I love dumplings

Sometimes, change isn't good: Stonewood Grill, Ormond Beach

First of all, let me make my stand.  I adore Stonewood.  It is consistent, delicious, and satisfying, every time.  Perfect date night destination.  When I first found out that they were changing their menu, I was wary, but I looked forward to their new culinary creations.

Last night there was a wait, so we enjoyed a glass of Malbec from their new "boutique" wine list.  Ryan was our bartender.  He is great.

When we seated at our booth, our server expressed enthusiastically, "Haven't seen you in a while!"  Which is so dumb, because he has never been our server and neither one of us know him.  Immediately, I feel my eyebrow raising.  I ask about specials.  He responds, "Everything on the menu is a special!"  Ok, this dude is a douche.

The few new menu items were not something to write home about.  For example, Tuscan chicken: marinated grilled chicken with their new Mediterranean topping (wouldn't that make it Mediterranean Chicken?)  I love the Mediterranean Salad for an appetizer, especially since you can order it in a half serving.  New menu=no more.  Our server insists, the kitchen cannot offer a half serving.  He offers us a bread basket, which he rolls his eyes, then proclaims that it really needed updating.  Did he just insult their sourdough bread?  Douchbaggery confirmed.

I love their sourdough bread.  But, new menu=no more.  Now it is an assortment featuring a greasy soft pretzel and other tiny, mediocre rolls.

I had the filet with portobello ravioli.  It was delicious.  Loved it.  Pricy, at $27.  The HunBun had the lamb, and it was so tender and delicious as well.  I'm not even a lamb person, but these tiny morsels of savory lamb were impressive & tasty.

It is obvious to me that the new menu is Stonewood adapting to our slow, local, economy, and therefore, cutting costs.  They have slimmed down their menu.

The partner came over and asked about our dining experience.  I was honest with him, and expressed my disappointment with the cuts.  He insisted that the new menu had only been in effect for 3 weeks, and the team was so excited about the new menu.

What was there to be so excited about?  Less items to memorize?

We left Stonewood satisfied with the meals, but a bit nostalgic and bittersweet about their former offerings.

Adventures in Mediocrity: Ivy Lane Bistro

It was a date night.  The sky was clear. The weather had left behind its usual thick Florida humidity.  Therefore, my request was that we could eat outside.  Live music would be a plus.  Ivy Lane Bistro fit both of my requests.  We sat at an outside table in the alley, where other diners sipped on wine and enjoyed the acoustic guitarist.  The table was dirty, and it was not automatically cleaned when we were greeted by a server :(  I was stoked that it was Ladies' Night, and I could enjoy a bottomless glass of wine and an entree for $20.  Awesome, especially since my HunBun was driving.  Unfortunately, this did not mean any entree.  You were limited to just a couple entrees, so I selected the Chicken Marsala ($16).  We chose the Cheese Spread Trio for our appetizer.  He chose the the Blue Flatbread.  I believe he found it acceptable, but I thought the crust was obviously purchased (not made in-house).  The cheese spread app featured some crackers and granola (??).  The chicken marsala was nice, but I prefer my own recipe.  The sauce was sweet, we were told that they use a sweeter Marsala wine for their sauce.  Eh.

To make a long story short, don't go to Ivy Lane Bistro if you are in the mood for prompt service.  There were 2 wait people for the place.  Our waitress was nice, but started talking to us about the new wine list and wine room for such a long time, that she forgot about the other table and they canceled their wine order.  The owner was there to socialize, and walked around leisurely, from table to table.  He hung around for toooo long at our table, chatting.

I don't feel that my experience was all that uncommon.  The next evening, a group of work associates dined there, only to have their entire party's check comp'd.  Everyone's meal was mixed up.  It was over 2 hours before their cheese plate was served.

I hope it was a good cheese plate.

Adventures in Mediocrity: Bombay Grille

I tried not to take it personally when we walked through the door of our new Indian eatery; the gentleman waiting ahead of us was already complaining about the lack of service.  But I was really, really craving some Chicken Tikka Masala.  We ignored it and was seated at a table, due to the lack of booths available (which I had requested).  Immediately our server suggested we have the buffet for dinner, since the wait for menu entrees was 40 minutes.  Seriously?  Despite the buffet's lack of Chicken Tikka Masala, we both ordered the buffet.  The buffet was okay.  We had naan served to us at the table.  Salad was weak, picked through.  Hot dishes were not refreshed or refilled once during our dining experience--the chicken curry was just sauce (it was lacking meat); it had been picked out by carnivorous diners.  A roasted chicken dish (no name tag) was lukewarm, at best.  The host inquired about our dinner, and I commented that I was disappointed that the wait for entrees was 40 minutes.  He responded that it was actually about an hour & fifteen minutes--they had a large take out order.  So I guess my advice is to order take-away from Bombay Grille; perhaps your order will have a higher priority than if you were dining in.  Was it tasty?  I guess.  Everything gets mixed together when eating from a buffet.  Will we return?  Probably not.  Anyone have a good recipe for Chicken Makhani?  At least when I cook for myself, I know my meal is a priority.