dr.com Farewell Dinners at Dino, 7p Wed 12/4 (Full) and Mon 12/9

[DanielK]

Here's where I believe we stand. If your name is in italic, you still need to confirm.

DEC 4

DanielK 2

ScottJohnston 2

bettyjoan 2

lackadaisi 3

TheMatt 1

Halloween 1

ol_ironstomach 2

porcupine 2

zoramargolis 1

Barbara 2

hm212 1

LydiaR 1

gavm5 1

Heather 2

Laniloa 1

Ilaine 1

turbogrrl 2

KenL 2

Gary Tanigawa 1

30

Dec 9

ktmoomau 2

Choirgirl21 1

Toogs 1

92brennan 1

darkstar965 2

Rovers2000 2

Escoffier 2

Ilaine 3

Fuzzy510 1

15

[fuzzy510]

I'm sorry, I'm a bit dense - are there still seats on the 9th?  If so, may I go ahead and claim one?

[deangold]

I'm sorry, I'm a bit dense - are there still seats on the 9th?  If so, may I go ahead and claim one?

yes, yes.  Call with credit card number after 2 today or after 9 tomorrow

[turbogrrl]

aieee! will call later today with cc info for the 4th, don't want to hit y'all at brunch. or dean, you could probably dig it up from my wedding reservation ;-)

[Ilaine]

Daniel, just in case my posts on the Dino thread got missed, I would like to make a reservation for the 4th.  Dean already has my credit care information when I reserved for the 9th.

I am plus one on the 9th but can come solo on the 4th.

Thank you for riding herd.

[DanielK]

Ilaine, I thought you were +2 on the 9th, not +1.

There is a single seat on the 4th that you can have.

[deangold]

aieee! will call later today with cc info for the 4th, don't want to hit y'all at brunch. or dean, you could probably dig it up from my wedding reservation ;-)

If I still had your credit card info, I'd be on vacation in Italy!

[turbogrrl]

If I still had your credit card info, I'd be on vacation in Italy!

i called it in with the really low limit credit card. ;-)

[KenL]

Just called in!

[deangold]

Both TurboGrrl and KenL are off the naughty list.  But I guess we would need to talk her her spouse to see if TurboGrrl is really naughty, nice, or a combination of both!  Paging Gary T for the last spot!  

[Gary Tanigawa]

Paging Gary T for the last spot!  

I gave the nice woman on the phone my CC number I hope she's not on her way to Hawaii right now

[deangold]

I gave the nice woman on the phone my CC number I hope she's not on her way to Hawaii right now

Knowing her, more like London.  Anyone want to work a door shift or two this week?

[DonRocks]

So we have 47 paid in full?

Remarkable. Yet another superb job by Dr. K.

This community continues to amaze and impress me.

[DanielK]

Full on the 4th, but plenty of spots still available on the 9th.

[deangold]

Soup and Fuzzy are not confirmed as yet.

Ilaine 1 for the 4th and 3 for the 9th is what i have.  

[Soup]

I am unfortunately out.  Sorry.

Soup

[ktmoomau]

This is who I currently have for the 9th.  If you would like to sign up we still have plenty of room!!  If I am missing anyone please let me know.

Dec 9

ktmoomau 2

Choirgirl21 1

Toogs 1

92brennan 1

darkstar965 2

Rovers2000 2

Escoffier 2

Ilaine 3

Fuzzy510 1

15

[Ilaine]

Had an extremely pleasant meal at Dino tonight.  Highlights of the meal (for me) were the olives, the kohlrabi (and the other vegetables, which included winter squash and red onions) (I do like my vegetables), the meatball, the risotto, the cheese, and the Nessun Dorma Super Tuscan wine.

The people sitting around me seemed most pleased by the mahi mahi, which was very nice, and the tiramisu.

As always, the best part of the meal was the company.

Thank you again, DanielK, for herding cats, and Dean for a great evening with friends.

Also, we loved our server.

[fuzzy510]

Soup and Fuzzy are not confirmed as yet.

