We dropped into Lobby at Twelve for a pre-movie dinner tonight. The dinner was much more successful than the movie. The new Indiana Jones is...kind of bad. Even Cate Blanchett can't rescue it.
Anyway, so the restaurant. It was really dead at 6:30 when we arrived for our reservation and we were seated at a huge booth by ourselves. So huge, in fact, that we quickly made the decision to sit on the same side of the booth together. Schmoopiness aside, I kind of like it when empty restaurants don't try to put you in the window so that passersby will think there are people in there. The seats were kind of uncomfortable, especially for my tall husband, but the decor of the restaurant was understated and spacious. The kitchen is huge and open with bar seating overlooking the workspace. I guess these guys want the customers to have confidence that they are above board!
We started with glasses of wine--he the XYZin, me the Trivento Malbec. Both were good, and the pours were generous. The glasses were a little on the pricey side, so the generousity was definitely necessary for them to be a decent value. First course arrived quickly -- the shrimp ravioli, which our server recommended. It was really good, topped with a shrimpy beurre blanc sauce, peas, asparagus and tomato. It was very spring-y.
Entrees were appropriately timed, and attractively plated. He had the duck breast which was served with a mushroom egg roll. Both the duck and the spring roll thingie were really tasty--well seasoned, not greasy. My Boy doesn't normally like mushrooms, but the preparation really took advantage of the earthiness of the mushrooms. I especially liked that the cabbage and mushrooms in the roll weren't minced beyond recognition as they often are in stuffings for Asian dishes.
I wanted a recommendation from the server who did the thing that I hate the most when I ask for a recommendation--he asked what I was in the mood for. Um...I want to know what the specialities of the house are and your personal favorites. If I was in the mood for something in particular, I wouldn't have asked for a recommendation. Gah. That response makes me think either that the servers don't like or haven't tried the food. Anyway, other than my personal hang ups, the service was great.
I ended up having the prime rib which wasn't really anything to write home about. It was strangely bland and came with a horseradish sauce that really overpowered the meat in a weird way. It was tasty, of course, but I liked the duck dish better.
Sides are served to the table, and appear to be seasonal. We had beets, english peas, Israeli couscous and mashed butter with a little bit of potatoes in it. All were tasty, even the beets, and I really don't like beets. The peas were especially good. And my prime rib was really good slathered with the butter...erm...potatoes.
The bill came to about $90 which seems reasonable for the value that we got from the meal, and the service was attentive, but not rushed. The convenience of having a nice place to have a solid meal and go to the movies (or any of the other attractions in Atlantic Station) makes the creepiness of Atlantic Station worth it. Give me good food and H&M, and I can handle feeling like I'm walking around a fake movie set of a deserted city. There probably won't be zombies wandering in during dinner...I hope.
We made our movie with time to spare, and our bellies were satisfied, though our nostalgia for the original Indiana Jones trilogy was a bit tarnished. Harrison Ford is pretty spry for a senior citizen, but it's not exactly a newsflash that swashbuckling adventurers/archaeologists don't chase aliens. Le sigh.
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