There’s something to be said for a restaurant that breaks all the rules, especially if it results in food that manages to be thoughtful, innovative, and delicious. With that said, there are three rules that should be set in stone no matter how many of the others you intend to break. In no particular order:
- If you’re going to trumpet a Zagat rating, you should probably make a good-faith attempt to live up to it.
- Getting the basics right goes a long way.
- I ought not to go to a restaurant — any restaurant, but especially not a somewhat expensive one — and at the end of the evening, say to myself, “Y’know, I could’ve probably stayed home and done better.”
Mignon isn’t an especially daring place, yet — at least by the above criteria — they manage to break all the rules. Did I mention that the steak tartare was perfect? It was all downhill from there.
The menu is a pretty straightforward affair, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. While I like good food, and enjoy some measure of creativity, I’m certainly not one to look down my nose at an eatery that doesn’t offer poached muskrat in a WD-40 reduction. Their menu (located here) is standard steak house fare. It’s the execution that disappoints.
The lobster bisque may have been made on the premises, but tasted like Bookbinder’s. The mashed potatoes were gummy, the asparagus risotto salty and indifferent, the vegetables steamed ’til they were limp, and the desserts barely competent. The most glaring flaw, though — for a steakhouse, at least — was the steak itself. My wife and I both like our steaks on the rare side. I don’t even mind a bit of arterial spray or twitching when I poke it with my fork. But both steaks came out overdone (mine just a shade past medium, hers closer to medium-well).
Now, I’m willing to concede that we may have caught them on an “off” night. But let’s take a few other things into consideration. There’s that Zagat rating. Then there’s the prices. I’m not one to carp about pricing, but I tend to mind when the quality isn’t commensurate with the price. Finally, given that the same owners also operate the Village Gourmet, Taos, and Tina Louise, you’d tend to think that there’d be sufficient experience, to say nothing of pride, to keep from making rookie mistakes. In light of this, I’m not willing to cut them the same slack that I would a newer player, or one with a new chef that hasn’t had the chance to prove him/herself. If I set foot in one of the Village Restaurant Group’s properties again, it’ll be with some seriously diminished expectations.