Yesterday, I almost didn't have lunch at The Slanted Door.
I loved SD when it was in the Mission. Anytime we were shooting at Sandbox Studios, I always requested lunch there... the grapefruit & jicama salad was probably my single favorite thing on the menu.
When they moved to South Beach, I got lucky, because my new office was literally 2 blocks away. So again, I ate tons of Charles Phan's food - lunch, dinner, takeout. But it was clear that there was an elevated sense of superiority after a few months in that location, they were packing the bodies in, and the hostesses knew it. They let it get to their heads.
Fast forward a few months, and after letting the dust settle, JPW and I decided to give lunch a go. I called first, and after 8 minutes on hold, got a recording telling me that if I'd been "holding longer than 5 minutes, please hang up and call back at a MUCH later time." Huh? I called JPW and said, "Forget it. I don't want or need to go."
He called yesterday morning, saying he'd gotten a table for 12:30, and was I still interested? As long as I didn't have to deal with it... yeah, OK. But the experience was already tainted... and it was going to take a lot to convince me that I should spend my own time and money on the place again.
We arrived into this absolutely gorgeous entryway, pictured above. The rest of the space is equally beautiful, and the restaurant was packed - there was literally not one single open seat.
We started with two orders of spring rolls, plus an order of grapefruit & jicama salad. The rolls were basic and good, but I detected a note of overly fatty pork in them. The salad was ridiculously stingy with the grapefruit and pecans. Without exaggeration, there were 5 segments of the grapefruit, and there was maybe a teaspoon of tiny crumbles of pecan. Also, the jicama, instead of being crisp and bright, was almost tender and mealy. I was so disappointed in the quality of this, my formerly favorite dish.
JPW ordered the shaking beef on my recommendation. This dish, which SD does seem to do consistently well, was $18.50 even at lunch. Obviously, SD uses filet for their haute version of bo luc lac. Still, though, one would expect a bit more on the plate for that price.
I had the caramelized shrimp, another of my favorite dishes here. Again, this quintessential Slanted Door dish missed the mark. While the flavors were all there, the shrimp were overcooked. Not to the point of being unpalatable, mind you, but more than they should have been for a restaurant of SD's caliber.
JPW loved his dark chocolate cake with mint gelato, while I really enjoyed my trio of gelatos, including crème fraîche, burnt sugar and peanut butter. We also ordered a pot of French Press, but unfortunately, the grind was too fine, so there was an awful amount of grit in the coffee, and it was virtually undrinkable - this coming from a gal who lives for turkish coffee.
I'm truly sad to say that it's going to be a long time before I go back to Slanted Door. Frankly, I wish I had trusted my gut, and not ruined my memories of this place and my favorite dishes with such a disappointing meal.
