When reviewers complain about the small portion size of over-reaching restaurants, this is the place they mean. Sel de la Terre is sometimes referred to as a ?moderately? priced place, but it is not. First, there is no such thing at the bar as a glass of wine under $10, apparently, and the glass is only half-full, and mixed drinks are even more. 20 minutes at the bar before seating cost $68. Appetizers averaging $11 were served on oversized plates which only dramatized how incredibly meager the portions were: one came to $5.50 per scallop (got 2!). Since this didn?t even whet the appetite, more were ordered. You just spent $70. Main courses (app $25) were tempting and perfectly prepared and cooked, and, while size isn?t supposed to matter, in this case, compared to the appetizers, there was plenty. The steak frite is Bistro-perfect and hefty, and the braised lamb was exactly right. Desserts were terrible. The ?Warm biscuit with vanilla pastry cream, brown sugar streusel and rhubarb compote? was washed out. Outstandingly bad is the misnomered special menu Profiteroles, which was a) not pastry, more like stale tough bread, b) dark-colored funny-tasting bread at that, and c) filled with a tasteless cream slime. If you are serving French or Provencal food, and one orders a classic dish, doesn?t the chef have an obligation to at least ?approximate? the original? If you had ordered the Creme Brule, would you pay for the jello they served you? In a recent Top Chief competition, a team was thrown out because they were told to prepare a certain dish, and their imaginative, edgy, creative, innovative result?didn?t taste like the requested dish. Goodbye! Advice: Have your drinks elsewhere, skip the appetizers, drink water, focus on the very good main courses, and finish with coffee. You?ll have a good time. Dinner (only) for four: $324
Pros: Service and seating good
Cons: stick to main courses, ignore appetizers and desserts
more