Disappointing grandeur
I recently stayed at the Grand Hyatt in San Francisco. I am usually a Marriott man, but a complicated set of instructions issued by my assistant sent me to the Hyatt. First, I must note that the fabled hills in downtown San Fran are serious business. My calves are still sore. Yes Virginia, you can get seriously winded at sea level.
My dissappointing trip began when my afternoon deposition went loooooonnnnggg. The deponent was so verbose I had to ask this question: okay, that was interesting, but didn't answer my question. Let's pretend that I have to get on a plane in one minute. What would your answer be then?
As a result, I didn't get to the Hyatt until after 9 pm. I was tired and decided to just eat at the hotel. The top floor(36th) was the Grandview restaurant, it was obviously supposed to be pretty snazzy and high class(if the wood lined hallways were any indication). It was late, the restaurant was closing in less than an hour. Let first say, I have no complaints about the service. I was only disappointed in the uninteresting nature of the food I was served.For an appetizer, I ordered some spring rolls. They were definitely fresh. They tasted fine, though the wrappers somehow tasted doughy even though their texture was crispy.
The "mint cilantro salad" was just mint, cilantro and shredded carrots on top of the rolls. It seemed a bit of a stretch to call what was clearly a garnish, a salad.
I ordered seared scallops on mushrooms and squash ravioli. The scallops were good. Decent texture with a very conservative flavor. The ravioli were interesting in that they didn't meld well with the combination of the firm mushrooms and tender scallops. The mushrooms (and I acknowledge that I am not a mushroom connoisseur) were the type that I have a hard time enjoying because of what Alisha Garrity did to one at a Chinese restaurant in Salt Lake about nine years ago.
The weird orange tint is the result of low lighting and lots of wood, i thought about fixing tbe picture, but it really did look like that Again, it didn't suck, but I don't think my high hopes were unjustified by the location, decor and prices. Another strike (and I don't blame Hyatt for this), was they annoying, nasally rich lady on a date behind me. Anyone who talks that loudly abiut $2000.00 shoes and asks (20 times) for Dijon mustard is an ambience killer. Put succinctly, when I go to a snooty restaurant, I want to wish I was rich so I could afford to eat like this all the time. I felt like I has been tricked, and that the real rich people had already eaten the cool food before I arrived.
The next disappointment happened at breakfast. I was on a tight schedule, so I ordered room service the night before so it would show up after I showered and I could save some time. The menu had a corned beef hash that came with two poached eggs and a chipotle sauce. A good corned beef hash being a favorite of mine, I ordered it. It arrived like this.
It looked and tasted like it came out of a can. The special chipotle sauce? Tasted like ketchup with adobo - and not in a good way. The "fingerling potatoes" were droopy and seemed like they were there due to obligation only.
Next, I had lunch at the court reporters during the deposition. I didn't even take a picture, it was so unremarkable. It was ravioli so overcooked that al dente couldn't be seen from where these were cooked. It came with toasted garlic bread, super chewy, and an iceberg salad.
Finally, this deposition went long and I didn't have time to eat somewhere cool before I left. I was so rushed, that I had to walk right on to the plane and couldn't even get some food from an airport restaurant. "No matter," I thought, "I will eat in Ontario (CA) when we stop.". We landed in Ontario and I got off the pone hoping for something, anything warm andaube even unique. Now, I have lived in some small towns where everything closes at nine, but never have I seen a place that shuttered by 7:30 pm. No food for me.
Sorry to gripe, but sometimes travel is just a bunch of work.
-- Post From My iPhone
My dissappointing trip began when my afternoon deposition went loooooonnnnggg. The deponent was so verbose I had to ask this question: okay, that was interesting, but didn't answer my question. Let's pretend that I have to get on a plane in one minute. What would your answer be then?
As a result, I didn't get to the Hyatt until after 9 pm. I was tired and decided to just eat at the hotel. The top floor(36th) was the Grandview restaurant, it was obviously supposed to be pretty snazzy and high class(if the wood lined hallways were any indication). It was late, the restaurant was closing in less than an hour. Let first say, I have no complaints about the service. I was only disappointed in the uninteresting nature of the food I was served.For an appetizer, I ordered some spring rolls. They were definitely fresh. They tasted fine, though the wrappers somehow tasted doughy even though their texture was crispy.
The "mint cilantro salad" was just mint, cilantro and shredded carrots on top of the rolls. It seemed a bit of a stretch to call what was clearly a garnish, a salad.
I ordered seared scallops on mushrooms and squash ravioli. The scallops were good. Decent texture with a very conservative flavor. The ravioli were interesting in that they didn't meld well with the combination of the firm mushrooms and tender scallops. The mushrooms (and I acknowledge that I am not a mushroom connoisseur) were the type that I have a hard time enjoying because of what Alisha Garrity did to one at a Chinese restaurant in Salt Lake about nine years ago.
The weird orange tint is the result of low lighting and lots of wood, i thought about fixing tbe picture, but it really did look like that Again, it didn't suck, but I don't think my high hopes were unjustified by the location, decor and prices. Another strike (and I don't blame Hyatt for this), was they annoying, nasally rich lady on a date behind me. Anyone who talks that loudly abiut $2000.00 shoes and asks (20 times) for Dijon mustard is an ambience killer. Put succinctly, when I go to a snooty restaurant, I want to wish I was rich so I could afford to eat like this all the time. I felt like I has been tricked, and that the real rich people had already eaten the cool food before I arrived.
The next disappointment happened at breakfast. I was on a tight schedule, so I ordered room service the night before so it would show up after I showered and I could save some time. The menu had a corned beef hash that came with two poached eggs and a chipotle sauce. A good corned beef hash being a favorite of mine, I ordered it. It arrived like this.
It looked and tasted like it came out of a can. The special chipotle sauce? Tasted like ketchup with adobo - and not in a good way. The "fingerling potatoes" were droopy and seemed like they were there due to obligation only.
Next, I had lunch at the court reporters during the deposition. I didn't even take a picture, it was so unremarkable. It was ravioli so overcooked that al dente couldn't be seen from where these were cooked. It came with toasted garlic bread, super chewy, and an iceberg salad.
Finally, this deposition went long and I didn't have time to eat somewhere cool before I left. I was so rushed, that I had to walk right on to the plane and couldn't even get some food from an airport restaurant. "No matter," I thought, "I will eat in Ontario (CA) when we stop.". We landed in Ontario and I got off the pone hoping for something, anything warm andaube even unique. Now, I have lived in some small towns where everything closes at nine, but never have I seen a place that shuttered by 7:30 pm. No food for me.
Sorry to gripe, but sometimes travel is just a bunch of work.
-- Post From My iPhone
Comments
McKinna says "dad i miss you very much I hope yout ravel home safely, I miss you dad."