Jazz Cafe #2

Oh, how you break my heart. Why Jazz Cafe do you have to let me down?

I know you say, "...after such a raving review"! I don't know what's worse, having to tell you all the truth or admitting to myself that my dream brunch joint has to be left in my sleep.

"What," you say, "could cause such heartache?"

The first (and only other visit) was with a large group, the restaurant was full, the music was playing and my heart was racing... so I probably let the adrenaline rush cloud my judgement of the overall service. Upon the second visit, hubby and I decided it couldn't take that long with only two of us, and not to mention when we arrived it was probably half as full as last time. The music was still playing, and the time management was still a HUGE problem.

We sat down at about 10:45 on a Sunday morning, ordered at some time around 11:00... here is the order: sampler Hummus, Black Bean Enchiladas (yes Veg friendly, see notes below) and 1/2 order Eggs Benedict. Not a complicated order - no special requests - just straight off the menus. We get our appetizer at some time around 11:30 or 11:40 - I know you think I am exaggerating - but I am not. You must be thinking that we ended up eating our appetizer with our breakfast - and you wouldn't be too far from what I was thinking, until it was well after 12:15 when our food finally arrived. I know, I know I must be crazy - but I am not - I didn't get to Central Market until 1:00!! I wasted my whole Sunday morning WAITING FOR FOOD!

Now on to the food.

Hummus was simple with lemon and tahini - not too bad - I'd eat it again. Black Bean Enchiladas: I thought I was going Vegan, until they arrived with a huge "dollop of Daisy" on top. This dish was nothing to ride home about - black beans inside one corn tortilla. I asked for a back up tortilla just because there was so much bean on the plate - I had to do something with it. Of course hubby ate the Eggs Benedict as fast as he could cut it and get into his mouth. He swears that it is one of the best Eggs Benedict's he has had.

Ranking #2: 2 Carrots

Ferre - Fort Worth

I want to say that overall, I find Ferre to be a beautiful restaurant, both architectually and with their food presentation. This restaurant is perfectly positioned across from the Bass Performance Hall and with mid-range prices. Foodie husband and I have both eaten at the Ferre previous to this visit, but I must say I will definitely think twice about eating there again - could have been on the ether of a fantastic performance at Bass the first time.

Yesterday (Saturday) close friends of ours had made reservations for 10 people (including their parents who flew in from D.C. for the weekend) at 9:00 pm. Over 60% of the party was present at 9, but it wasn't until 9:30 that they told us because we had one extra person attending (yes 11 people) we would have to wait for another section to clear. So, instead of adding one chair to our 10 chair table, we had to wait for a party of 20 to clear in another area that had been there since 6.

So, sometime close to 10 pm we were finally seated. Now 75% of our group was present (others were still in-route from work). Our waitress took our cocktail order and the hosting couple ordered apps for the table. Sometime around 10:30 - 10:45 another waitress was flagged down to take our main course order. The table orders ranged from the rack of lamb, scallops, catch of the day, to my usual Eggplant Parmesan.

After going through exorbitant amounts of bread, cheese crisps (and others had the appetizers), our main courses finally arrived. I was extremely disappointed. Foodie's husband was too intoxicated to comment accurately on the state of his dish, but mine looked and tasted like something I could make at home - not that I am a horrible cook, but you know you go out to eat at a nice restaurant and expect them to use some creativity. The eggplant was cut lengthwise, breaded and topped with red sauce - not impressed. The pasta that was on the side, should have been a main dish though. The light dressing was flavorful and the pasta was cooked perfectly. Next time that is what I am going to ask for - a main dish of the side pasta.

Of course everyone ordered desserts - I think one of everything. Our dessert of choice was Profiteroles - for those of you that don't know, this is a puff pastry stuffed with ice cream of choice and usually covered with a sauce. This dessert if prepared correctly can be decadent - this one was a flop. The puff pastry was extremely dry, the ice cream tasted like Blue Bell and topping was generic - melted chocolate with some crushed up toffee candy bar.

Ranking: 2 Carrots