Julia's on Broadway

[thelastsupper]

Okay,

So, I needed to eat quickly before I went to work, and somehow ended up at Julia's over Tacos Guaymas.

It started out pleasantly enough. The room is pretty, with large dark wooden tables, a lot of natural light. I figured that I would try to keep it simple, a green salad and fish and chips. Homemade tartar is always exciting. My dinining companion opted for soup and a Northwest (I think?) Tartlet. I didn't try the soup, tomato basil, but it looked fine. My salad was really disturbing . . . glorified Denny's. The lettuce had been cut a long time before I ate it and was browning. I favor a lightly dressed (indeed barely dressed) salad. Luckily this salad came with dressing in a little stainless steel cup on the side. However, after a few bites I just upended the whole cup over the mass of refrigerator cold romaine, alfafa sprouts, soy nuts and shreds of purple cabbage and carrot.  I wanted some kind of taste, even if it was that of balsamic vinegar.

So onto the fish. It was okay at the beginning, a bit dark, but began to taste of old oil as I ate. More drowning in condiments (The tartar was good!). The fries, sufficient.

The tartlet was really, really bizarre. It sort of looked like a pot pie without a top crust or much in it. On the plate it looked like an inverted flying saucer hovering over a ring of undressed "mesclun" greens straight from the bag. Once my companion broke into it, the gravy-like filling spilled out over the plate. It had carmelized onions and shreds of mushroom here and there. Okay for gravy, he said, but a tartlet?

The beer was good.

All in all, not a very good experience. And it is too bad since it's taken off like wildfire. It seems to already be an institution on Broadway. Maybe it is strictly an egg place, I'd go again to try out breakfast. I just hope it doesn't pull folks away from places like El Greco and Glo's. Julia's gets PACKED on weekends!

[mamster]

I went for the eggs and they were fine.  Laurie went back and had eggs again.  I haven't really been moved to try anything other than the eggs.  I do have to say that I like what they did to the building, and I'd rather have a mediocre place that's always hopping (cf Broadway Grill) than a boarded-up storefront.

It's hard to beat the burrito al pastor at Guaymas, in any case.

[MsRamsey]

I think Glo's has too many customers.  They could stand some taking-away of customers.  El Greco is usually crowded for breakfast.  Their food is excellent (service so-so, even when you're a regular and tip well every time).  I like to support them because they clearly care about the food, and because of their tragedy a few months ago.  Julia's doesn't tempt me, except maybe as a place to have cocktails after work.  It is pretty in there, but I loved Ileen's.  I adore dive bars -- I'm strange that way.

That said, I'm glad to see Julia's getting a lot of business.

Kathy

Edit:  One bad thing about the Julia's bar -- they managed to stock all of the microbrews that I can't stand (the Pyramid/Pike type ilk).  Bitch and moan.

[Blue Heron]

 Julia's doesn't tempt me, except maybe as a place to have cocktails after work.  It is pretty in there, but I loved Ileen's.  I adore dive bars -- I'm strange that way.

That said, I'm glad to see Julia's getting a lot of business.

Kathy

Edit:  One bad thing about the Julia's bar -- they managed to stock all of the microbrews that I can't stand (the Pyramid/Pike type ilk).  Bitch and moan.

oooh Kathy, you've just given me an idea for a new thread....

[papachef]

My roommate was a waiter there and said the place ran out of things all the time (this is bad in the biz). They just cannot get it together. He quit!

[mamster]

What was the tragedy at El Greco?  (I only pretend to be in the loop.)

[MsRamsey]

Re: El Greco.  The owners were a married couple.  The husband (Thomas Soukakos) ran the front of the restaurant; his wife Carol was head chef.  They had a baby maybe a year and a half ago.  Then a few months ago, Carol committed suicide.  I saw Thomas walking down the street a few days ago with the child on his back, and sadness just washed over me.  He was always so nice and seemed so happy, and I can't imagine how he must be coping.

[mamster]

Shit, that really is a tragedy.  I was hoping for a story involving an exploding gas stove or something, but that's just depressing.