Slow Blogging Fever
"It's a weird time of year." I was making a late night Wal-Greens run for Tylenol PM and Zinc tablets when I ran into a food reviewing pal the other night. We both agreed that it's a strange time of year in the restaurant business, sort of in-between. Fall openings are in full swing, but everyone else just seems hunkered down to weather the holiday season. The fall fundraising circuit hasn't yet kicked into full gear, and I can't even contemplate the approaching holiday black tie season. Everyone seems to be reviewing the same places again and again. And recent openings -- aside from Adobo -- have been mediocre at best. (Zing, this is you. Wine in shot glasses? Short pours? And don't think that every chef in town hasn't noticed your menu and format is cribbed heavily from Avec in Chicago. Tip: If you copy a great restaurant and chef, you'd darn well better execute. So far, not so much.)
7 comments:
I haven't been to Zing, but as avec is possibly the best price/performance restaurant in the entire city of Chicago, that's not a bad place to copy from.
Given the exterior architecture of Zing, however, I'm not optimistic that they understand what makes avec such a great experience.
Haven't seen much on Brass Ring yet...
Even though I'm pretty sure that the name Brass Ring is a carousel reference, I cannot get over the fact that the name immediately screams strip club to me. Any insight?
I had a quesadilla at the Brass Ring that was ok, but nothing special. The beer selection is also disappointing. It's a basic neighborhood bar and grill type place. I'm could see myself there quite a bit actually, but it isn't a destination by any means.
We were at Brass Ring last night, actually, and the owner was very receptive to our requests/suggestions for more microbrews and local beer. He admitted the selection was in a 'ramping up' phase, so I'm inclined to give it another month or so to shake out.
We also really enjoyed our menu selections, and had a nice time talking with a couple of other patrons in the laid-back setting. We'll definitely be back soon.
Country Mouse City Mouse: apparently the site was once home to a carousel.
I was looking for reviews of Zing last night prior to trying it out. I was disappointed to see that braingirl was not a fan but stubbornly went anyway. I ended up very much enjoying my meal which included a pineapple tamale in curried coconut suace with shrimp, fried calamari, mahi tacos, spinach salad, and curried sliders. The wine by the glass list also has some nice offerings and a good selection for $6-7/glass. Anyway, I think it's worthy of another try!
Glad you enjoyed it, but I've been to Zing several times -- for lunch and dinner -- and I'm still not a fan.
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