Apocalypse Now

We walked into Tre on a Wednesday night looking for a quick bite to eat.  I had assumed that this was a self serve restaurant by the menu behind the counter.  This assumption was wrong for dinner time it is a sit down restaurant.  Tre is in a small strip mall, the décor is nice it has high ceilings giving it an urban feel.  I want to start off by saying I have never dined at a Vietnamese restaurant.  We were seated in a booth and the hostess brought us water.  Our waiter had an immense knowledge of the menu and gave suggestions of what we should order if we were first time diners.  He suggested we both order pho which I have heard about on many occasions in books and television.  I also saw on the menu a sandwich that had my interest for some time. It is called bahn mi it is a pork sandwich with ham, pate and some fresh veggies.  The waiter gave us a few minutes to look over the menu. 

            My girlfriend ordered first she decided on the lemongrass stir fried chicken.  The waiter described this as a good choice because it possessed sweet, salty, and spicy.  I opted for the beef pho as he suggested this was a better choice than the meatball pho. To splurge we ordered a bahn mi to split.  The sandwich came out first it was on a fresh baguette.  The baguette was flaky and tasted like what you would expect at a French restaurant.  This is to be expected with the heavy French influence in Vietnam.  The sandwich was accompanied by hoisin sauce and sriracha sauce.  The sandwich was topped with fresh jalapeno, cucumber, carrot and cilantro.  It had a nice texture I liked the fresh veggies, the meat was mediocre at best.  I would not order the sandwich again but you live and learn. 

            After a few minutes had passed our entrees came out.  Her entrée came with a side of garlic fried rice.  My pho was accompanied with some basil, jalapenos, bean sprouts and a few other items.  The broth in the pho was a beef broth with a medley of Asian spices that gave it an almost Thai curry like flavor.  It was packed full of flavor.  The beef was sliced paper thin and had a roast beef consistency to it.  Overall, the dish was solid I would order it again but probably in the winter time.

 The lemongrass chicken is a different story.  This dish did hit all of the flavors the waiter described.  To be honest usually lemongrass is not a flavor I enjoy but this dish used it in a subtle way.  The chicken had a crisp texture and almost tasted like the texture of a good sesame chicken.  However, the chicken was not battered.  It was well trimmed white meat chicken which is important to me in ordering chicken dishes.  Being someone who loves spicy food I could have had more of this flavor in particular but most people do not share my love of all things hot.  The fried rice was mediocre but I did appreciate the hints of garlic mixed throughout.  Overall, the food was above average.  I would give the food 3 out of 5 stars, to let you know there has never been a restaurant where I have dined that gets a 5. 

However, though the food was pretty good the service at Tre was unacceptable.  The waiter was a solid waiter he knew the menu and expressed his knowledge well.  My grievance is with the American hostess and a middle-aged woman that may have owned the restaurant.  The girl who provided water looked to be younger and inexperienced. Her job was to seat people and provides water.  She did little else and I doubt that is her fault.  The middle-aged woman stood behind the counter and acted as sort of an expo for the food.  We sat at the table for more than half our dining experience with the same empty water glasses.  This became an issue when I needed water to clear my palate from a slice of jalapeno in the pho.  Finally we flagged down the hostess who provided more water.  After waiting for about 15 minutes for the check my girlfriend asked the owner for the check and a to-go container.  After another 5 minutes the waiter brought our check.  The owner must have thought the task was beneath her.  Our waiter was handling about 6 tables including a table of about 7.  He was clearly scrambling to stay out of the weeds.  The hostess should be assisting with the beverages and running food as it is up in the window.  The owner needed to be working the restaurant and asking for feedback. Also if a table wants the check the owner should provide it.  I will more than likely go back to this restaurant but it will be during lunch time when I can wait on myself.

A Piece of Paris in Buckhead

I decided to give Anis a try based on my scoutmob deal.  I am cheap I know but I enjoy fine dining and am young so I do not have a lot of disposable income.  My reason for going out was to celebrate a late valentines day with my girlfriend Caitlin.  It was a surprise for her.  We had 7:30 reservations and the restaurant was packed.   A table was not available to us for about twenty minutes.  I could harp on this but its Friday night in Buckhead it’s to be expected.  Although I must mention that a couple who came in significantly later was seated before us.  C’est la vie.  They must have known someone because they received extra attention.  Plus the guy was carrying a man purse (murse as I call them) so maybe he was Indiana Jones.  That aside I must say the atmosphere was wonderful.  The restaurant is a quaint house off of a side street in Buckhead.  There is outdoor seating which for an unseasonably warm February night was great.  The music was live from a pretty decent band.  We sat down and were immediately waited on.  We each ordered a glass of wine which was slightly pricey but very good. 

As an appetizer we ordered the Coquilles St. Jacques.  A bread basket was brought to the table,  it was decent bread but nothing special.  Out comes our appetizer.  Let me say that if you are looking for large portions you are better off going to a chain restaurant.  The plate had three perfectly bronzed scallops on a bed of mushrooms with a sweet truffle honey.  The scallops were flawless from the texture to the moistness and the color on the sear was how they are meant to be plated.  

For our entrees my girlfriend ordered what she thought was the bistro steak from pointing at the menu but ended up being the Filet of Beef Au Poivre.  Her steak was ordered medium and came out slightly medium rare but in my opinion all steaks should be rare to medium rare especially a filet.  There was a nice char on the steak which gave it hints of a nice smoky flavor.  Being a southern boy I was a huge fan.  There is nothing I like more than smoky charred flavor.  Her potatoes were well cooked they could have used something to make them stand out a little more on the dish, maybe a fresh herb.

 I opted for the special which was Duck leg confit with a ragout of lentils.  Let me point out my opinion on lentils is pretty low.  However, my love of all things duck overruled my hatred.  The lentils were as good as lentils can be they were well seasoned and had immense flavor but I would have been more satisfied with some haricot verts.  The duck was the star of this show.  It fell off of the bone it was so tender and juicy.  It had the aroma and flavor of garlic that did not over power the dish but took it to another level.  There is nothing not to love about legs of duck bathed in their own fat. 

Overall, I would give this dining experience a 4 out of 5 stars.  The meats were delicious but the side dishes left something to be desired.  The service was pretty good.  I would reserve this place for a special occasion unless spending over a hundred dollars for two people is within your budget.  I wish it was within mine if it was this would definitely be a place I would visit regularly.