Matthew B.
Yelp
Here's the rundown of my night at Bistro 44:
* The hostess sat my wife and I at a table. Couldn't get to where my wife was to pull out her chair because the hostess insisted on blocking my path to her as she cleared the extra place setting.
* The restaurant is incredibly loud. Poor acoustics. There was a large table of very drunk patrons in the middle of the room. They were literally yelling to talk to each other. When the waiter came to take our order, he apologized for them because he had trouble hearing us and we could barely hear him.
* My wife asked the hostess if we could move to the alcove at the front of the restaurant, but she claimed all the tables were put together for a large party of eight.
* Stale bread served. From my vantage point, I could see into the hall leading to the kitchen. Bread lined the counter already cut and placed in baskets, which had clearly been out for hours. No wonder it was stale.
* Ordered Thai Calamari. It tasted as though it was one of those frozen industrial restaurant supply house bulk orders that they fried up and threw some mildly spiced canned fruit sauce on top. I had a few bites and stopped eating it. At this point, I was trying to keep my wife's spirits up and was making excuses for the establishment.
* I attempted to wash away the taste of the calamari with my chardonnay, but it was literally the worst chardonnay I've ever tasted. It only added to the horrible taste lingering on my taste buds.
* My wife's risotto was a soggy mess with liquid filling about 1/4 of the bowl.
* My seared tuna arrived and was cold throughout. It literally tasted as if it had been in a refrigerator and they had just taken it out, coated it with warm seasoned sesame seeds, and served it. At this point, I could no longer make any more excuses.
* I went to the manager. I felt bad and told him so. I didn't want to be "that customer." I explained the situation to him, he understood, and agreed to remove the appetizer and my entree. As we spoke, I noticed a large drunk man standing nearby, glaring. I saw him earlier at the long table in the middle of the room as he sucked each of his fingers while eating some seafood. Yuck. Now he stood a few feet away glaring. I thought nothing of it, nor did I give much thought to him when he bumped into me as I passed him on my way back to the table.
* When my wife and I left, she noticed that there was a table of four in the alcove and the other table was empty. We walked to the street, but my wife was curious about the table and went back in to inquire of the lead hostess. A couple of minutes later, I heard a man screaming profanities at my wife. This was literally coming through the closed door and could be heard out on the sidewalk. I rushed back in and saw the large drunk man -- who closely resembled The Skipper from Gilligan's Island -- yelling just inches from my wife's face. Naturally, I stepped between them. Then "Drunk Skipper" began some ridiculous racist taunt about "You People," except we're as white and American as can be, so we had no clue what he was rambling on about. Management actually allowed this guy to behave this way, so I wonder if he isn't the owner. Why else would he get out of his seat twice to get involved with something he had no connection to? And why else would he be allowed to bellow such bigotry?
In short, Bistro 44 reminds me of one of those Kitchen Nightmare shows with Gordon Ramsay where the owners think they know how to run a restaurant, but are probably better off just cooking at home. This place is for people who don't know any better. If you like this place, you've likely never stepped foot into a restaurant with a real chef and owners who know something about fine cuisine. Avoid Bistro 44 at all costs.
