Dinner at Bergamot

I love going out to dinner, and there is no time I love it more than during a stressful week. There is something about someone else making you dinner. . . and making you feel at home that is completely comforting and magical.

Last Thursday night I was in need of this comfort, and so the hubby and I decided to try Bergamot, the new restaurant that took the site where EVOO formerly lived. Bergamot looks a lot like EVOO did, very spacious, airy, and well lit.

Bergamot’s menu is progressive American fare, and they offer an impressive wine, cocktail, and beer list. On this balmy summer night, I decided to opt for a Pretty Things Jack D’Or beer.

Along with our drinks, we each received an amuse bouche. Mine was a shitake mushroom with hoisin sauce. It was one deliciously salty bite.

I started with a golden beet and avocado salad which was fresh veggie perfection. Oh I love golden beets. . . the flavors in this salad worked so well together, and I ate every bite.

For my entree, I ordered the plaintain gnocchi with black bean, avocado, roasted red pepper, portabella mushroom confit, shishito pepper, and cilantro sprouts.

I was completely intrigued by the idea of plantain gnocchi, and these were pretty interesting. They had that little bit of sweetness associated with plantains, and the centers were creamy and flavorful while the outsides were a bit crisp. I loved these gnocchi; they were definitely more flavorful than regular potato gnocchi!

Every bite that we had at Bergamot was enjoyable, which made me a little sad that the service was lacking. At the start, the service was phenomenal. Our waitress knew so much about the menu and the wine list, and as we listened to her talk with other guests throughout the night, I was delightfully impressed at her interest and knowledge about wine. But somewhere after we received our entrees, she seemed to disappear. We finished eating and waited for quite awhile for our plates to be cleared, and 30 minutes passed before someone else came by to see if we wanted another drink. . . not even dessert. We DID want dessert, but after sitting and waiting for that long, we opted to just pay our bill, which took at least another 10 minutes. It did get busy, but it seemed our waitress was just skirting around our area and waiting intently on other areas.

Also, if you are seated in the dining room, you can not order off of the bar menu. I wanted things off of both menus, and since the bar was visible and about 25 feet away, I don’t really see what the problem would be?

I would definitely give Bergamot another shot, based on the high quality and great flavor of the food, but I hope that we will not be left to our own devices for too long next time.

What is the worst restaurant experience you ever had?