I don’t know why I keep trying these corporate chains. I guess I keep hoping to be surprised like I was at Zea, but that is definitely an outlier. I also dream of going one day to a place that is as good as Red Lobster looks on tv. And yes, I will run by and check out the Red Lobster here in town someday, maybe after a movie at the AMC 15, but I will certainly temper expectations. And the thing is, there isn’t anything to really criticize about Bonefish. The place was immaculate, the service professional ( even if it was a bit tedious to endure the corporate dictated flybys from a server dressed in a chef’s coat and pants, as if) and all the food was very fresh and perfectly cooked. It just lacked heart and soul. A bit more salt and lemon wouldn’t have hurt either.
Now I do like a place that brings bread to the table before even asking what I’d like to drink. And I can testify that there was only one empty among the mussels I ordered. But even the onion and garlic was a bit bland. Luckily the fresh mussels were fine on their own, but if felt like the corporation had done nothing to enhance them.
Like I’ve said before, it all looks wonderful, it just didn’t quite take that next step to delicious. Here’s the description for the Thermidor Gnocchi: sweet lobster chunks and tender shrimp sautéed with golden-brown potato gnocchi, mushrooms, peas, and fresh tomatoes tossed in lobster-sherry cream sauce . Sounds great, doesn’t it? I had very high hopes when I first sat down and picked this. Less so after the less than amazing mussel app. But all the flavors were a bit faded, and the sherry wasn’t even detectable. A shame, but it still looked really nice.
