It All Comes Down to the Scallop

I went to dinner last night in the city...the city being Philadelphia. We went to a restaurant called Sole Food, which was great despite my poor attitude. It wasn't totally poor, but I had had a concept in my head of what the night was going to be like, and it didn't work out that way and made me cranky.

The food was great, the company was great, the wine was decent...it was a fun evening. Here's the thing. I ate two appetizers for dinner, and one of them was called something along the lines of Pancetta Crusted Sea Scallop. Scallop. I didn't pay enought attention to that word, and when the food came I definitely had A pancetta crusted sea scallop. It had some sort of delicious corn salad with mushrooms and a piece of lobster with it. I'm not complaining about it, but I was just really startled to see one sea scallop. The bowl itself was HUGE, but the rim was about five inches out from the actual bowl part that would hold about a cup. So, the bowl was tiny, the rim was gigantic...like the plate probably had a 15 inch diameter...and in the middle of it was a single sea scallop.

It seems to be the general trend in fine dining. And, frankly, I'm fine with smaller portions (helps with my Weight Watchers, but that's another post). There is no need to feel disgustingly stuffed after eating out, but I did chuckle over my $12 scallop. Like I said, I'm not complaining about it; I could never have made anything that tasty. It did just give me pause when the massive plate came out. I guess the idea is that you're paying for the experience. I'm happy to say we had wonderful service and a very attentive staff, but sometimes restaurants don't deliver. My feeling is, if you are going to be brazen enough to charge $12 for one scallop, you had better be prepared to make it worth it. Fortunately for all involved, Sole Food did.

The rest of the meal was Yellow Fin Tuna Tartare, Brussel Sprouts with bacon and apples, and Chilean Sea Bass. All of it was great, but here is something I am going to complain about. The tartare (news to me that there is an e on the end) was so spicy I couldn't eat it. I will admit, my tolerance for hot is pretty low, and I am often overwhelmed and gasping from things that small children have no problem stomaching, but this was ridiculous. My dining companion ate the tuna with minimal sweating, so it worked out, but if you are going to make something nose-hair-singeingly spicy, then mention that on the menu. I think this is the third time in as many restaurants that the tuna tartare was laced with chili oil and I couldn't eat it. I know what you're saying - if this is happening with any regularity, why don't I ask before ordering? Duly noted, and now I will. The sea bass was amazing, and there were a number of other things on the menu I would have ordered had I been hungrier.

I'll have more to say about fine dining trends later.