I'm starting with the positive because the staff alone deserve 4-5 stars. We arrived 10 mins late for a 8:30 reservation (the kitchen closes at 9) so the thought crossed my mind that it may affect service but the lovely hostess and server made us feel welcome.
The space is kinda cool too except the artwork is disturbing. While I'm not bothered by looking at giant paintings of animals while I eat them, some people are. In our case it was the cow staring down my husband as he ate his NY Strip-it turned him off his meal. Additionally, the indoor chairs were really rigid and uncomfortable. My husband is a 6'3" guy and he had to stand up at times due to the hard wooden chair jutting into his back.
To note, the outdoor space looks awesome. Unfortunately, we were told we couldn't sit there, I presume because they were closing....denied. No biggie, I've waited tables, I get it -you want to shut things down-but as there was already one table of guests still eating just outside the door next to us, I didn't really understand that logic. Why couldn't we sit at the vacant table outside with comfortable chairs especially since staff was already walking in and out of the space? Maybe there's some other reason.
The Food: did I go to the right restaurant?
I was shocked at the disparity between what I read here on yelp and experienced at Cure. The only thing not needing seasoning was the tapenade cream cheese and crackers which came standard before my soup. This tasty spread reminded me of when Philadelphia cream cheese came out with flavors in 1992...I loved that with ritz crackers in grade school....same vibe...but I digress.
We were starving after driving up the coast of Maine and exploring all day. Encouraged by our cream cheese and crackers, we were looking forward to what we thought going to be a tasty meal. We both ordered the French onion soup So disappointed. The soup-It was oily and bland with minimal cheese and lukewarm. There was no salt on the table so I had to muddle through until I requested some.
I ordered the BBQ short ribs he ordered the steak. His was better than mine and the steak was decent-not blow your socks off or anything-solid flavor. My short rib left me feeling the same way the soup did. Picture me adding salt, disliking the fattiness of the meat but eating anyway.
My meal came with a side of sweet potato au gratin. This sounded like a hearty satisfying side until you taste it. For me....evoking day three reheated leftovers from Thanksgiving but not as good. Mine would have had more flavor.
Even my cocktail left me feeling unsatisfied. On the surface a sparking version of a greyhound sounds amazing. Pink fizzy grapefruit vodka? Hell yes please. No. It's a watered down greyhound in a pint glass. I guess if you can't season you may also have issues also carbonating stuff? I'm confused, but it fits completely with the rest of the experience.
No word on dessert-the chairs were so uncomfortable we had to go. And no, my significant other was not too big for the chair. It was just a crappy chair.
I had high hopes. The last night of our trip, the Cure had all the makings of a good meal-great ratings, nice menu, good press, and then face planted on the pavement. The only reason we finished our meal was because we were exhausted starving travelers craving comfort food. This one was a huge let down. It all sounded and looked good but something was just.....off like the Moo-na Lisa giving my husband the eye during dinner. read more