I tried; I really did. I’m open minded. People and places deserve second chances, right?
Several weeks ago, I was contacted by the chef of the tiny Scandinavian restaurant, Smörgås Chef. He found my brunch review unfair and offered me a $50 gift card to try again.
Despite my reservations about revisiting the same place twice and my initial experience leading to the unfavorable review, I gave it another go. On a Friday evening, I invited DeeScreenWriter and a colleague to join me for dinner at the West Village eatery.
We were seated in a cozy booth shortly after we arrived. So far, so good. Then I glanced at the dinner menu and things started to get rough.
For the record, I don’t know the first thing about Scandinavian cuisine, nor have I visited the northern European region. However, I imagine there is more than rice and veggie burgers for vegetarians to eat.
Not at Smörgås Chef. Whereas, for brunch I had a plethora of options to choose from, for dinner I had 2; risotto with mushrooms, asparagus, and balsamic vinegar or a standard vegetarian burger. I chose the risotto.
There was nothing spectacular about my rice. I could easily have made it myself, which was disappointing considering the length the chef went to accommodate me. I do not recall what meat dishes my dinner companions ordered, but know they both enjoyed their entrees.
Pluses for the evening included the specialty cocktail I ordered (visually and tastefully stimulating) and the intimate atmosphere/décor, different from when I came during Sunday brunch.
For the three of us, the total bill came to around $80. After the gift card, we split the remaining $30 and paid separately. My colleague’s credit card was charged twice, but I later found out the server reversed the double charge. Apparently, he also believed in second chances.
I get that chefs take a lot of pride and enthusiasm in their restaurants; I take a lot of pride and enthusiasm in reviewing them. What I don’t get is why a chef would go thru the trouble to contact me and offer me to come back knowing I am vegetarian and expecting me to be thrilled the second time around. Oh, and the dust on the glass bottle décor I complained about in my initial review was still there.
Overall, Smörgås Chef is a cozy eatery, but the food leaves something to be desired.
In the meantime, I am re-examining my philosophy on second chances…
DAMAGE ~80
VERDICT: PASS
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