Thursday, December 27, 2007

Rover's


Why do I keep going on planes? It's a known fact airlines cancel flights at the last minute to save money when they do not have enough passengers. I get the urge to review airlines at times but what would be the point? With the exception of JetBlue and sometimes American and Alaska, the other domestics aren't worth a damn.

To put me in a better mood, I'll review Rover's. It has been said that Rover's has one of the best food in the city. I agree. First, the food is actually prepared correctly. I can't remember how many times I have gotten rock cold butter at other Seattle joints when paying over $100 a head. Second, the food is fresh, seasoned well with good pairing of flavors. They pride themselves on using local ingredients and fresh seafood and it shows. Where the food falls slightly behind compared to the great restaurants in Paris or New York is in the inventiveness. There is not the "wow" factor you expect at this price either in the presentation or preparation. I recommend getting their paired tasting menu where I've been surprised at the quality of wines. Five course is enough; you leave full but not stuffed which is amazing considering you just ate 5000 calories.

Service is good but not great. If it was all about friendliness and promptness I would give them perfect points. However considering they aspire to be a first class french restaurant, I expect them to know which side to serve from and to serve everyone at the table at the same time. You can't beat the "chef in the hat" for a good conversation, though. The setting is cozy with only 17 tables. It's rustic french which I don't mind although they can't quite cover up that they're in suburbia. Like many restaurants in the "city" Rover's is actually far from downtown in Madison. This, of course, means that you have to find parking considering their lot is small and hard to find. As long as I don't have to fly. On E Madison near 28th. Here are the scores; I follow the Zagat format.

Food: 27
Decor: 24
Service: 25
Cost: $180

206-325-7442

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I didn't think Rover's was worth the money. Although the food was pretty good, it wasn't as good as what they charge. The atmosphere and the services need to improve. El Guacho, Canlis or Georgian offer better services. Overall, I think it is worth checking out because of food but probably wouldn't go back again.