Last minute changes and moved to The Kitchen for dinner in Jackson. Interior decor is unique with a barrel rolled second ceiling . The bar seating was available and allowed us to watch the kitchen staff hustling.
Once seated, we waited for Beste to take our order, about 10 minutes. She was MIA most of the evening. Our evening started with the braised beef bao bun with carrot, kimchi, sesame seeds, kimchi aioli, and pickled onions. The flavor was good but it was grossly over-sauced and extremely messy. The bao bun was delivered broken in half. The lemongrass flavored pork dumplings were accompanied with onions, radishes and fermented black bean chili crisp. The dumplings were boiled and had no crispness from being pan seared which left a doughy taste. Our favorite was the Caeser salad with gem lettuce, tahini Caesar, aged parm and nori dusted rice crisp. A truly crisp bite with little taste crunches from the nori and tasty tahini Caesar. Homerun! Our final dish was the shrimp toast with kimchi aioli, pickled jalapeno, toasted sesame seeds on a milk bread slice. There was no shrimp taste and was told it was a "thin" shrimp mousse spread covered by other ingredients. I would bet there is less than a teaspoon of mousse on 4 pieces of toast.
I have several issues with tonight's dining experience. A waitress, Beste was MIA, left empty plates piled up with limited room at the bar, did not change out plates coated with kimchi sauce between services, and a short attitude when we asked about "where is the shrimp".
I hope the restaurant can correct these issues or find help that truly cares. Hospitality means pay attention and "Anticipate" the patrons need prior to them realizing it. This also falls on management who needs to guide and set a culture that employees can emulate. SHOW THEM THE LIGHT! read more