Mesa Grill

[Miami Danny]

There's really only one important question left about Mesa. Is Billy still at the bar?

[weinoo]

There's really only one important question left about Mesa.  Is Billy still at the bar?

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Ahh, that's a great question, Miami Danny. Billy was one of the Grill's original bartenders, and he made quite a mean margarita, if my (somewhat failing) memory is right.

I'll have to go by one night just to see if he's there.

[ulterior epicure]

we do know.  the answer is that there aren't any others.

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Really????. All I'm saying is that the review felt lazy, with a lot of padding thrown in that didn't require actually writing about the food, and without telling us anything about Flay that wasn't already rather well known.

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I don't know that I agree with this statement. I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "padding?"

If, by "padding," you mean a lot of non-food-specific banter, I disagree: Bruni includes detailed evaluations of many dishes. He even re-orders ones that he evidently were displeased with on the first try.

If you use "padding" in the sense that Bruni fails to make an over-arching statement about Flay's approach to food, generally, I would disagree as well: I think Bruni's evaluation of Mesa Grill can be summed in his statement, "The restaurant can no longer lean on novelty; its Southwestern swirl of peppery rubs and smoky glazes, of tropical sweetness and desert fire, has been popularized to the point of cliché."

I read Bruni's review of Mesa Grill for what it is: an indictment/observation of the out-datedness and inconsistency of Flay's flagship. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm not sure what was lazy about it.

Edited January 25, 2008 by ulterior epicure (log)

[Todd36]

Its pretty amusing that in July 29 of last year, I gave my mini-review of Mesa Grill on this thread, which at the time met with some disbelief, and my mini-review seems rather consistent with Frank's.....

[Nathan]

Its pretty amusing that in July 29 of last year, I gave my mini-review of Mesa Grill on this thread, which at the time met with some disbelief, and my mini-review seems rather consistent with Frank's.....

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actually, my comment at the time was that Mesa Grill's two star rating was certainly outdated...

which Bruni agreed with considering he demoted it...