So, same disclaimer as the last blog. Yes, I am a tough critic so when you try these places you may feel that I was a little harsh, tell me! Also, if you do try any of these places and you get conflicting service or food, tell me about that too on the comments, I would love for people to have more then two points of view’s of the restaurant because we all have bad days, and it would be inhuman for us to expect that restaurants don’t have them too. Moving on to my late dinner date for Valentines Day, Las Ramblas. Now I promise, no matter who I know here I am remaining objective and I will most certainly write if I feel that perhaps I am being biased. First of all, let me say, that I love it when downtown restaurants have complimentary parking for guest’s in their restaurant’s and I can honestly say that this will make or break a decision on going. This restaurant is in The Hotel Contessa, and they do have complimentary parking. The mood this place sets is romantic and much laid back any day of the week. The bar located in the waiting area is plumped in the middle and if you don’t choose to sit at the bar there are very comfy couches to have drinks and intimate conversations or even quality time with a group of friends or family. The noise level compliments that type of interaction. The only thing I didn’t like about the environment about Las Ramblas is that the bathroom for both the bar and the restaurant is located in this outside seating, so when I had to go use the restroom I had to walk all the way across the restaurant, in four inch heels, across the waiting area, pass the bar to the restroom. I think its bad placement. I also didn’t like sharing the bar restroom because it get’s frequented more, so towards the end of the night, was dirty and unpleasant smelling. Back to me being biased, I have to say I was greeted very warmly and almost in a taken by the hand way to make sure that I was taken care of at every stage of my meal. This was done by my server and by the restaurant manager. I will admit that everyone may not get this treatment and it could be consequence of who I befriend in that particular kitchen. However, I would like to point out that the server had let us in on a secret; that there were only two servers’s working that late shift on Valentines Day, and I would have had no clue; that is how good he was doing. Now, why they scheduled two server’s on that night and three cocktail server’s in an empty bar is beyond me, but hopefully their staffing issue’s or scheduling doesn’t consistently propose that stress or mismanagement on a regular basis. My table was heaven; it was right at the corner of the restaurant neighboring the large window that overlooks the river walk, very romantic. My server was offering me refills on champagne, which I knew only one glass came with the meal so I loved it. (Come people, we all love getting free stuff.) Now on to the meal, I had the pre-set Valentines Day meal. I will start with the first course that was a pan-seared scallop. The scallop was very well cooked, not chewy at all, easily cut with my fork and very flavorful. It had that nice light brown sear on the top, not too dark. It was laid on white truffle risotto with almond butter. The risotto was cooked to perfection; the way the sauce danced on your tongue was delightful. The second course was bacon wrapped quail with roasted red pepper and yellow beet flan. I thought the quail was cooked very well, in the past when I have had quail it was very gamey. I am so glad that this one was not, the bacon was crisp and juicy and the flan was surprisingly a good combination. You had a choice on the second course, the main course. I choose Lamb Osso Buco, it was braised with root vegetables and a rioja reduction. I was so disappointed in this dish. The meat got cold really fast on me. When it was hot it was very flavorful and tender and I would definitely order the meat part, but the distain came with the vegetables. The vegetables were brussel sprouts, baby carrots, and turnips (I think). They were awful. I do like my vegetables al dente, but these were too al dente. It was hard to cut them with my knife! Brussel sprouts are supposed to be smoky and earthy. These had no flavor, in fact the only vegetables that had flavor were the ones tucked under the lamb shank, and the others were completely flavorless and hard. The fourth course was Brie stuffed French toast with candied bananas. This was my favorite course of all. I thought that the French bread would be too much, but it was the perfect amount to balance out the Chantilly cream and whatever sauce was on top. The banana was bruleed to perfection, lightly brown with just a light crisp on top so that when you bit into it revealed the familiar softness within.
The meal was finished with truffles that were made in house. The truffles were SUPER rich, but this is not a problem for me! However, for those without a sweet tooth, it may be too hard to eat more then one. Now, the everlasting question. “Will you go back?” The answer is yes. I would go back to try what is on their everyday menu because I hear that their paella is very good as is their steaks.
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