There we were, deep in the heart of Prospect Park, Brooklyn — (at this small, “Michelin-rated,” 50-seat restaurant, where you usually have to wait over over a month for a table) — thinking we were in for a stellar dining experience.
Alas, that wasn’t the case.
We found quite a few of the dishes to be “underwhelming,” and that included Olmsted’s “Dry-Rubbed Scallops — grilled corn, chanterelles, blueberries” ($24).
Not quite sure what the chef was hoping to accomplish here, but the scallops were raw. And the accompanying blueberry “reduction” or “sauce” just didn’t work in our humble opinion. (Way too sweet for a seafood dish ....)
While scallops should never taste chewy or tough, in our view, they shouldn’t be overly mushy, either. Yet, ours had a “sushi-esque” quality, which made everyone exceedingly uncomfortable. (Would have been nice if someone had mentioned something, or if our server had given us some advance warning.)
While packed with protein, and a good source of magnesium and potassium, that wasn’t enough to raise these undercooked mollusks above an “F.” (This, by far, was the weakest dish of our visit.)
I don’t know about you, but I also don’t enjoy when people start talking about food-borne illnesses at the table. One colleague wouldn’t stop yakking about the possible transmission of “Vibrio parahaemolyticus and vulnificus” — bacterias which can cause gastrointestinal or skin infections (among other things).
I’d scalp the scallops, if you know what I mean .... .
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