I struggle when I have not-so-nice things to say about places as I try to keep this a positive blog. But... I always say that if something is bad enough I'll let people know. Brent and I attempted to eat at Snack Bar the other night and it was a colossal fail. Granted we were expecting slow service based on all the yelp reviews we've read but I have to say it was a bit worse than what I expected.
I love the decor of the place and was really hoping the reviews were wrong as we strolled in on Saturday evening.
It wasn't as busy as I had expected it to be on a Saturday night. Less than half the tables outside were taken and I was excited for the opportunity to sit outside, enjoy a beer, and have a bit to eat. Again, I had heard the service was slow, but I didn't mind on such a beautiful night! When we walked in, I saw the same, less than half the tables were full. We walked up to the hostess stand and stood there for a few minutes when a waitress whisked by and said, "We'll be with you as soon as we can. (sigh). We're slammed." Brent and I looked at each other in total confusion since in the whole restaurant less than half the tables were seated. Hmmm. So, she comes back and we ask for a table outside. They couldn't do it because they were expecting a large party. Hmpf, no big deal, we'll sit at the bar in front of the window... good people watching I thought! We were seated and it took no less than 20 minutes for the same girl to come take our drink order. Another 10 minutes before I actually received my bottled beer and Brent got his water. Both times we attempted to order food but she was gone before we could even blink. I believe another 20 minutes or so went by and we decided to pay and leave. I hadn't eaten since 9:30 am and the beer was getting to me quickly. Brent hopped on his bike and dashed down to South Congress Cafe to put our name on a waiting list, while I tried to hunt down a way to pay our tab. It was ridiculous.
The only redeeming factor was that they served water out of an Erlenmeyer flask. As a semi-nerdy scientist type I dug that.
The savior: South Congress Cafe!
Beautiful Bloody Mary
Thankfully Brent was able to get us on the waiting list and it was going to be about 40 minutes. We figured we fared a better chance of actually getting food here and we knew it would be good.
The salsa trio: their award-winning sencilla, morita and salsa de arbol with homemade chips.
Luckily, we found a two seats at the bar and we cozied up there quickly and started ordering drinks and food! I love, love, love their salsa sampler. Their salsa is always fresh and their homemade chips just can't be beat. Pair that with a bloody mary and I'm super happy again.
This was our fantastic bartender Kelly, flaming up the joint with our appetizer flambe.
Kelly made our night! So cute and bubbly and just a total doll. We had already ordered our salsa when she told us about the specials and this appetizer just sounded so good! It was a homemade flour tortilla with grilled panela cheese and corn pico de gallo. The sweet corn with the melty, grilled, salty cheese and I never wanted to leave!! It was insane.
Look at the beautiful dark color of the grilled panela cheese. My mouth is watering just thinking about another bite.
Grr, I hate when my computer and blog don't get along. Anyways, this is a beautiful bloody mary martini! What genius!!
I wanted another bloody mary and Kelly recommended a bloody mary martini. What the heck? I've never heard of such a thing. I loved the way the chilled vodka sat so politely on top of the bloody mary mix. Why polite? I don't know, I just like the way that sounds. Anyways, when it mixed together it was perfection. Excellent recommendation!
a pan-seared rainbow trout with lump crab meat, toasted almonds, and chipotle lime brown butter. served with a duo of poblano and saffron rice and vegetables du jour.
By the time we ordered dinner I was a little bit sauced and all inhibitions about local food and carbon footprint fell by the wayside. Brent and I split the trout almondine and it was super good. A definite endorsement from L*3.
Is my glass half full or half empty? From my tipsy ticker I would definitely say half empty!
Meaghan (R) and Kelly (L). Two lovely bartendars at SCF who turned our night around.
So, we decided to forgo our table in the dining room and eat dinner at the bar at South Congress Cafe. It was delightful and scrumptious and overall a great turn of events!