The Grove
This entry was posted on 2/8/2008 11:20 AM and is filed under New American Casual, Disappointments.
We reluctantly dub The Grove a disappointment as we really wanted to like it. What a pedigree -- brought to us by the Cafe Annie folks with Chef Ryan Pera formerly of 17. And a great location in the new Discovery Green park being developed across from the convention center next door to the Hilton Americas. The dining room is beautiful -- contemporary, yet warm and inviting -- and we understand there's a cool roof deck bar (The Treehouse) upstairs, overlooking the Discovery Green.
But, alas, the food doesn't live up to the pedigree. There are plenty of choices, with a good variety, but most of the dishes that we tried missed the mark or at least didn't have the excitement factor we were expecting. Perhaps the location promotes mediocrity, needing a menu that appeals to all variety of convention goers. Nothing too innovative or a taste risk. It's also a very large venue, particularly for a new restaurant that appears to have been busy ever since its recent opening. There's a reason you don't get great food at a banquet. Speaking of banquets, the night we dined at The Grove, the restaurant also hosted a large group business dinner attended by friends of ours. They were even less impressed than us. One said the food was "just above picnic quality;" not sure exactly what that means, but it wasn't intended as a compliment.
In the interest of full disclosure, we were also biased from the get-go as foodie friends had called a few days before we dined at The Grove and, in great detail, described how disappointed they were in their dishes ("close to inedible") -- ceviche (too peppery), pulled pork on corn cakes (not enough sauce/flavor), snapper with meyer lemons (raw lemon chunks, little taste), and duck legs (the best of the meal, but too lightly sauced).
Since we had a group of six, we had the chance to try a variety of items. The best of the appetizers (which were overall better than the entrées) included the deviled eggs with chorizo (rich and spicy); lump crab salad with endive and remoulade (very fresh, generous serving of crab, but the sauce, thankfully served on the side, overpowered the crab); and duck balls (moist and nicely flavorful). The two salads sampled -- the house salad and caesar -- were acceptable. The sweet potato soup du jour was flavorful but too sweet.
On to the entrées... The highest praise went to the sautéed flounder and duck legs. Four of us tried the menu offering that included a choice of grilled chicken, fish, or meat, a side dish, and a sauce. There were a lot of choices, reasonably priced (in the $20's or thereabouts). Our picks (salmon, lamb sirloin, beef tenderloin, and leg of lamb) were all fine but a little bland. The salmon was the best of the four. The tenderloin and lamb sirloin were overcooked. The sides were o'kay but no standouts; the mashed potatoes were dry and the brocollini was missing the billed horseradish.
We ordered three desserts -- bread pudding, chocolate layer cake, and apple cobbler. The chocolate cake was nothing more than ordinary, easily a taste you could create from a Betty Crocker box mix. The apple cobbler needed more gooey sugar and spice in the filling, and the pastry topping was dry.
Service was a little shaky, which is unfortunate since a 20% gratuity was automatically added to our bill. Our waiter seemed new. Noticeable lapses included not refilling soft drinks and forgetting the coffee with dessert. But, the place was hopping and, to the restaurant's credit, the food came out hot and fresh. A note about the wine. There are a lot of choices by the glass and the pour is quite generous. It seems an appetizer and glass of wine in The Treehouse may be the way to go with this place. But be prepared for the $7 valet parking charge, with typical downtown surface parking lot options nearby.
1611 Lamar Street
713/337-7321
