Crush

[little ms foodie]

Had dinner at Crush last weekend and everything was great (except having to wait 30 mins for my reservation). We started with the seared foie gras on a waffle with huckleberry compote- YUM!! seriously Jason and crew know how to do foie!!!

I had lamb chops served with white beans and lamb tongue. Fantastic! My friend had the sturgeon which she loved.

We had the donuts for dessert and they also sent out the chocolate cake with beet sorbet- I hate beets but the taste was very interesting.

love Crush

[kiliki]

I still haven't been and have been meaning to at least have dessert for ages. We already have dinner plans tonight-do they have a bar area where 4 people might fit for drinks and dessert on a friday night?

[little ms foodie]

I still haven't been and have been meaning to at least have dessert for ages. We already have dinner plans tonight-do they have a bar area where 4 people might fit for drinks and dessert on a friday night?

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the bar is tiny and most people at it last friday were having full dinner....but if it was later it might work!

[dandelion]

I tried doing that once... but it was full even at 10pm. The bar is VERY small.

[kiliki]

That's sort of what I figured...thanks.

[kiliki]

We had a nice dinner at Crush last night. The crabcake appetizer was very good, the scallops were lovely and the mr. liked his lamb a lot. The risotto that came with my scallops was barely lukewarm, though, and the server never came back to ask how it was until I was almost done, so I never piped up. The chocolate stout cake with hazelnut mousse was good, but not fantastic-one of the drizzled garnishes was harsh and vinegar-y. Overall it was good and I'm glad we went but I'm not dying to rush back.

[tinyhandful]

i'm sorry you only had good time, and not an amazing time at Crush. both my bf and i worked for Jason & Nicole before we moved north to vancouver. Jason really does put out some incredible dishes, most notably the foie and the short ribs--order an extra side of gnocchi with it...mmm! and in their defense (though they do not need this, nor have they solicited it), it has been very crazy for them with both the opening of the upstairs (i believe the kitchen stayed the same size when they doubled their seating), as well as the birth of their first child. give it some time and another chance...i have no doubt that Crush will win you over.

[Ling]

I had an incredible meal at Crush last night with a friend "in the know", so I was completely spoiled by the experience. We started with complimentary champagne and amuse bouche (celery root soup with scallops), then moved onto cocktails. For the first course, I got the crispy sweetbreads (absolutely fresh and creamy, the best I've ever had), while my bf got the lobster ravioli with a seared prawn, and our friend got the cumin-scented beet salad. We shared everything, and the sweetbreads stood out, although the ravioli was excellent as well. Second course was the seared foie with huckleberries on a waffle, and the piece of foie at least the size of an 8-9 oz piece of steak! The only drawback to this was that it was very thick (about 2" in the center) and the center portion was a little cold...but a minor quibble. Also had the marrow bones with the brioche box (delicious, very flavourful), the rack of lamb and lamb sausage with truffled white beans and brocolli rabe, the tuna with roasted cauliflower and truffled cauliflower puree, and the short ribs with mashed potatoes. All incredibly rich, and the portions were monstrous. Our favourite was the short ribs, and the cauliflower puree that came with the tuna was just ridiculously good. I was really impressed with the food.

Desserts were a different story. We were sent all six desserts and a plate of chocolates (again, compliments of the chef) and although there were some interesting ideas on the plates, I couldn't really pick anything that was particularly tasty. The sheep's milk cheesecake (on a meringue cookie base with quince puree, foam, and chips) was not bad.

In particular...

The chocolate stout cake with hazelnut mousse was good, but not fantastic-one of the drizzled garnishes was harsh and vinegar-y. .

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I think the garnish was some sort of stout anglaise, and the bitter/sour flavours came from the beer--it was definitely "yeasty". I thought this garnish was the worst of the dessert items we tried. Chocolate shells were very thick, and one filling was particularly grainy.

All in all, I would give really high points for the food. Excellent time...and the service was wonderful as well.

Edited December 3, 2006 by Ling (log)

[cupcakequeen]

well, i did see crush's ad for a pastry chef on craigslist...maybe that has something to do with it? if only they had chilean sea bass, ling

[LindyChef]

I had a very poor meal last Friday night at Crush. I had been looking forward to going there for a year and a few friends accompanied me to the restaurant. We had to wait 15 minutes for our table, normally not a big deal, but with the fact that they have absolutely no space for a waiting area bugged me as we had to constantly move out of the way whenever a party entered/left the restaurant (hint: reverse the hinges on the front door). As we waited I was able to look into the kitchen and saw that the staff was very relaxed and not too rushed, even though the restaurant was full, and that the chef was at the pass. Anyway, when we were seated the wait wasn't really acknowledged, and that bugged me the most.

It took a long while to get service once we sat down and we ended up ordering the tasting menu. That's where things went bad. The courses:

* First Course - Sunchoke soup with truffle oil. My prejudice for truffle oil aside, the soup was good, however two of the bowls had some large bits of green herbage stuck to the sides. Not a good sign since the soup had to be touched by at least the line cook, the chef and the waiter before getting to our table and yet they still served it. I made a point of telling the waiter about the dirty dishes at the end of the course. Not that big of a deal, except ...

* Second Course - Yes, the salad course (bibb lettuce with a creamy herb dressing and proscuitto chip) had dirty edges on the plates as well. They had obviously been wiped down, yet the very sides of my dish had some dressing on them. The ribs on the bibb lettuce were turning brown and the salad had no seasoning. As a cook I felt bad about doing this, but I had to ask for salt in order to give the dish some flavor. As I finished the dish I noticed a fruit fly buzzing around my plate. In summer this would not be that big of a deal, but it's winter. I'm left to wondering how they have fruit flies in the restaurant in winter.

* Third Course - Seared sea bass with creamed root veg and caviar sauce. This dish was the best of the savory dishes and I had no complaints. The sea bass had super crispy skin and the caviar sauce had a nice bit of saltiness.

* Fourth Course - The famous short ribs with mashers and root veg. It was great except it was garnished with truffle oil which was totally unnecessary.

* Fifth Course - The desserts were the most successful part of the evening. The spiced rum cake with the candied citrus was fantastic; the candied citrus managed to retain a wonderful sourness that worked well with the richness of the cake. There was also a great chocolate bombe (very decadent) and I had the mini donuts with the cinnamon sauce.

Overall, I felt like the mistakes were pretty bad and the rest of the meal just couldn't make up for them ... dirty dishware is something that every member of the team should be on the lookout for and it felt sloppy when three different pairs of hands let dirty dishes get to the table. And to have the first thing you learn in culinary school, proper seasoning of your dish, be neglected in a salad that was made with old greens was just sloppy.

After getting named one of the 10 best in F&W, I was expecting more, at least getting the basics right, but the impression I got is that the restaurant was coasting. To me it doesn't matter that we came in on a Friday night and had this experience; no matter when a customer comes they should get a great experience. They seemed to have enough staff in the kitchen to handle the rush, but FOH seemed to be dragging (we had long waits to order, for example).

I know I shouldn't completely judge a place on just one visit, but since I'm just a line cook, I can't really afford to make another one, especially when the first one was so off.

Edited February 20, 2007 by LindyChef (log)