We started out with a couple She Devils. It was ok, but I am not a beer expert but I just didn't enjoy this particular brew. It had a very sharp, kind of bitter after taste and was served rather warm (I know, I know, I can't help it, I like my beer COLD) I ended up (please don't oust me over this) putting ice in it just to finish it!
Anyway, we ordered two apps; the bonesless wings and the soup of the day (shrimp bisque) The wings were very tasty, just the right hotness, but were not hot temperature wise. The "shrimp" bisque was very tasty, but should have beilled as "seafood" bisque because there was far more crab meat than shrimp in it. It also arrived with a layer of "skin" on top, no garnish in a rather fancy bowl but then served with saltine crackers in plastic wrappers. The "skin" made me think it had been microwaved , the bowl was too fancy for crackers and no garnish. Considering this is supposed to be bar food, why not serve it in a crock type bowl with a basket of a variety of crackers or better yet, good bread? Anyway, none of this was enough to put us off and we anxiouly awaited our entrees.
I had asked the server what was in the chicken salad and had been told "pecans, grapes and celery" Good! Just the way I like it! It was advertised as coming with fresh fruit. Gordy ordered the vegetable pasta dish with pesto. My chicken salad was almost all, if not all dark meat (which I like, by the way, just not in chicken salad) and the pecans, celery and grapes were minced. Not chopped, minced so finely I had to do a lot of actual investigating to determine which was which. In addition to way too much mayo, it was all in all quite the disappointment. The "fresh" fruit was cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes and pineapple cut up in little bites and served in a bowl. It looked and tasted like it had been cut up several days prior. IMHO it could have saved the chicken salad had it been say a slice of melon, a wedge of pineapple, a couple of strawberries and a few grapes. There were no crackers or bread served with this dish.
Gordy's pesto pasta dish had an entire portabello mushroom cap fanned out over the top of penne pastawith julienned veges. The mushroom had been marinated in what appeared to be a balsamic vinegar based sauce. This flavor clashed with the flavor of the pesto, which could have been good had it not been overly oily. When he had about a third of his pasta left, he had to stop eating it because it was literally swimming in about 1/2 cup of oil. He did actually get "bread" with his dish, but it was toasted sliced regular loaf bread with maybe garlic butter on it.
All in all, it was cheap, not the worst food ever, but a huge disappointment, considering what it used to be. Am I wrong in thinking Anoosh has something to do with this new incarnation? It has that wishy washyness of not knowing wether or not to be bar food or upscale and right now, it's not working for me. Sorry. Very sad.