Ilaine 1 for the 4th and 3 for the 9th is what i have.  

Apologies, life got in the way there for a bit.  I'll call in ASAP to confirm.

[lackadaisi]

I had a really great time. It was wonderful to see everyone.

As for the food, there were hits and there were misses. I think the meal could have been absolutely wonderful if it had been rearranged and edited just a bit. This is the meal I would have loved:

Olives on the table when we arrived.
A salad of some sort
Two or three of the first meatballs served (which were awesome) over the pasta that was served later with the not as good tiny meatballs
Cheese
Tiramisu

I could have skipped everything else. But then again, I have always thought Dino was best for olives, cheese, wine and hearty tomato based pasta.

Our server was wonderful, but more effort should have been made on a restaurant wide level to get us the first round of drinks a bit faster. They took way too long, but once they were out, it was a rollicking time.

[lackadaisi]

I was just informed that my post was a bit confusing, as that wasn't the meal that we were served. So maybe I should comment more on what was actually served. Everything was family style, which would have been okay, but the portions were not quite big enough when divided by all at the table. We started with meatballs, olives, pickles and a plate of red onions, kohlrabi and squash. These meatballs were the star of the show. I so wish there had been more than one per person. I probably wouldn't serve them with pickles next time; pasta would be a better match. But after that we did have a pasta dish with meatballs, but these were small and nowhere near as good as the ones for which we all still longed. It was served with a risotto that was interesting but that made me crave a mushroom, earthy dish, which this was not. The next course really should have been skipped, as all it added were bad feelings. The initial shock at the low quantity of food served in these dishes wore off quickly when we tasted them - they were both misfires, especially the pork chops. But the cheese that followed was excellent, and the tiramisu was fine. Overall, the red sauced pastas and clean Italian ingredients again stole the show.

[Choirgirl21]

I was just informed that my post was a bit confusing, as that wasn't the meal that we were served. So maybe I should comment more on what was actually served.

You still haven't done that.

 It was served with a risotto that was interesting but that made me crave a mushroom, earthy dish, which this was not. The next course really should have been skipped, as all it added were bad feelings. The initial shock at the low quantity of food served in these dishes wore off quickly when we taste them - they were both misfires, especially the pork chops. But the cheese that followed was excellent, and the tiramisu was fine. Overall, the red sauced pastas and clean Italian ingredients again stole the show.

I still have no idea what was served after the risotto, other than that a pork chop was worked in somehow. Nor do I know what was actually in the risotto since it wasn't the mushroom you desired, or what specifically you disliked about any of it. I don't mean to pick on you because I know it can be tough to write a negative review in a thread like this, but while it is clear you really disliked the meal, there is so little specificity about the dishes and what you thought were wrong with them, other than that there wasn't enough food.

[lackadaisi]

I wasnt really trying to provide a review of it, but a general idea and some suggestions if this is happening again, but you make a good point, so i will elaborate a bit.

I think opinions differ on the risotto, and I only got a couple bites, so I don't want to comment too much. I think there was a squash in it, but it was a brighter flavor. I may have actually enjoyed it if I had had more.

The pork chop and mahi mahi were not good. Everything about the pork chop was wrong, and I don't really know how this happened. There were ten of us at our table, and one tray of pork chops was served. They were cut into I believe 7 (as at least three people - my daughter and the two people directly to my right - did not get any on the first round) 2 inch by 2 inch portions of dry, overcooked, unbrined, flavorless chops. When we first noticed the portions, we asked for more. By the time the one additional 2X2 piece was served, however, nobody wanted it as everyone had decided that one bite was sufficient. I believe the pork was served with a stemmy green. The mahi mahi was dry and overcooked. I think there was a tomato sauce, which some people liked, but I did not get any. This doesn't mean that anyone was being greedy, it was very difficult to divide these portions between ten people family style.

Again, I'm not saying that everything was bad. But this course was not good.

