PX This.

PX This presents THE F&F REVIEW

Hey, sorry we couldn’t make it to "Friends&Family," we were out of town/ had to work/ not invited. We’re really glad we finally managed to come by, though— it’s so nice to see you!
What’s that? You would still like us to take the time to fill out the F&F survey, because you’d love to take advantage of all our vast experience, knowledge, insight, and expertise as long as we’re already here? Because you invited 75 people to F&F, and afterward all you got was 41 "Congrats[es]!" 22 "Awesome[s]!" 3 "Ciao[s]!" and 9 "Best of lucks[s]!" ?
Of course, we’d be honored. Oh ha, yesss, we’ll be honest— brutally honest even, ha ha! After all, that’s what friends & family are for!
No no please, don’t send anything more, we’re stuffed, we can’t breathe, you’ll have to roll us out of here, ha ha ha… !

Travertine

What was your first impression?
oh no, this style of restaurant is generally not the type i like at all.

Please rate the Bar:
one can’t help but notice immediately there are some pretty basic structural problems, but whatever.
the bartender is very sweet, but why is she so disoriented? i asked her a question about the menu: "what’s straciatella?" and ha ahaa her response was [directed at my guest]: "well, YOU’RE french [he isn’t], you should know what it is…" i am not even kidding. thankfully, she made up for it with her overall enthusiastic demeanor.

Please rate the drinks/ cocktails/ wine:
i tried some cocktail (the recipe of which the bartender said she "brought with her") made with st.germain vodka, elderflower, and something pink— and it was pretty good. i completely forgot to even look at the the wine list, but maybe that’s because this type of restaurant with this sort of ambience usually doesn’t give me much confidence (or interest) in the quality of the list.

Please rate the Dining Room:
it’s smaller than it looks from the outside. and personally i think it looks (and sounds) more like a bar/club "lounge" than a dining room.

Please rate the BOH:
slow on the timing and the runner seems harried. but the food was actually much better than i expected.

How was the staff?
well i already described the bartender and runner. plus there was something odd about the waiter, because i watched the bartender direct him toward us twice (over a span of about 15 minutes) to "answer any questions" we have about the menu, and he never bothered. so finally i pulled over this guy (in a tuxedo) and asked him "what’s straciatella?" and he was very responsive, amiable, and knowledgeable.
so overall, i guess a C+ ?

What did you eat?/ How was the food?
straciatella: very good. worth the wait for the explanation. creative and inventive.
calamari all plancha: also very nice. perfectly grilled and fresh.
marinated spanish mackerel: good. "sashimi" style. light and clean but still flavorful.
pici with sweet italian sausage: interesting. delicious. very impressive.
roasted mushrooms: wow, very good— and i’m not even particularly fond of mushrooms.

What did you like?
how i was quite pleasantly surprised by the food.

What did you dislike?
the room.

What was your last impression?
i wonder how much it cost to laser cut the name of the restaurant on the marble facade of the building.

Would you come back?
probably not. but i would recommend others at least try it, particularly if they’re into that kind of dining. like— some of my european friends might enjoy it, for example.

Thank you, and hope to see you soon!
thanks, and all the best…

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