Michael Dean's only barely earned 2 stars from us. We went there for my birthday tonight. And while nothing was terrible, certainly nothing was good either. Crab cakes were overcooked on one side and were made with way too much bread crumb (bread crumb was pretty much all you could taste). Oysters Rockefeller were cooked nicely but way under-seasoned and then doused in bland Hollandaise. Lobster & shrimp bisque had the overpowering taste of soup base and had no discernible chunks of lobster or shrimp; the seafood was minced into oblivion. They floured the scallops before they seared them to attempt getting a well colored crust, but it resulted in a chewy, taste-altering shell on each scallop. Scallops sear beautifully all by themselves in a hot pan with the right amount of oil. Flouring them was beyond stupid. We asked for the tomato coulis on the side, and thank god we did. It was bland and in no way complimented the scallops. We then ordered sides of pineapple salsa and lemon beurre blanc to see if they would fit better on the scallops. Both were absolutely awful. The beurre blanc tasted like mayo with a few drops of lemon. The wild mushroom risotto was decent. The broccolini was blanched fine but not seasoned. The crab and shrimp stuffed flounder used the crab cake mix, so again, it mostly tasted like bread crumbs. Both entrees were $24 each and most other entrees hover around that price. It's insulting and presumptuous to price them so highly. The technique and quality of preparation in no way warrant that price. Our server was friendly and was doing well at first, but after we received our entrees, he didn't ask how everything was. Then it took about 30 minutes between having our leftovers boxed and getting our credit card receipts. There's no reason to eat here. You can get better, tastier seafood at much more reasonable prices elsewhere.
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