[Barbara]

Having sat across from lackadaisi, I mostly concur with her comments. The problem with the risotto is that the winter squash in it was woefully undercooked. While summer squash can be eaten raw--or barely cooked--I just don't appreciate crunchy pieces of winter squash. Much of its flavor was lost in that way. The rice itself was accurately cooked and seasoned.

There just isn't any excuse for the overcooked pork chop or the mahi-mahi, although the quality of the ingredients was quite fine. Another tomato sauce with the fish? Why? That was the third dish with a tomato sauce.  A simple lemon sauce would have worked better and have been more appreciated.

I remind myself, however, that this was a $40 dinner and not one of those expensive "extravaganzas" I have suffered through in the past. Dame Edna didn't cry when he paid the bill.

Thanks to DanielK for the organizing and cat-herding. It was great to see so many familiar faces again, even though there wasn't much chance to talk with the others at different tables.  That will surely be corrected at the next picnic.

[zoramargolis]

I'm guessing that everyone's great affection for Dean and Kay is leading to the few comments and general pulling of punches here. I find myself rather mystified that Dean would invite 30 DR.com friends for dinner who are all either excellent cooks, discerning diners or both, without paying more attention to what was going on in and coming out of his kitchen. Ice cold sweet potatoes and kohlrabi. Way undercooked hunks of butternut squash in the risotto. Overcooked fish and dry pork. (The comments above suggest an old joke: So, how was the food at that new place? Oy, the food was terrible, and such small portions!) The one positive for me was dessert, which was delicious. I hope that the folks in the second round meal, being fewer in number, will feel less sardined in that small space, and won't need to be taking little meatballs from their plates and passing them to the folks at the other end of the table, who didn't get any when the platter got to them.

[cucas87]

Not much to add. Great to see everyone. The seating was cramped (and I am 4'11") and the restaurant was not overly full, so while it was nice we all were in the same general area, it would have been nicer to have more space. Dean had said at the beginning of the evening that the menu was really a page from "Dino's greatest hits," but something happened in the execution and the meal did not reflect the many good experiences I have had or the robust, flavorful dishes I love (example: the mushrooms and gorgonzola from a few years ago that had such oomph). There were some very tasty bites, but a number of misses, and really too many overall. I hope that the next few weeks are easier than Dean and Kay expect, and I look forward to learning more about the new place. As always, the highlight of the evening was spending time with friends I do not see often enough.

[deangold]

Wow, we really dropped the ball.  Sorry.  I'd like to invite all who came last night to one of our friends and family nights in the new location to see if we can do better.  Food on us, you pay for drinks.  I'll PM you all when we have them scheduled.  

[Ilaine]

Let me preface this by saying that the first time I ate at Dino was a Don Rockwell get-together, which cost way more than $40, and was way more enjoyable.  I think it was a mistake limiting the cost to $40, but probably that would have meant far fewer guests.

I concur that we felt jammed in.  At my first Don Rockwell dinner, there were far fewer guests and far more room at the table.  Once the drinks started flowing, we relaxed into the space and felt more comfortable.  I concur that it took too long for the drinks to start flowing.  I, too, wish that the olives had appeared sooner.

I, too, loved the big meatball, which was light and fluffy, and reminded me of a lion's head meatball, and did not love the small meatballs.  I almost never order pork in restaurants because it is always too dry for me, unless it's something like a braised pork shoulder, or roast pork.  I prefer mahi mahi, a delicate fish, prepared simply with butter or olive oil and garlic and herbs, but the red sauced mahi reminded me of similar dishes from Louisiana and i did not think it was dry for mahi mahi.

I would have preferred that the winter squash in the risotto was cooked longer.  I would have preferred risotto with mushrooms but it was not my choice and the risotto was very good.  I loved the vegetables and the cheese and the olives and the wine, as I always have.

Let me reiterate that I enjoyed myself very much, and that we loved our server.

I think the grated parmesan should be served with a little serving spoon.

[DonRocks]

My read on all this is that many people here have loved Dino in the past, and had high expectations coming in for "one last hurrah." My guess on all this is that Dino, the restaurant, is running on lean fumes, and Dean tried his best to host a dinner at the most difficult of times. Engh, it's understandable.

