Potager - Restaurant Review

Potager is a great concept in Locavore (source from local farmers).  And overall the experience was pretty fantastic.  Included is a menu with wine recommendations offered at bottle, glass and half glass (I have never seen half glass) for every dish on the menu.  BUT (and I mean Sir Mix-a-lot style), there were short-comings.

The food was great sans one dish.  The service was great until the final 45 minutes of a 2:30 evening.  Now all said and done we spent 360 for 4 people including tip over 2.5 hours, which works out to over 30 bucks an hour for our waitress.  IE, we were running a nice bill and service should have remained superb.  The dish, the steak, was the most expensive item on the menu and my wife ordered it.  It was awful.  I asked for a second bite thinking she gave me a bad piece.  Jennifer was disappointed as well.  Dana ordered it not sure what to order and figuring the steak would be safe.  She never contemplated sending it back.  That was my bad for not recognizing and taking control.  But either way that shit-bone piece of meat should not have left the kitchen.

The rest of the food was actually spectacular.  But the service dipped hard at the end.  Our waitress was friendly and interesting.  She wrote down nothing and remembered our orders, but she took a good 10 minutes to get Jennifer her Port for dessert.  Another 10 for Dana and I to share one.  And then 10 more for the check.  That was a half hour or more wasted.

On to the food porn:

WARM, TWICE BAKED MUNSON FARM CORN AND RICOTTA SOUFFLE with red wagon farm cherry tomatoes 

and basil 12.00

HOMEMADE GOAT CHEESE RAVIOLI with morton’s orchard peaches, corn and red wine syrup 12.50

INGRID’S MUSSELS wood fired in a cast iron pot with fennel, garlic, tomato, herbs and grilled bread 18.00

SALAD OF MORTON’S ORCHARD PEACHES, FRESH MOZZARELLA, PROSCUITTO with cracked almonds and fresh basil 15.00

4 Happy diners

 

GRILLED GRASS ROOT’S FARM GRASS FED STRIP STEAK with basil butter and a salad of potatoes, 

bacon, tomatoes, cucumber, buttermilk dressing and fried onions 29.00

 MOST EXPENSIVE ITEM ON THE MENU - GIANT LOSER, worst steak ever (Dana should have sent it back)

SEARED RARE TUNA NICOISE with green beans, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumbers, farm egg, olives and 

tomato-oregano vinaigrette 29.00

FOX FIRE FARM’S GRASS FED LAMB MEATBALLS tossed with tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, onion, peppers, 

goat feta, mint and yogurt dressing 25.00

JOHN LONG’S SPICY TOMATO BRAISED PORK RIBS with a peach-cucumber slaw and 

pickled watermelon rind 25.00

Cherry and other fruit crisp, Jenn and Bryan liked it.

Chocolate Mousse (death by chocolate Dana called it)

So highlight ideas.  The mussels are just mussels (Dana's interpretation).  I just wanted mussels.  The lamb deal was basically a gyro, but it tasted awesome and made me want another bite.  The death by chocolate was great.  The restroom was clean with the roller towels (bounty, or whatever is on the roller, i hope i am remembering this right, we went to another restaurant with this right after), but this is a good thing.  We were close to an A- but the steak was a big negative and then the dip in service pushed Potager to a B+.

Happy Dining!