jj2244

i went to dine at Cielo, in boca raton, florida. the restaurant has been open for a short while. Ms Hartnett had been at the restaurant the previous week. what a disappointment. first, although the service was attentive initially, toward the middle and especially the end of my meal, i was constantly looking for my server, having to ask senior serving staff to "find" him, or even requesting their personal attention to replace his. overall, however, the staff were competant. remarkably, one of the staff attended to his fly in the middle of service at another adjoining table. the menu selections and their descriptions were mundane. the execution of the dishes, even more so. a roast rack of veal had a strange texture, as if it was previously frozen (although, even if that were not so, the meat had a peculiar texture. the taste was adequate, if bland). the veal sauce reduction tasted as if it was thickened and not carefully and slowly reduced. the accompanying "roasted" potatoes were greasy. desserts were remarkably mediocre. endive and roasted pear salad was horrible! the endive was brown on the edges...spoiled, not wilted. the poached pear unripe and tasteless. this presentation should have been an embarassment for the restaurant. the dish was cleared virtually untouched. remarkably, neither our server or the kitchen staff questioned this!! pumkin ravioli was extremely light, coated with a lovely butter/sage sauce. tagliatelli bolognese was disappointing. the pasta was lovely but the sauce extremely bland. those who may attend this restaurant with expectations, knowing of ms. hartnetts history with gordon ramsay and with the connaught, will be truly disappointed.

Catering By David Lee is starting in November of 2005 in catering he has done for me, he is certainly exceptional in food quality, presentation and creativity and his choices will reflect your personal taste but will also make a strong statement in pleasing your guest's palates.

splendido restaurant reopens monday sept 12th everything is now under control. i spoke with chef owner david lee.

Sounds like the smart thing to do - Lee is doing big $$ I hear (more then Susur) and probably occupying more of his time. I'll assume then he goes to the all tasting menu format (at Susur) - things will improve ← ← We ate at Canoe on friday and are happy to report that Anthony Walsh's food keeps improving with every visit. I feel that Susur is still one of the top tables in spite of some mis-steps. It seems more like growing pains with LEE taking up time and staff. Look for an overhaul in the upcoming months when they get the tasting menu only set and some fresh faces in there. ← may i suggest that you consider splendido and thuet the next time you are in toronto.

i have done this tour for hamburgers across toronto and to many other cities in north america. in toronto, amont the "burger joints", groucho's may be the best. dangerous dan's is an experience but overall, mark mckewan's "burger", really u.s. prime steak that is hand shredded/ ground is the absolute best burger in canada. it costs a lot because of what it comes from, but it is the best/tastiest. in new york, try the burger joint in the parker meridian hotel on west 57th and it will set new standards for you for burger joints. also in new york is the "burger experience" at db bistro moderne!!

i have travelled over the world eating my way for many years. i think that you are completely off base about the toronto food scene. it is vibrant, cosmopolitan and in some cases worldly. next visit to toronto, try susur's tasting menu, the new splendido, avalon, eigensinn inn outside toronto (michael stadtlander), the 5th, lai wah heen, etc. and if you are coming, i will provide you with a long list and what each resto specializes in. toronto has the greatest ethnic variety of restos in northamerica on par with new york. it certainly has better and more authentic chinese restos than anywhere in the usa! ie...san francisco and new york chinese is a joke in comparison.