High-end Dining: Expectations and Reviews

[Dids]

Short reviews of nicer places I've been:

Craftsteak in Vegas:

Went with like 12 2p2ers. It's hard to gauge server in this atmosphere, because we were something of a nuisance (late, drunk, Josh P. yelling "JASON T IS A [censored]" really loud). We'd also ordered ahead (actually GuyOnTilt had)Given how we were, I thought they were pretty damn nice to us.

The food was excellent. The steak was great, the aps were solid and I really enjoy the desert selection (some non-standard sorbets IIRC).

El Gaucho in Seattle:

Great service (for my part, I know Entity had some issues with the fact that they didn't boot an obviously drunk and annoying guy faster).

The steak was solid (although I've since taken a position that no steak (making an exception for Kobe beef, which I've only had once and can't really judge) is that much better than what I can make on my own as to be worth the steakhouse prices. They have some pretty standard steakhouse sides that were good, if not mind blowing.

There was a fruit, nut and cheese course before dessert that I really enjoyed. The cheese selection was pretty standard, but it was all delicious.

They do table side prep for both their caeser and their banana's foster. I had the apple pie, upon which they added some of the sauce from the BF, and it was excellent.

The Metropolitian Grill in Seattle.

Big overpriced steakhouse. The steak was good, the sides were very uninspired. Service was ok, but again it's hard to judge because as detailed in another thread, we were pretty lousy customers. Despite costing a good deal more, not close to El Gaucho in terms of quality.

Cafe Juanita in Kirkland.

Very good. French food, but not so french that you were really aware of it. A much better return on your dollar than any of the steakhouses. I've typed up a longer review somewhere that I'll try and dig up.