I was so hyped to go to tablespoons, perhaps a bit too much. It partially it's because it's been a restaurant on my list for a good 4-5 months, and partially because the prices on the menu looks affordable compared to a few other places I've been dying to go to...like MM and FL...>_<. Moving on. This place is really kind've a hole in the wall. The photo you see below of the door and the window to the left, that's about how narrow the entire restaurant is.
LOOK, they use spoons for the door handles. I wonder why ^_-.
Here is another photo of their address plate. Nothing really interesting, just felt like putting it up.
The service was pretty good...that's all I really have to say about that. Now ONTO THE FOOD.
The above order is called the Seared Alaskan True Cod and it's description is Roasted Spaghetti Squash, Almonds, Carrots, Rock Shrimp & Red Curry. Really, to me, I've eaten so much fish, that my favorite is still prepared the chinese way, steamed with soy sauce poured over it. This wasn't too bad of a fish. This was my friends order, and I just had a small piece but from what I could tell, it wasn't over cooked. The meat itself had a really smooth and buttery texture. It was also boneless which really surprises me sometimes because in a lot of Chinese dishes, the fish comes with a ton of bones. All in all, not too bad, didn't leave too much of an impression though.
This is the hangar steak that my friend ordered. I thought it would be like a pretty hefty piece of steak, maybe like one you would get at a steakhouse, but no. Instead, this came in the form of very tiny slices. Slightly disappointed though as the meat was prepared medium....MEDIUM. Who the heck orders their meat medium? I like mine bloody rare :-P. Really though, the meat didn't leave too much of an impression on me. It's been about 9 days since I've been there and I really can't remember much about this dish, meaning it wasn't particularly bad, but not spectacular either. It is to note however, that tablespoons only had 3 servings available that night, of which my friend got one.
I believe this was this signature dish as it was the best dish of the night. The mac and cheese. One might wonder, how can someone prepare a good mac and cheese...i mean...isn't the blue box good enough. Apparently, not really. This was prepared with really sharp cheddar, good and strong. The first bite into it was, wow, this is sharp cheddar, not that cheap stuff that comes out of a blue box. Then you begin to notice a grainy crispy kind of texture. At first I thought this was bread crumbs but later realized from the menu that it was Applewood Smoked Bacon. Wow, no wonder it was so good. Ridiculously smooth and creamy, yet also ridiculously heavy. Good none the less. Hands down, best Mac and Cheese I've ever had.
This was my order, the Duck Confit Ravioli, which is described to have Maitake Mushrooms and Foie Gras Emulsion. The ravioli's were not bad. The inside seemd more like a ground mush of both duck and foie gras so I really couldn't distinguish the taste, but the foie gras did add a sweet flavor to the "dumplings". And the mushrooms, I really couldn't tell there were mushrooms on there. I think it was because my tastebuds were still with the mac and cheese.
Their desserts were really boring. My friends ordered the Cookie platter (top) which included White Chocolate-Macadamia Nut, Snickerdoodle and Chocolate Chip Cookies with a Scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream in the middle. The cookies were still scorching hot as though they were fresh out of the oven. Nice and soft, but, but the dough itself wasn't anything special, and the cookies seemed to be underdone. I ordered the Roast pear upside-down cake (bottom): Maple Genoise, Pinenuts and Bosc Pear Sorbet. A friend had recently ordered another pear dessert at Le Papillon and thus, I was thoroughly decieved by this desserts title, as it's ingredients also included pear. However I was disappointed to find out that really, there were only several chunks of pear on the top, and the "Roast Pear" was actually a sorbet preprared tempura style. The round egg shaped piece on the right...yup that's the pear sorbet. And the genoise cake? It reminded me of bread pudding...bleh.
I think I was a little overhyped for this restaurant. Nothing was really to my expectations with the exception of the mac and cheese which was just amazing. The food really isn't bad, the atmosphere is good, and the service is good as well, but the food wasn't just up to my expectations considering how long I've wanted to go. It's a good date spot, I would recommend it, and if you're not that picky on the food, their food really isn't that bad. Definately order the mac and cheese. Perhaps, just skip the dessert.
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