength and tasted like it had been brewed fresh in a clean machine.

The bread came next. Normally, I wouldn't write that much about restaurant bread, but it was odd. The bread basket had a mix of cornbread and what appeared to be Italian bread. Usually, Italian bread comes in thick slices, but the slices of Italian bread were about a quarter-inch thick. The bread was extremely ordinary, and was like something that came from a supermarket. There were about 4 pieces of cornbread, and when I say pieces, I mean cubes of cornbread that were only slightly larger than large croutons. I'm not saying that we needed more bread, but it was a strange way to present it. It was served with a nice, sweet butter.

As an appetizer, we ordered the portabella/shitake mushroom ravioli ($8.95), which came in a lobster ginger sauce. This dish was the meal's fleeting flash of brilliance. I have to admit -- one of the reasons I ordered the mushroom ravioli was because I have recently been reading the Twilight series (those who have read it will understand). The filling had a nice texture and was complimented well by the sauce, which, while tasty, didn't have any visible lobster meat in it.

The main courses were so-so, and actually more like something you would get at an Italian deli rather than a sit-down restaurant. I ordered the lasagna ($12.95) and my husband ordered the spaghetti with meatballs. Actually, it should have been called spaghetti with meatball, as it only came with one meatball. While I'm all for portion control, I feel like there should have been at least two meatballs (even if they were smaller), just for appearance's sake. Sadly, the meatball had an overly mushy texture and was a bit short on flavor. On the brightside, the marinara was good. It tasted fresh, and the chef used the all-important fresh parsley. The lasagna was just okay. It was uninspired and overly cheesey (I rarely ever think that something can be over-cheesed). The cheese overpowered pretty much everything else. The lasagna was accompanied by a side of sauteed zucchini, mushrooms, and onions, seasoned with what tasted like dried oregano, rosemary and parsley. Dried herbs are out of place on sauteed veggies, especially at a purported fine dining establishment. The chef should would have been better off with simple salt and pepper. Despite being unimpressed with the main courses, we decided to get dessert so that I could write a complete blog entry :) We asked for the server's recommendation between the tiramisu and the triple chocolate cake. He recommended the cake ($6.95), which was disappointing to say the least. It tasted slightly stale or fridgy and was not worth the calories. It was boring, and again, akin to something at a grocery store bakery. The strawberry garnish was either marinated or an old strawberry. I couldn't tell. So, was this horrible? No. Would I tell people to avoid this restaurant? No. But would I call it good or tell people to try it out? Again, no.

Not Tom's Diner

So, I have been faithfully going to the Annapolis Double T Diner ever since it opened, and I must recommend it as a good cheap-eats restaurant staple. Open all night with freakishly fast service and great homemade soups. You get a ton of food, and while the coffee's not terrific, it's certainly palatable (which is a lot coming from me). You can get breakfast 24 hours as well. I never get the entrees because they're all expensive, and really, who wants to pay $15 for a diner entree? I always get a sandwich which generally comes with a cup of soup. Instant gratification if you're really hungry because it gets brought out right away. Also, the diner is owned by a Greek family and has some Greek items on its menu. The pita is to die for and is great with the tzatziki sauce.

Big Fish Grille: C'mon Now

Disappointing, disappointing, disappointing, is all I have to say. My husband and I went for my birthday. I figured that it was a safe bet since I had been there two times before and enjoyed it both times. We went on a Thursday night, and the restaurant was relatively empty. Nonetheless, we had to wait about 20 minutes for a table even though there was only a party of two ahead of us. Now I remind all of you who think that I am one of those unreasonable "now now now" types of people (I seem to be thinking in 3s today) who don't understand how restaurants work, that I used to wait tables. I know that just because there are tables open doesn't mean that the restaurant is fully staffed to seat those tables. My gripe was because we went during peak dinner hours and several people left while we were waiting, waiting, and waiting. I was really hungry too, which did a number on my patience. We finally got seated, and I was going to order the prime rib/crab cake combo (a birthday splurge). I was told that prime rib was available only on the weekends, which annoyed me because the menu only said "limited availability." I feel like they should tell you if it's not available ahead of time. It's even more annoying to me because once I think that I'm going to get something, I become set on it. My second choice was the ahi tuna, which is usually good. My husband ordered the garlic parmesan tilapia. We started out with the warm brie appetizer. it was pretty good and came out drenched in honey and sprinkled with almonds with a generous portion of grapes and oranges and a few strawerries. It was good, but then again, it's hard to mess up brie. I was so sad about the tuna. I became suspicious about it when I was ordering. Mind you, the Big Fish Grille holds itself out at a seafood restaurant and is pretty pricey for the Crofton area. So I was shocked when the server did not ask me how I wanhted my tuna cooked. I asked him after he failed to ask me, first inquiring whether the kitchen normally cooks tuna a certain way (some places cook it medium rare as a matter of course). He responded that "it's probably sauteed or something." I thought "Geez. What kind of answer is that at a seafood restaurant? Are my expectations too high? No! It's not like I'm at Applebees or something." I then explained that I meant temperature, and asked that the tuna be blackened and cooked medium rare. I should have realized that no good could come from that exchange, but I plunged ahead with it anyways. The tuna came out way overcooked. It was nicely blackened, but dreadully overcooked -- mildly pink (like traces of pink) in the center (think steak cooked medium well). As one of my good friends has said, overcooked tuna is worthlessl; it's almost the equivalent of eating it from the can. To be fair, my husband's garlic paremsan tilapia was pretty good, but the fresh garlic in the coating had an odd texture. The fish was nice and flaky and perfectly cooked over linguine. Because it was my birthday, he insisted on trading with me and ate the bad tuna. Way to take one for the team :) I decided to go to Friendly's for dessert (yay peanut butter sundae) because I felt betrayed by the Big Fish. Definitely not going back. To encapsulate this overly verbose post, C'mon now. What kinds of seafood restaurant doesn't train its servers to ask how tuna should be cooked?

