Had a chance to eat here tonight, and I probably will not be back for dinner. To say the least, I was disappointed.
First off: the good stuff:
The pulled pork was tasty. The dark, smoky flavor was a treat, but the dish had other problems.
The Orecchiette Pasta was very good.
The Bad stuff:
Service was atrocious. We were seated quickly, but our server was nowhere to be found for at least 10 minutes. When he finally arrived, he took our drink, appetizer, and entree order at once.
The beers came out quickly and were a highlight. I definitely recommend the Bells Two-Hearted Ale.
For our appetizer, we ordered the truffle fries -- wanting to compare them to the ones at Poste in DC. They never arrived. About 30 minutes after putting our our order in, our server arrived with plates in hand. Just before setting the plates down, he said "Didn't you order an appetizer?" "Yes, we ordered the truffle fries," was my reply. He sat the plates down and apologized but acted dumbfounded as to why they hadn't arrived at our table. I was thinking to myself - "Perhaps it was because you didn't bring them to us." At this point, we had two entrees in front of us. Thinking that he completely goofed in not bringing our appetizer, I hoped he would offer to bring it out, comped -- as a gesture of goodwill for the mistake. While we were hesitant to get the fries, we went ahead and asked for them because we wanted to at least taste them. Amazingly, we had an appetizer of truffle fries in 60 seconds. "Wow - it's amazing what you can do when you pay attention to customer service."
We sampled the truffle fries. Though they were decent, I wouldn't put them in the category of the truffle fries at Poste (Hotel Monaco). The ones at Poste are much better and come out on time.
Now for the dinner. The pasta dish was a delight. It had loads of flavor and was a great value for $10.00. The pulled pork sandwich was good, in that the pork was good. However, the coleslaw was bland and the bottom of the bun was a soggy mess. Either they dip the buns in water before putting the pulled pork on, or the pulled pork sits in a vat of juices and other liquid and soaked the bottom of my bun completely. The bun was useless. If the kitchen had spent five seconds to let some of the juices drain off before putting the pork on the bun, perhaps I would have had a complete sandwich.
Ultimately, we will not return for dinner. While most of the food was good, the service was awful. Our server took our order, dropped off the food, brought the appetizer out after the entrees, and then brought the check. He never once checked back with us to ask if things were OK. Perhaps it was because he was preoccupied with his friends who were dining at the restaurant tonight. We clearly heard him follow his friends to the front of the restaurant and ask about meeting up to head to a party after work. No big deal - unless it is to the detriment of the rest of your customers. Oh, and the final bill: included the $6.00 for Truffle Fries. Nice touch, Mr. Server.
Anyhow - I still give the place major points for its beer and wine menu. Though a future dinner at Tap&Vine is unlikely, we will probably return for drinks at the bar in the future. Who knows, we might even order an appetizer and eat it as the appetizer.
