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| RER 3.17.14 |
It felt like an
emergency; no one could think of anything for dinner, and we were running out
of time before the hangry came out. Court
Street was the first idea, but having my reservations, I sought other
options. After getting progressively hungrier studying menus, we settled on
Court Street anyway. Never have been a huge fan, but I was hoping this time
would convert me.
After waiting in
the front bar, which was rowdy because of St. Patrick’s, we were sat at a table
in the dinning room. The menu is sleek on the outside, but the inside feels clunky,
more rushed. For the holiday, our breadbasket included some Irish soda bread, a
sweet pleasant surprise to our famished bellies. After deliberation and eating
the olive tapenade with a fork (ok, maybe that was just me), we ordered just
mains.
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| RER 3.17.14 |
My father had
the Beef Burgundy, which was served on a bed of yellow egg noodles. The stew
looked pretty non-descript, with similar colored meat chunks, carrots and other
dull veggies. The portion was heaping and the sauce hot. No complaints from my
dad.
For my mother,
the penne with seared scallops, artichoke hearts, tomato, and basil, coated in
a little garlicky olive oil, which was one of the specials. The plate was attractive,
but just looked like pasta. The plump scallops had a nice sear, and the garlic
and tomatoes played up their sweetness. Each penne was al dente, a nice
textural counter point to the succulence of the scallops and the acidic
tomatoes.
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The chicken
Francaise that my sister had was tasty, but dull. It was something that would
have tasted just as good if made at home. The mashed potatoes were the same. The
battered chicken, drowned in a lemon butter sauce was not totally dry, but
flavorless. It would do for the extreme hunger situation.
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I took a leap and
ordered the panko-encrusted tuna dish— sushi grade tuna, seared but a perfect
rare on the inside. That is what I got, but it too lacked flavor and
excitement. For some reason the fish was quite lemony and the panko crust
almost overwhelming. The sauces on the side (a thin, wet spicy wasabi dressing,
and a thick sesame aioli) made up for the missing flavor in the fish. The
wasabi addition was super hot and almost uncomfortable.
In the end, once
again, the best things seemed to be sides and garnish. First of all, the olive tapenade
served with the bread is super amazing, briny, creamy, chunky and delicious.
The vegetable of the evening, sautéed green beans, were salty, buttery, tasty
and addictive. And that puree garnish, sitting pretty on the plate, was sweet
and savory, like carrots.
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A quick look at
the dessert menu told us everything we needed to know. There was nothing
remotely tempting or different for dessert, so quite unlike us, we skipped it.
All this being
said, Court Street is like a family place. Eating there is almost like sitting
down to dinner at home and digging into home-cooked food. There is nothing
extraordinary about the food, the menu or the place, but that is not what it’s
supposed to be. Court Street has stood the test of time with a focus on
traditional food and that warm atmosphere. It is not about the avant-garde or
innovative, but the classics that people can rely on. If only those classics
were taken up a notch.
RER
3.17.14
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| RER 3.17.14 |