It's hard to *want* to do something when circumstances dictate that you just can't - trust me, I know. Hell, it happened to me *tonight*.

That said, given all the publicity this website and its members have given Dino over the years, this is extremely disappointing. And that's putting it somewhat mildly. If I was down to my last dollar, and our members wanted to have a farewell party? I'd take the dollar, give it to them, and then take out a loan, and give that to them also.

[Ilaine]

Overall, I had a lovely experience.  I have reservations for three for the second Don Rockwell farewell dinner at Dino, and anticipate another lovely experience, as well.

[turbogrrl]

I think that the dynamics of large groups are always going to be difficult, especially when it's a mix of people who may or may not know each other well. Either the focus is going to be on the act of being together, or the focus is going to be on the food, in which case there needs to be fewer people. We're experienced. We know this. I assumed, due to the size of the group, that the focus was on the group; if we had wanted the focus to truly be on the food then we should have made the dinner size much smaller.

I know that some people arrived almost 40 minutes early"” I arrived about 5 minutes before 7, and was one of the last to arrive; they began taking drink orders pretty much promptly at 7. I'm not sure how quickly a rational person can expect 30+ cocktails and wine servings to arrive, when there is one bartender. I think in general that if someone has arrived 20+ minutes early for a reservation, the polite thing to do if they want a drink is to order it at the bar, and not hold that 20 minutes against the restaurant for not getting drinks out "quickly".

I had a lovely time. Service was great. The food was good, for me, as it was a departure from anything I might usually order. I got to try some different dishes, talk to good people, drink some tasty drinks, and go home at the end of the night well-satisfied.

[ktmoomau]

Well I am looking forward to seeing everyone who is going tonight.  We do have a different menu than the prior meal.  There are still spots available, so if you would like to come, please respond here or PM me.  Lots of space.  Looking forward to some comforting food on a dreary winter night.  

[Choirgirl21]

Is dinner definitely still on? Hoping maybe someone has confirmed with Dean, or Dean will chime in? I am assuming by then weather shouldn't be an issue, but you never know with all of the power outages in the region.

[ktmoomau]

I talked with Dean, we are still on, but everyone please do travel safe.

[Ilaine]

OMFG!  It was good!  I am glad I wore pants with an elastic waistband, because I needed it.

A much smaller group, a more intimate setting, only twelve people were perfect for that room.  We were seated in a square, so we could all talk to each other.  Much good conversation.  I enjoyed seeing old friends, and meeting new ones.

The food, excellent. More than enough for everybody. Everything I liked, but the standouts for me were the two pates, one pork with mushroom, one wild boar with pistachio, the pork rillettes (gluten free crackers on the table), the brisket, the mashed parsnips, and the braised shallots.  Oh, and the cheese.  And the tiramisu; I scraped the creamy part away from the cake part, but then they brought us gluten free people our own gluten free dessert, a molten flourless chocolate cake with a base of something like a ginger snap, with whipped cream, so I actually had two desserts.  Oink.

Oh, and the risotto, with butternut squash, perfectly cooked.

My son particularly enjoyed the papardelle with wild boar.

My husband particularly enjoyed the cioppino, the pates, and the brisket with mashed parsnip.  He also scarfed up all cheese that was not spoken for.

The wine, too.  We had a Brunello de Montalcino, my husband forgets the vineyard.  It was a $180 bottle of wine knocked down to $90, and very, very nice.  We all finished with a house made apple rosemary cello, and then Escoffier persuaded some of us to try cedro, and it was as good as he said.  My husband finished with a 20 year old port, which he drank with relish, and savored with appreciation.

Dean was able to spend a lot of time with us, talking about the menu, and also about his plans for his new place.  He enlightened us with an explanation of the provenance of the wild boar, which starts out as feral pigs in Texas.  By eating them, we help cull these voracious, destructive animals, and they taste good, too.  Win-win.

The lovely Kay put in a special appearance.

We loved our server.

