Harvest Moon Inn, Ringoes

[Kim WB]

Went to the Harvest Moon in Ringoes on Friday night. Had a 7:30 reservation for 4..I did not know the other couple very well, it was business holiday entertaining, with a client of my husband's. We had visited this place about twice a year, since it was open, but inthe last 18 months have not been at all.

The only real misstepof the night came when I walked in the door. It was raining, so I was dropped off a the door and entered alone. Imeediately, my caot was requested, and I wss asked the name of the reservation. Then told" There is a private party at the bar, you will not be able to wait there, we will bring you to your table". I smiled, and said I would like to wait for my husband before I was seated. She looked at me as if I had two heads. When Bob arrived moments later, she brought us to the table, and then handed me the open menu. I smiled again, made a point to fold the menu and put it onthe show plate, under the napkin, and said, " I think we'll order a drink first, and save the menu until our guests arrive. " She looked at me as if I had two heads, again. They certainly seemed like rather reasonable, and polite, requests to me. I was worried service would suck, and these were clients.

However, things markedly improved from there. OUr waiter was professional and friendly, but Mrs. Client was a blast. She sat down,a nd after the preliminaries, she announced that she had read the The ARtful Diner's review of Harvest Moon, and knew just what to order. She had memorized all the dishes and comments he reccommended, along with comments about dishes he didn't. I had never seen a person depend so much on a review..and it was over a year old..so she is all confused, becasue WHERE are the pork chops he reccomended? I explained politely abvout seasonality, changing menus, etc.,.it was jsut very amusing to realize that some people do not want to take even the slightest risk. Then, Mr. great waiter was interviewed and quizzed on every dish...and not in the " how is this prepared way" but in the " what do most people order", " do you like this? Should I get the oyster appetizer or the salad" kind of way. KUDOS for this guy, he was great and handled her questions well. She was not rude, on the contrary she was funny and friendly, but just really concerned about getting every ones opinion. Once she narrowed down her choices, using TAD's and the waiters info, she then quizzed each of us at the table, and narrowed her choices down further. I was laughing so hard..out loud, because after she got her selections pretty well pinned down, based on everyone's opinion, she say's " but,I don't really like oysters, but if its a good dish..." and she ORDERED IT! How funny is that??

She went through the entire process again with dessert. Now, I actually agree very often with TAD on his reviews...and have told him so..but really, to hang on his every word like that...I had no idea anyone puts THAT much weight on a review.

On to the food: I didn't get to taste too much, my own meal and a bit of Bob's. I sarted with sauteed foie gras, on a crisp polenta, huckleberry reduction. Heaven. Bob had a great venison sausage with cranberry demi glace..this was a strong flavored warm sausage, with a ragout of vegs in a poolof hte demi...great balance of strong flavors. A real shining star.

I went with the Lamb Shank, with whipped potatoes and parsnip chips...oh, to have every meal ordered in a restaurant hit its mark like this did...It was a hearty portion, and I could have eaten another..the kind of dish that you think about fondly the next day, wishing fo one more bite! Bob had the Seared tuna, and enjoyed it very much...served very rare as requested. There was a wasabi fettucine on the menu which I did not have the opportunity to order as an extra course, as it would have upset the flow of the meal a bit, but really caught my interest.

Just about any combo of banana and milk chocolate makes me swoon, but this banana and milk choc ganache with praline chips and caramel IC was just about perfect. Mrs. client ordered the choc bread pudding, which looked traditional.

Service continued at a high caliber all evening. Bob really likes their wine list, and picked some real winners this time: 97 Spring Mountain Meritage for $115, and 97 Staglin ( one of my favorites) for $135. He was the only person to order fish, the rest of us ordered lamb, duck and beef. The cab was great with my braised lamb.

[Rosie]

I was there last March and was disappointed.

Gee Kim I certainly hope you told Mrs. Client about eGullet.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?act=ST...arvest+moon+inn

[Rail Paul]

From my occasional role as a dutiful trailing spouse, I've often found the role of the guest has its own very specific demands. It sounds like Mrs Client did an extensive research job and wanted to assure she didn't disappoint. I'd give her points for that.

It is intriguing she would try an item based on ingredients she doesn't like, though. I'd give The Artful Diner credit for being so influential. I wonder if she will go back and try the place on her own terms?

the spouse of a co-worker absolutely refuses to attend any company function and especially a business dinner, so sometime she goes stag, or invites another employee. I've often thought a "spouse / significant other" for rent would be a good business

[Kim WB]

.

Gee Kim I certainly hope you told Mrs. Client about eGullet.

Naah....I don't want anyone from that area of my life to read this...then who could I complain to???

[201]

...after she got her selections pretty well pinned down, based on everyone's opinion, she say's " but,I don't really like oysters, but if its a good dish..." and she ORDERED IT!  How funny is that??...

That's hilarious! Of course, I've got to ask... Did Ms. Client enjoy her meal?

I do sympathize with her somewhat. I generally try to gauge the waitstaff's opinion of certain dishes and sometimes just put myself in their hands by saying something like, "I'd like something spicy using beef, but not onions." It's good to get recommendations, but you also need to know what your personal preferences are at the moment!

[Kim WB]

...after she got her selections pretty well pinned down, based on everyone's opinion, she say's " but,I don't really like oysters, but if its a good dish..." and she ORDERED IT!  How funny is that??...

That's hilarious! Of course, I've got to ask... Did Ms. Client enjoy her meal?

She seemed to, or at least she thanked us a bit...