Circa redux

Last time (first time) I went to Circa I loved it. Then I went back. My second visit was a let-down. All the food -- ALL of it -- was brought out within a 5 minute span. That means close to 10 "small" plates hit our table almost instantaneously. That is bad, bad service, folks. What we loved? The swanky decor, the ribs, the ceviche, the lamb lollichops and the remakes of classic desserts like ho-ho's and Oreo cookies. What we didn't? The scallops, the lobster mac-n-cheese -- my former love has turned into a nearly lobster-free zone and was served only lukewarm -- and the swarms of singles that descended on us after 9 p.m. Circa is now a restaurant I liked...circa 2006.

Comments

[NS]

I am about to post a very similar assessment of Circa, based on a meal that I had there last month. The lobster mac-n-cheese was what drew me in to the restaurant (especially after reading your earlier review!), but I was utterly disappointed. Almost all of the other dishes missed the mark as well. Too bad.

[Catherine]

I don't know what happened; everyone I know that had the mac-n-cheese within a month or so of opening was ga-ga for it. What they heck did have they done to it?

[NS]

You know, I can't help but wonder whether Hopfinger is trying to heed the words of Michael Bauer -- who, in one of his most baffling and inexplicable moves to date, actually complained that adding lobster to white truffle mac-n-cheese was "too much." Maybe that's why the lobster that remains in the current version of the dish can only be detected through the use of an electron microscope.

[Catherine]

Oh, that made me laugh.

You might be right; I recall MB dogging the mac-n-cheese. Well, whatever he did, it was a mistake. The dish was beautiful the way it was.