Tagrel
05-02-2004, 02:08 PM
Original Article: Sagging Puck cafe serves disappointment (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/dining/orl-tablematters050204,0,138241.story?coll=orl-caldiningtop)
Sagging Puck cafe serves disappointment
By Scott Joseph | Sentinel Restaurant Critic
Posted May 2, 2004
A caller left a message the other day breathlessly announcing that the chef and owner of the restaurant she was calling from would be in attendance that evening. She thought I would find it "noteworthy."
What I find most noteworthy is the notion that the appearance of the man whose name is on the restaurant would be noteworthy.
But that is the nature of the celebrity restaurant. We know that the Norman Van Akens, Emeril Lagasses, Roy Yamaguchis and Todd Englishes of the world can't be in all their restaurants every night. But in all of those restaurants you expect that the chefs are at least driving the culinary focus of the restaurant, if only by remote control.
If that's still the case at Wolfgang Puck Cafe, it isn't clear in the food. Puck's name is still on the sprawling operation at Downtown Disney West Side but the restaurant was sold last year to Levy Restaurants, the Chicago company that also operates Fulton's Crab House and Portobello Yacht Club at Disney. Puck still has a hand in selecting the chefs and controlling the kitchen. But this is no longer the Wolfgang Puck Cafe that was at one time a destination restaurant worth fighting the crowds for.
Judging from my three visits, the restaurant has slipped in quality and service, and any recommendation must be given with qualification.
This can't be an easy place to operate. There are three distinct aspects to the restaurant, four if you count the attached Wolfgang Puck Express fast-food eatery. Downstairs there is a sushi bar and the casual dining room called the Grand Cafe, although perhaps casual is an inappropriate word given the manic atmosphere.
Upstairs is the obliquely named Dining Room that was always meant to offer a fine-dining experience.
And it did once. When I last visited in 1997 shortly after the restaurant opened, I recounted a lovely dining experience with wonderful food and impressive service. The service is still better upstairs but that's only because the staff in the rest of the place seem annoyed at having to be there.
The food in the Dining Room was not quite as good as it used to be. Most disappointing was the Wiener schnitzel ($27.95), which was so memorable last time. On the most recent visit the breaded pork cutlet was served with arugula, making it seem more Italian than Austrian, and on top of the warm potato salad. It was impossible to taste the veal without also experiencing the sweet vinaigrette of the salad.
My Chinois rack of lamb ($39.95), named for one of Puck's early California restaurants, featured three teensy chops on top of wasabi-infused mashed potatoes that were served cool. For that price they could afford some wood to feed the fire in the stove.
The prices in the downstairs cafe are lower but only in relationship, and they do not represent a value. It is one thing to charge $11.95 for a burger -- overpriced burgers are still the rage in New York -- but if you are going to charge that much, the burger should not be dry and overcooked. And at least the fries should not be greasy.
One of my guests ordered the Wolf-fredo fettuccine, which, with shrimp, chicken and pancetta, is normally a whopping $23.95. But with a request to omit the shrimp the charge was only $18.90. Only? Plain and boring describe it best.
Only a special of pork ($25.99) stood out. The chop was well-seasoned, nicely grilled and served moist and tender.
Shrimp spring roll, cheekily priced at $14.95, was soggy from oil. The barbecue chicken pizza ($12.95) was doughy.
The sushi bar, which has over the years been a favorite place of mine to visit when in the area, even when off duty, also seems to have lost some of its zing. The chef's sampler platter ($26.95), which featured half a spicy tuna roll, half a California roll, five pieces of nigiri sushi and three pieces of sashimi, was humbly presented without any of the stylish flair that makes sushi fun. The miso soup that preceded the fish was so salty as to be unsippable.
The decor, which was designed by Puck's then-wife Barbara Lazaroff, with its millions of pieces of broken colored tile, seems lackluster and worn. Upstairs, the Dining Room had the feel of a large cafeteria. A box over the open kitchen that used to hold a large television so diners could watch the chefs now houses what appeared to be a fern.
But for all the disappointment in the current state of affairs there is one high point of illumination in the person of pastry chef Marian Getz. The apple strudel ($7) and banana beignets ($7) served in the Dining Room were the sort of diet-busting desserts that evoke moans of delight. The strudel was made with crispy sour apple slices. The fried dough beignets had the faintest hint of bananas that was mimicked in the small dollop of smooth and velvety ice cream.
According to Puck's office, he was recently in town to meet with the chefs and tweak the menu. Still, one has to wonder whether his heart and full efforts are in a restaurant that is his in name only. Greater change is needed.
Marian Getz Cafe has a nice ring to it.
Scott's recommendation: A year after the sale to Levy Restaurants, Wolfgang Puck Cafe offers overpriced, lackluster food served by a disaffected staff. The best recommendation is to stop in after Cirque du Soleil for one of Marian Getz's fine desserts.
