The Night Kitchen

We heard the sound of rushing water as we walked towards the patio and outdoor dining section of the Night Kitchen. Choosing the inside space rather than eat with the mosquitoes, we were greeted by a hostess who checked the reservations list, smiled up at us, and said “you’re booked at the best table in the restaurant!”
An auspicious beginning. Our table was tucked in the far corner and surrounded on two sides by large windows and a thrilling view of the rushing water falls and lush green landscape around it. An interesting building. We sat next to the remnant of a mysterious pile of machine parts and theorized about what it might have been. But not for long - we quickly had elegant menus presented to us, and we began to read the intriguing sounding options.
We began with a shrimp sauté with sweet corn timbale, guacamole and cilantro oil. The dish was enormous. About six or eight shrimp were lavishly covered with a rich tomato based sauce which was just the right amount of sweet and spicy and rich and delicious. There was a gargantuan portion of sauce ladled on top, and I suffered from leaving it there because it tasted so darn good. I used one of the pita chips from the complimentary basket to scoop up about a quarter of the mouthwatering sauce, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but the chip was hard and unpleasant. To continue the over-the-top theme, there must have been a third of a cup of guacamole spooned around the dish. We forced ourselves to stop eating it because finishing it would have undermined the rest of the meal. Isn’t an appetizer supposed to be an appetite teaser? This dish wasn’t teasing, it was dead serious. Our second appetizer was the pulled braised duck in hazelnut crepes with wilted frisee and orange chutney. The combination of the slightly bitter citrus with the flavorful and soft crepes stuffed with rich duck inside was unusual and tasty. Although the description didn’t state it, there was a creamy sauce of some kind inside the crepe that added to the rich buttery flavor of the dish. Again, however, it was a large, rich and very heavy dish. Granted, we chose the two appetizers, but the size and composition of both was more appropriate for a winter meal than one in the middle of August.
Our salad choice was grilled hearts of romaine with a lemon, anchovy and buttermilk dressing. It was so overwhelmingly garlicky that as soon as we tasted it we immediately pushed it away. Salad should be crispy and fresh tasting with dressing that teases the taste buds while letting the greens shine through. We didn’t taste greens, lemon, anchovy or buttermilk - just garlic. This was a dish only Emeril could love.
Our first entree included the grilled pork chop with orange-chipotle barbecue sauce, tempura battered onion rings, buttermilk mashed potatoes and a mix of sautéed fresh vegetables. The pork chop was slightly dry, but the sauce was pleasant. Nothing extraordinary, just pleasant. The onion rings weren’t particularly appealing or crispy, and the mashed potatoes were okay, but kind of drowned by the chop, veggies, potato and onion rings. Are you getting the picture? This was a huge plate of food! The vegetables were made by the same person who grilled the salad because the garlic taste was so intense it was as though it was a dish of sautéed garlic - any vegetable flavor had been sought out, dominated and destroyed.
Our second entrée was one of the specials that night. Sautéed scallops over fresh spinach with a creamy sauce. Scallops done right are sweet, tender bites and sautéed they come into their own with buttery crispy bits on the browned surface. These were not browned…just cooked. The flavor was bland - although there was a strong backdrop of garlic (surprise!) which didn’t add anything to the overall experience. It may have been the first time I’ve ever left scallops uneaten on the plate. It wasn’t bad…just not very good.
All in all, the appetizers were the best part of the meal. And by the time we finished what we wanted from our entrees, both of us just wanted to leave and get the garlic taste out of our mouths. Uncharacteristically, we didn’t even stay for dessert.
The location was lovely, the table and view pretty, servers friendly, menu impressive and yet… I don’t see us going back again. We had been there once before a while ago. I recall ordering a steak dish and it coming with such an overpowering rosemary flavor that the dish should have been called rosemary flavored with beef. A pattern? Hard to say, but in my humble opinion the head chef needs to spend a little time in spice rehab, and learn to use seasonings to bring out the natural flavor of food. That way we can be dazzled with bold and BALANCED flavors.
I’ve heard many people rave about the Night Kitchen, so it’s entirely possible that we ordered the “wrong” dishes or were there on the “wrong night” (twice), but in my opinion, the food doesn’t live up to the hype nor warrant the prices being charged.