Another Birthday: Hook, Line and Sinker

For our August meal, we headed into Hook with more than a little trepidation—due to the recent turnover in the kitchen leadership, we were a bit worried about the quality of the meal we were about to experience. But, it was Melissa’s birthday choice, and since we are four ladies who like to live on the edge, we took a gamble. Much to our surprise, the food was not what we should have been fretting about. From the start, our waiter was short and rushed in his interactions with us—skipping the pleasantries and firing questions at us about our water preference and confirming we were over 21. Even when that question elicited our response that, in fact, we were celebrating a 30th birthday that evening, the quality of service did not change for the better. Rather, it went downhill from there. The appetizers were delectable—a grilled calamari over pesto melted in our mouths, and the Caledonian shrimp was served with a yummy, nutty, coleslaw that we continued to scoop up long after the last shrimp was gone. For the entrees, we all chose a different fish, and while Molly’s sablefish was buttery and light, it was a shame that she received it after the rest of us had already finished our own dishes. The waiter barely apologized for confusing her order (she was handed a plate of salmon at first), and then slapped both dishes on the bill. When dessert rolled around, Molly (once again the cursed member of our dining party this evening) asked to see the wine list again. Rather than bring it to her, our helpful server suggested a glass of Rose that he assured her she would enjoy. Much to our complete shock, we only discovered upon getting our bill that particular glass carried a price tag of… wait for it… $23!!! Upon speaking to the manager, we were handled with a barely-hidden air of disdain and half-interest. While he did remove Molly’s entrée and the $23 glass from the check, he did little to make us feel like we were valued customers, more like a nuisance to his evening. We left in a huff, mostly trying to get Amanda out the door before she did something she might regret in the light of day. Unfortunate, considering while both the bluefish over corn ragout with zucchini bread pudding that I had as my main and the Nutella tart served with a side of Nutella ice cream were dishes I would love to return to, the thought of suffering through another night of service like that is enough of a deterrent to keep us from going back to Hook anytime soon. All of us have at one point or another worked in the service industry, and are generous tippers. It is difficult (and rare) for us to leave less than 20%. However; no matter how delicious the food, the manner in which it is delivered to your table can make or break the dining experience. With that in mind, we decided to separate the oinks this time:
Hook gets 1 oink for the service, 3 oinks for the food.
Although the server’s inefficiencies might have ruined anyone else’s night us FDPs decided to laugh about it over a glass of wine a few blocks down at Mendocino. After Amanda’s incessant bitching about the incident she attracted the attention of the manager and bar tender. They were dying to know where we went and laughed when we told them. A few handshakes and a formal introduction later we left contently knowing that we would be back and that all was not ruined for Melissa’s birthday.