High-end Dining: Expectations and Reviews

[JaBlue]

Last nice place I went to was trattoria acqua for Valentine's with my girlfriend. Meal cost $85 for us, $100 with tip, so ~50 each. Not fine dining like some of the places mentioned in this thread, but certainly pricy.

First thing I noticed was how [censored] the menu was. For a nice place like this it should be completely professional but the menus looked cheaper than the place and had some stupid quote like
"The goal should not be to die in a pretty, well-preserved, body but to go completely worn out, kicking and screaming with a chocolate martini in one hand..." Very lame.

Other than that the service was very good. There was the main waiter who had very fancy suspenders, several bus boys to take away our dishes and fill our water, and a dessert guy. Most people that ever served me.

For appetizers I ordered Lobster Bisque and she got Formagio al Formo: baked Brie cheese encased in phyllo dough, served with stone fruit and a honey-white truffle sauce. Hers was better than mine, which was very very good but I got her to try mine and she's a vegetarian (first time she ate any kind of meat in 15 years) which was exciting. She thought it was "very wierd but good."

For dinner she got Agnolotti con Funghi Porcini e Tartufo Nero - Wild mushroom & black truffle filled Agnolotti with a marsala and porcini mushroom cream sauce which is spectacular. There is a truffle in each ravioli type thing and it is knock-your-socks-off good.

I got Salmone con Gremolata : Oven roasted organic Scottish Salmon filet with a Gremolata topping of pinenuts, lemon zest and breadcrumbs served over Heirloom potatoes, organic tomatoes, black olives and a white wine reduction sauce

which was very good but the reduction sauce could be a bit overwhelming at times. The olives and tomatoes they used were very strong and the dish was good but the sauce was a little much all in all. The fish was awesome, of course.

For dessert we got a chocolate soufle just like a molten lava you can get just about anywhere, which was very good but not spectacular, and a lemon tart that was also very good but not spectacular and had a little too much torched whipped topping and not enough tart.

All in all a great meal and lots of fun, probably overpriced like all places down in La Jolla though.