It's a mixed bag for me. When I first visited abou...

It's a mixed bag for me. When I first visited about four years ago, I was blown away by the ambiance, atmosphere and wine. The menu was rather limited but the duck confit tacos made up for that with the uniqueness and quality. A little on the pricey side for what was served but, not bad. I could deal with it. I returned twice more within a year of the first visit.

The avenue being what it is, (a parking nightmare) I didn't visit again for over a year and a half. On that visit the duck confit was gone from the menu, but the braised chicken leg was as good as you'll find anywhere. My date (a real foodie) raved about it and I scored major brownie points for that. Our waitress that night was outstanding and again, aside from the slightly pricey menu items, it was a quite pleasant evening. (For the sake of clarification, the prices aren't bad, but I believe it was overpriced for the portions served.)

I returned last night (Aug 6th) and was wholly disappointed with the service. My disappointment stems primarily from the fact that my previous experiences were so good, and the service on this night was so incredibly bad. Our waitress was less than exuberant and seemed like she was riding a serious buzz. All questions about the menu were answered as if we were inattentive third-graders and annoying her. She rarely looked at our faces as she answered our questions, with her glazed-over eyes facing the ceiling as if she were trying to remember the lines from her script. The menu had changed again and four of the meat entrees included pork. So if you're Jewish or Muslim, you'll probably want to stick to the vegetarian and seafood items on the menu. I finally used a $35 Groupon deal which allowed for the choice of two plates plus a bottle of house wine. My date had the Pizza Marguerita (about $12) while I opted for the Snail French Bread pizza (about $15) with a bottle of white wine. We both enjoyed our entrees and the total tab was just under $70. Think about that for a minute. One large slice of pizza, one French bread pizza and a bottle of wine for $70. After accounting for the Groupon deal my tab was $3 plus a $14 (20%) gratuity. (The service in no way deserved a 20% gratuity, but since my people have a well-earned rep for under-tipping, I always feel compelled to overcompensate with the gratuity.) Think about how you might feel about that if you were not using a Groupon deal.

I can appreciate the fact that the kitchen tries to mix it up and keep things fresh and new. But if you have a bona-fide crowd pleaser, you should never permanently abandon it. You don't have to keep the tacos and the braised chicken on the menu year-round, but at a minimum, they should be in the regular rotation.

The hostess was pleasant, courteous and accommodating. None of those terms applied to our server/waitress. We both felt that she was absolutely sub-par.

So the overall rating is a mixed bag. The food was good, but a little pricey for the course. The hostess was nice, but the waitress was substantially less so. Depends on what's important to you.