Restaurant Week: Round 2!
Before I jump into this post, let you give you some context. I've been getting a lot of headaches lately and thought that I may need a prescription for glasses/contacts. Prior to dinner, I went to an eye doctor for a complete eye exam...including pupil dilatation. For over an hour after this exam, I couldn't see anything near. Reading my iPhone was out of the question...at least I knew where the restaurant was before I left the appointment!
This also made it tricky to take photos of food and dranks. I hoped most of them came out but I couldn't tell until I got home much later, hence the quality of some of the photos! My bad! At least my eyes are fine! The joys of turning 30..ugh.
I met up with a friend for Restaurant Week at The General. I went to this super-hip EMM Group restaurant last year for a work event. The spot was super swanky - more of a nightclub than your typical Asian restaurant. When I use the words "hip" and "swanky" it typically means "expensive" - which is 100% true for The General. This is why I chose to come for Restaurant Week. Did I spend more on alcohol (2 cocktails) than food? Of course. I cannot resist the Siren Song of $15+ cocktails. My willingness to pay only goes up when they are served in a coconut.
This brings me to the first cocktail I ordered: the Barracuda, at $21 (I know, I'm ridiculous), definitely took a bite out of my wallet. It was visually interesting and DELICIOUS. It's made with both light and dark rums, pink guava and served in a coconut. I couldn't judge how big the cocktail was...those tricky non-transparent coconuts! If anything, I fell for the gimmick of serving a drink in a piece of fruit. Oh well. At least I enjoyed it :)
Barracuda
Nick ordered the "affordable" Lady with a Dagger ($16) made with vodka, Veev Acai, lychee, passion fruit and Thai Basil. I tried it and wasn't a huge fan, but he loved it.
Lady with a Dagger - WATCH YOUR BACK YO!
As our appetizer, we both got the Chinese Chicken Tacos, made with avocado, bell peppers and sweet chili. SO YUMMY! SO TINY! If I paid $13 (the menu price), I would be sad.
Chicken Tacos
For my entree, I got the Spicy Schezuan Chicken with carrot, zucchini and yellow squash. This typically clocks in at $24 and wasn't that earth shattering. Yes, it was tasty, but I don't think it is worth 2x the price of other Schezuan Chicken I've had. Yes, of course, you're paying for the atmosphere. I'd prefer eating in a hole in the wall spot then somewhere that is "super cool" and dark and loud...but that is just me. Again, getting old (30...cough cough).
Schezuan Chicken
I'd like to say that Nick got the "Suggestion of a Scallop" entree, but that was not the name. It was a $32 (!!!) entree with Kobucha squash, Brussels sprouts, and Ponzu brown butter. This pricing is $8 per scallop. I...just...can't. He really liked it though...so, yay!
Seared Scallops
I wasn't really paying attention when the waitress asked us if we wanted to split the Hung Fried Rice. I thought maybe it just came for the table and didn't ask the cost. Silly me! Props to her for up-selling us. The fried rice was probably my favorite item and was an extra $14 - it included Chinese sausage, shrimp, and egg. I loved it. I didn't love paying more on top of the Restaurant Week Menu and the cocktails. When in doubt about additional costs, just ask :)
Hung Fried Rice
My second cocktail was a steal at $15 - the Tropic Thunder is made with mango passion vodka, cilanto, lemon and pequin pepper. A good sized cocktail and quite lovely.
Tropic Thunder
For dessert, I got the Green Tea Donut ($12) made with green tea mascarpone cream and lemon honeycomb. This was very delicious!
Green Tea Donut
The Restaurant Week Deal was three courses (not including the Fried Rice) for $38. My items, if ordered a la carte, would have been $49 and Nick's would have been $57 - so it was a "deal". If I paid the full price I would have been incredibly disappointed. I feel like this is the major issue with Restaurant Week - it doesn't create repeat customers. I'd rather spend my money somewhere that the high prices are more linked to the quality of the food and not the "coolness" of the venue.
Cheers,
Liz