We had a wonderful time.  Thank you, Dean and Kay, for hosting us, thank you DanielK for herding cats, and thank you ktmoomau for suggesting the menu.  A good time was had by all.

Hope to see you all again soon.

[Rovers2000]

Ilaine covered much of the highlights from last night, but I wanted to chime in as well.

Last night was a great example of what I love(d) about Dino in it's current form.  Well done food and great Italian wine in a relaxed environment with gracious hosts and good company.

Katelin and Dean did a great job with selecting the menu that epitomized some of Dino's "greatest hits" and the food delivered on all fronts in both quality, taste, and quantity.  Dean also spent quite a bit of time with us and I really enjoyed hearing his thoughts on opportunities for the new place - which, while I will undoubtedly grumble that its no longer walking distance from my home, I look forward to trying and continuing to support.

I still hold firm that the 50% off bottles over $150 is a steal and it allowed me to indulge in two nice bottles of Brunello...also on the booze front, I am going to figure out how to steal one of the jars of Dean's house infused apple cello before they leave CP.

[Toogs]

Agreed with the above, great meal.  Didn't know about the half off bottles over 150, we just thought you were all ballers!  Oh well.

[Joe H]

Interesting thread.  Almost sounds like two different restaurants hosted the two dinners.  

[ktmoomau]

A big thank you to Dean and Kay who really made our night special.  Also a thank you to all the wonderful people who attended and made the conversation wonderful.  I learned so much!  We had great drink, service and food.  I loved that spicy cioppino, and the tapenade which had great depth of flavor, and the pates both were delicious and the rillette and the cello and... It was just a nice evening, but meals are so much better with good company and that really made it.  And thank you to Dean who makes eating out gluten free very easy to do.

Noted- I remember all your various offers to go out to eat with Hubby and I, go wine tasting, etc.  We will be taking you up on those, so I hope you didn't forget after that cedro!

[Joe H]

Wow, we really dropped the ball.  Sorry.  I'd like to invite all who came last night to one of our friends and family nights in the new location to see if we can do better.  Food on us, you pay for drinks.  I'll PM you all when we have them schedule I just wanted to note that it was encouraging that the second dinner was such a positive experience.  

I just wanted to note also that it was encouraging to read the positive reports of the second dinner.

[Choirgirl21]

Yeah, as others have said, that really was a fantastic meal. Honestly I think it was my favorite meal I've had at Dino. I particularly loved the pates and the mozzarella from the first courses, the risotto was really quite beautiful, and I enjoyed everything in our "main" courses. I think the crispy potatoes and to a lesser extent the very well done greens got overlooked because everyone was getting so full. I thought the brisket was quite good too, I found it particularly tender. All of the desserts were excellent as well and I appreciated that we were brought gluten free desserts although at that point I certainly didn't need any extra food (especially since I was making an exception and digging into a slice of tiramisu )! My only regret is that I didn't know about the half price bottles until I read Ilaine's and Rovers2000's reviews, ah well.

It was also great to put more faces to names. I really enjoyed the company at this meal and it worked out nicely that we just fit in that room together. And I am always happy to learn more about the food industry from Dean and appreciate how much time he spent with us.

[Barbara]

Interesting thread.  Almost sounds like two different restaurants hosted the two dinners.  

It appears that you hit the nail on the head.

[Joe H]

It appears that you hit the nail on the head.

To be honest I can't forget the people who were squeezed into the first dinner and the negative reports several posted.  I felt that they deserved better given the support the restaurant has received on here over time.  I must also note that Dean Gold, whom I have never met, seemed an enthusiast just like us.  I would have thought the first dinner would have been an important event for him, an opporunity to thank so many members for their support over the past several years.  Certainly, he is going to use the board to help promote his new restaurant and will want its support.  It would have seemed that both dinners should have been over the top successes, not a dinner and an apology for "dropping the ball" at the first.  I found it amazing that there were a number of dishes, described by different people as "not good,"  Comments included:  "dry, overcooked, unbrined flavorless chops," "meatballs were the star of the show but I wished there had been more than one meatball per person," "jammed in," "seating was cramped" "meal did not reflect the many good experiences i have had,"" without paying more attention to what was going on in and coming out of his kitchen. Ice cold sweet potatoes and kohlrabi. Way undercooked hunks of butternut squash in the risotto. Overcooked fish and dry pork."