Overwood Wood Fired American Kitchen

So, my husband and I took a trip out to Northern Virginia today, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to try a new restaurant. We are trying to cut down on our dining expenses, so we chose to go to Overwood Wood Fired American Kitchen (220 North Lee Street, Alexandria, VA 22314), which from the outside, looked like it wouldn't be too expensive. The ambience was a nice hodgepodge. There were flat panel TVs for the sports lover against the backdrop of a warm interior to save the restaurant from having a sports bar atmosphere. It looked kid- friendly as well. Also, if you sit in the back of the restaurant, you have a view of the open kitchen and some nice wooden wine cases. The food was pretty good overall, but as discussed below, it was not the place to go if you are looking to eat on a budget. That's the last time I'll ever take TVs showing sports to mean cheaper food. On a scale of 1 to 5, I would give it a 3.75. I know that I'm splitting hairs here, and most reviewers give half-points and don't go as far as quarter-points, but I was conflicted. Maybe I'd give it a 4 if it were food alone and I wasn't considering bang for the buck. Oh screw it. Just read. You can make your own assessment based on the lengthy detailed explanation. We skipped appetizers (again trying to save $$). There were some that looked interesting. I would have liked to have tried the fried green tomatoes, for one. We only ordered entrees. When ordering, I realized that we should not have judged the restaurant by its outside appearance. We thought it would be a bit cheaper, but most of the entrees aside from the burger option were $14 or over. I think that there was meatloaf for cheaper, but it had veal in it, and even I, the carnivore that I am, will not eat veal because I think that it's mean. I ordered the steak salad, which was $14.95, and my husband ordered cavatelli with sausage for $17.95 (a special and not on the regular menu). My steak salad was good. The steak was yummy with a nice texture and tasted like it had been lightly marinated. The salad contained crispy potato strings, standard field greends, grape tomatoes, a bleu cheese, and a decent ranch dressing. Nothing out of the ordinary, but still tasty. My husband's pasta dish was good as well. The pasta was perfectly cooked with a slightly spicy sausage and nice tomato-based sauce. It was accompanied by a large piece of crispy bread -- almost the consistency of a crouton. Pricewise, the salad was probably about right because of the quality of the meat. $17.95 for the pasta was a bit much. The portion was not especially large, and I don't think that it's justified to charge that much for sausage and pasta in a tomato sauce. We ordered dessert because we were slightly hungry after entrees. There were a lot of interesting options -- a double chocolate cheesecake, Elvis Pie (oreo crust, bananas, peanutbutter -- obviously in homage to Elvis's love of peanutbutter and banana sandwiches), and a few others. We selected the brownie sundae, which was pretty good. The brownie was served warm and had the perfect amount of moistness. For an interesting twist, the brownie was topped with two scoops of ice cream -- one chocolate and one vanilla, topped again with caramel sauce. The ice cream was high-quality, and the sundae was good overall. I decided to do the coffee test here. THE COFFEE WAS EXCELLENT!!!!! The restaurant uses coffee from local company M.E. Swing, which I frequented when I worked near the D.C. location. It was the perfect strength and not just good for restaurant coffee. On a scale of 1 to 4 mugs, I give it 4 full mugs! So, the upshot is that I would go back, but probably not that often because the price. Other good things were the interesting-shaped glasses, the pretty white coffee mugs, and the conveniently-placed coathooks on the booths.

The Inspiration of Agraria

Agraria (3000 K Street NW, Washington DC 20007 on the Georgetown waterfront) is the inspiration for this blog but not because of its fantastic food. I visited Agraria during restaurant week and I was thoroughly underwhelmed. Granted, $30 is a good deal for a three-course dinner, but as I'm not exactly rollng in dough, I wanted good food and service for my money. Other preemptive responses to people who think that I'm too harsh . . . yes, it was restaurant week and you never get the best of the best during restaurant week. Maybe you can't get the most expensive thing on the menu, but the food should still be decent. Restaurant week can't be an invitation to pay $30 for a subpar dinner. At any rate, I was so unimpressed by my dining experience that I decided to start this blog to warn others off of food that is simply not worth the money. Thus the inspiration of Agraria. The food wasn't actually that bad. However, things got off on the wrong foot. Despite having a reservation, we had to wait awhile for a table. I'm patient and a former waitress, so I don't usually get annoyed at substandard service. I ordered the charcuterie plate as my appetizer. Unfortunately, I can't tell you the exact meats I was eating because it wasn't on the menu, and a bartender who knew nothing about the food waited on us. The presentation was lacking to say the least. The meat was pressed onto a plate. It didn't come with bread or any exciting accents. It was honestly like eating a plate of lunchmeat. My husband ordered the chicken soup. Good, but nothing to write home about. My friend ordered a spinach salad, which was okay, but again, nothing exciting. Luckily, the main course redeemed things a bit. I ordered fried chicken, which came with mashed potatoes and a vegetable that I can't remember because it was so long ago. It was excellent. My friend ordered the steak, which was cooked to order with a great flavor. I really wanted to take my leftover chicken home, but unfortunately, it was thrown away in the kitchen. I got an extra dessert to take home, which was a nice gesture, but based on how dessert was, I would have rather taken the chicken home. I ordered chocolate cake for dessert and the others ordered the pumpkin cheesecake. The pumpkin cheesecake was good, but not better than other renditions that I've had. The chocolate cake had fantastic frosting. It was deliciously fudgy. Too bad the cake was dry. We also ordered coffee, which ended up being pretty decent. There were good points to the meal, but I don't think that I would go back again.