Sagging Puck cafe serves disappointment
By Scott Joseph | Sentinel Restaurant Critic
Posted May 2, 2004
A caller left a message the other day breathlessly announcing that the chef and owner of the restaurant she was calling from would be in attendance that evening. She thought I would find it "noteworthy."
What I find most noteworthy is the notion that the appearance of the man whose name is on the restaurant would be noteworthy.
But that is the nature of the celebrity restaurant. We know that the Norman Van Akens, Emeril Lagasses, Roy Yamaguchis and Todd Englishes of the world can't be in all their restaurants every night. But in all of those restaurants you expect that the chefs are at least driving the culinary focus of the restaurant, if only by remote control.
If that's still the case at Wolfgang Puck Cafe, it isn't clear in the food. Puck's name is still on the sprawling operation at Downtown Disney West Side but the restaurant was sold last year to Levy Restaurants, the Chicago company that also operates Fulton's Crab House and Portobello Yacht Club at Disney. Puck still has a hand in selecting the chefs and controlling the kitchen. But this is no longer the Wolfgang Puck Cafe that was at one time a destination restaurant worth fighting the crowds for.
Judging from my three visits, the restaurant has slipped in quality and service, and any recommendation must be given with qualification.
This can't be an easy place to operate. There are three distinct aspects to the restaurant, four if you count the attached Wolfgang Puck Express fast-food eatery. Downstairs there is a sushi bar and the casual dining room called the Grand Cafe, although perhaps casual is an inappropriate word given the manic atmosphere.
Upstairs is the obliquely named Dining Room that was always meant to offer a fine-dining experience.
And it did once. When I last visited in 1997 shortly after the restaurant opened, I recounted a lovely dining experience with wonderful food and impressive service. The service is still better upstairs but that's only because the staff in the rest of the place seem annoyed at having to be there.
The food in the Dining Room was not quite as good as it used to be. Most disappointing was the Wiener schnitzel ($27.95), which was so memorable last time. On the most recent visit the breaded pork cutlet was served with arugula, making it seem more Italian than Austrian, and on top of the warm potato salad. It was impossible to taste the veal without also experiencing the sweet vinaigrette of the salad.
My Chinois rack of lamb ($39.95), named for one of Puck's early California restaurants, featured three teensy chops on top of wasabi-infused mashed potatoes that were served cool. For that price they could afford some wood to feed the fire in the stove.
The prices in the downstairs cafe are lower but only in relationship, and they do not represent a value. It is one thing to charge $11.95 for a burger -- overpriced burgers are still the rage in New York -- but if you are going to charge that much, the burger should not be dry and overcooked. And at least the fries should not be greasy.
One of my guests ordered the Wolf-fredo fettuccine, which, with shrimp, chicken and pancetta, is normally a whopping $23.95. But with a request to omit the shrimp the charge was only $18.90. Only? Plain and boring describe it best.
Only a special of pork ($25.99) stood out. The chop was well-seasoned, nicely grilled and served moist and tender.
Shrimp spring roll, cheekily priced at $14.95, was soggy from oil. The barbecue chicken pizza ($12.95) was doughy.
The sushi bar, which has over the years been a favorite place of mine to visit when in the area, even when off duty, also seems to have lost some of its zing. The chef's sampler platter ($26.95), which featured half a spicy tuna roll, half a California roll, five pieces of nigiri sushi and three pieces of sashimi, was humbly presented without any of the stylish flair that makes sushi fun. The miso soup that preceded the fish was so salty as to be unsippable.
The decor, which was designed by Puck's then-wife Barbara Lazaroff, with its millions of pieces of broken colored tile, seems lackluster and worn. Upstairs, the Dining Room had the feel of a large cafeteria. A box over the open kitchen that used to hold a large television so diners could watch the chefs now houses what appeared to be a fern.
But for all the disappointment in the current state of affairs there is one high point of illumination in the person of pastry chef Marian Getz. The apple strudel ($7) and banana beignets ($7) served in the Dining Room were the sort of diet-busting desserts that evoke moans of delight. The strudel was made with crispy sour apple slices. The fried dough beignets had the faintest hint of bananas that was mimicked in the small dollop of smooth and velvety ice cream.
According to Puck's office, he was recently in town to meet with the chefs and tweak the menu. Still, one has to wonder whether his heart and full efforts are in a restaurant that is his in name only. Greater change is needed.
Marian Getz Cafe has a nice ring to it.
Scott's recommendation: A year after the sale to Levy Restaurants, Wolfgang Puck Cafe offers overpriced, lackluster food served by a disaffected staff. The best recommendation is to stop in after Cirque du Soleil for one of Marian Getz's fine desserts.