I believe that before passionately promoting the new Dino's there is still a bit of a jury out based on the experiences above.   Sometimes it takes an evening like the first Dino dinner for the restaurant to learn how badly they appreciate, how badley they need the group of diners for their own success.  The result is that once the lesson is learned the dinners truly benefit on future visits.  Hopefully this is one of those times for all of us who have supported Dino's and look forward to the opening of his new restaurant.

.

[Choirgirl21]

I don't see how the jury is out. Based on the comments on this board over quite some time, the first meal was an anomoly and Dean, clearly disappointed that so many people were unhappy, has already apologized and offered a free meal to everyone who felt the meal wasn't what they expected once they're up and running at the new location.

In my opinion, at this point continued comments, especially from someone who wasn't even at the dinner are beating a dead horse.

[Joe H]

That's fine.  I do wish Dean the best and look forward to future dinners he will host for Don Rockwellians at his new restaurant.

[lackadaisi]

I don't see how the jury is out. Based on the comments on this board over quite some time, the first meal was an anomoly and Dean, clearly disappointed that so many people were unhappy, has already apologized and offered a free meal to everyone who felt the meal wasn't what they expected once they're up and running at the new location.

In my opinion, at this point continued comments, especially from someone who wasn't even at the dinner are beating a dead horse.

This post has been bothering me quite a bit, and it has nothing to do with Dino. I didn't want to comment at first because I know my own opinion of Dino is set and my recent meal did not change that. But I think this idea that one person can speak for everyone and state something as broadly as that the jury is not out and the meal was an anomaly is exactly what people talk about when they say that there are sacred cows. People are allowed to have, and do have, different opinions of even the restaurants that most of us love.

[Escoffier]

Taking the statement made in context:  "I believe that before passionately promoting the new Dino's there is still a bit of a jury out based on the experiences above."

I really believe that one not so great experience (which Dean admitted to, apologized profusely for, and offered the chance to make it right to those who were discomfited) ) at an existing restaurant hardly qualifies as a reflection on how the new, upcoming restaurant experience will be.  There will be a format and other changes according to Dean.  Hard to judge what's coming based on previous experiences, even Sietsema goes to a restaurant a couple of times before he opines.

[Rovers2000]

This post has been bothering me quite a bit, and it has nothing to do with Dino. I didn't want to comment at first because I know my own opinion of Dino is set and my recent meal did not change that. But I think this idea that one person can speak for everyone and state something as broadly as that the jury is not out and the meal was an anomaly is exactly what people talk about when they say that there are sacred cows. People are allowed to have, and do have, different opinions of even the restaurants that most of us love.

This strikes me as a bit over the top - I didn't take the post to be "protecting" a sacred cow (I'd argue that Dino wouldn't fall within that category anyway, as I believe for almost as long as I've been a member of the board the subtext under the restaurant in the guide said something about "Ordinary cooking") but simply saying that "the jury being out" on a closing restaurant based on a poor meal was/is a reach.

I wholeheartedly agree with you that folks are allowed to have their own (at times wildly differing) opinions which is what makes much of the discourse on this board so rich - but I do think Jen's post was targeted more along the lines of how do you judge a place that is in its twilight on the verge of transition with a qualifier such as "the jury is still out" vs. shutting Joe's opinion down.

[Toogs]

I'm not even sure what is being argued in the last few posts.  What jury is in or out?  The first dinner sucked.  Dean apologized.  That case should be closed unless someone wants to present the argument that this happens often at Dino.  I don't think there is a sacred cow situation at all.

[DonRocks]

[it's okay to disagree, but please be friends with one another. I'm not speaking to anyone in particular; just the overall tone of the conversation.]