The Seattle scene

[col klink]

I've had excellent service at Morton's Steakhouse. We probably had at least a dozen different servers that night. At the last sip of wine, they were there with more, likewise water. When my steak was medium in stead of the medium rare I had asked for, it was gratis. That paid for the $35, 25 year old glass of Macallan. Damn that was good. The service anticipated everything, they even brought out a new creamed spinach when they brought out the properly prepared steak.

[tighe]

I am not calling for stuffy service, nor am I necessarily even calling for formal service. But I am often annoyed that many Seattle servers are content with going through the motions to get a paycheck, not caring if they are doing their job properly (one of the reasons that Le Gourmand, on the other hand, is exciting to me).

Interesting that you should single out Le Gourmand in this regard. Matthew and I had dinner at Le Gourmand on Friday--a wedding anniversary gift from the Amster parents--and found the service lacking. One large error: I ordered a Kir Royale, which was on the aperitifs menu, my order was verbally acknowledged by the waiter, and it was never served. Following that, a few minor errors, and a general lack of attention due to the fact that two women were the entire front-of-house staff for a full restaurant. Our courses were served in a timely manner, and we were never actually neglected (we did refill wine and water glasses ourselves), but it was simply not possible for them to give the level of service that I expect from a restaurant of this caliber. I was also somewhat annoyed by the waiters' constant gushing about the chef, the restaurant, and the food. Actually, she did not gush about the mains that Matthew and I ordered, and they were not worth gushing about. One of us will probably write about the food; I just wanted to comment here about the service. I have never dined in a Seattle restaurant that had remarkable service (I haven't been to Rover's, Herbfarm, or Canlis), but I recall having good service at Dahlia Lounge, Palace Kitchen, Cascadia, Cafe Campagne, and the bar at Brasa.

Laurie, what a bummer that that you had a dissapointing experience at Le Gourmand. After all the time I've spent talking it up, I kind of feel like a jerk. I've never experienced service lapses like what you were subjected to, but service has never been the strength of the place in my opinion. I look forward to seeing your run-down of the food....

[thelastsupper]

I have always had excellent service at Le Gourmand-- personable and casual, but quite capable. I confess that I haven't been there for at least a year-- though I am surprised to hear that your mains were blah . . .That's unfortunate.