This review could be a landmine. As fans of Mama Mia are rabid in there opinion of what makes this such a great musical. So I am writing this from a different point of view. The point of view of a person who hated the movie, (PLEASE, Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep singing, YUCK), and someone who has never particularly liked Abba. Truly, I bought these tickets as a surprise for my wife. She is a huge fan of the movie and actually likes Abba's music. And since she puts up with me 365 days of the year, I figured I could put up with Abba for one day.
So you can imagine my surprise when I realized I really LIKED this musical. First the energy of a live production exceeds that of the movie by a thousand fold. Second , what really surprised me was the humor. The play was MUCH funnier than the movie. So if the Broadway production of Mama Mia comes to your town, I wholeheartedly encourage you to go see it. You will like it AND your wife will really appreciate it. Go and have fun.
I give Mama Mia an A and declare it a great Broadway production.
Showing posts with label mama mia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mama mia. Show all posts
Friday, May 4, 2012
Friday, April 27, 2012
Pistou Review
On a brutally cold night, we decided to walk from Church Street down Main street to try a newcomer on the Burlington dining scene, Pistou. Opened by a young couple, Pistou serves French/American creative food. The space is dimly lit, and inviting, with a semi-opened Kitchen, ( you can see the chefs but not really the preparations). Perusing online, I noticed they have a very small menu that changes almost daily. I like that idea, as it means you are always getting the chef's freshest ingredients. Little did we know that, that very small menu shrinks even smaller on Sunday evenings, (we went before the Mama Mia show), down to 3 appetizer and 3 mains for a set price on $28.00 for one of each.This makes the Bluebird's 3 course Sunday evening meal for $30 a bit of a bargain, though you have NO choice in your courses, nor on this particular Sunday were they listing on their website what the courses were.
Anyways, back to Pistou. We were seated immediately, DUH, as we were the only people there. In fact, the entire time we were there, 5:30 to 7:30, only one other couple came in. I think Sunday evening service may not last long. I will have to say, service was really lacking on this particular evening. Not in efficiency, our server was VERY efficient, but not a genuine note of friendliness was to be had. This is the type of server, who when he asks you how your food is, has already turned and headed back to the bar before you can answer. And considering how friendly I had heard the young owners were with previous reviewers, neither of them came over to the table to say Hi or ask what we thought of the food, again we were the only two in the place for over an hour.
By now I am sure you are all dying to know how the food was. And here we hit almost all the marks. Food, preparation and presentation are all excellent. An amuse bouche of parsnip puree soup served in a shot glass was excellent, (Wife says best part of the meal and she wished it was offered as a bowl). Why don't more places start you off with an Amuse, this puts the diner in a great frame of mind, to get something from the kitchen as a prelude to the meal. We started with a beet salad for the wife and a scallop and shrimp appetizer for me. Both had great flavors, the seafood was done perfectly and the burrata cheese that came with the salad was smooth and creamy. For our entrees, we both went with the seafood stew. Again presentation and flavors were great. It came with a grilled piece of bread covered in a soft potato puree. The big problem with this dish was the amount of potato. Between the multi colored offerings in the stew (red, purple and regular) and the puree on the bread, this dish was 65% potato. I would of really liked more seafood and less starch.
For dessert, the pain perdu, with chocolate ice cream and homemade peanut brittle. This was the one big clunker of the meal, the bread was DRY and flavorless, the ice cream cold and flavorless, the peanut brittle was GREAT. All in all, not a bad meal but once again closing in on $100 for two, is there no reasonably priced restaurants in Burlington serving great fresh food???
On a scale of 1 to 5;
Anyways, back to Pistou. We were seated immediately, DUH, as we were the only people there. In fact, the entire time we were there, 5:30 to 7:30, only one other couple came in. I think Sunday evening service may not last long. I will have to say, service was really lacking on this particular evening. Not in efficiency, our server was VERY efficient, but not a genuine note of friendliness was to be had. This is the type of server, who when he asks you how your food is, has already turned and headed back to the bar before you can answer. And considering how friendly I had heard the young owners were with previous reviewers, neither of them came over to the table to say Hi or ask what we thought of the food, again we were the only two in the place for over an hour.
By now I am sure you are all dying to know how the food was. And here we hit almost all the marks. Food, preparation and presentation are all excellent. An amuse bouche of parsnip puree soup served in a shot glass was excellent, (Wife says best part of the meal and she wished it was offered as a bowl). Why don't more places start you off with an Amuse, this puts the diner in a great frame of mind, to get something from the kitchen as a prelude to the meal. We started with a beet salad for the wife and a scallop and shrimp appetizer for me. Both had great flavors, the seafood was done perfectly and the burrata cheese that came with the salad was smooth and creamy. For our entrees, we both went with the seafood stew. Again presentation and flavors were great. It came with a grilled piece of bread covered in a soft potato puree. The big problem with this dish was the amount of potato. Between the multi colored offerings in the stew (red, purple and regular) and the puree on the bread, this dish was 65% potato. I would of really liked more seafood and less starch.
For dessert, the pain perdu, with chocolate ice cream and homemade peanut brittle. This was the one big clunker of the meal, the bread was DRY and flavorless, the ice cream cold and flavorless, the peanut brittle was GREAT. All in all, not a bad meal but once again closing in on $100 for two, is there no reasonably priced restaurants in Burlington serving great fresh food???
On a scale of 1 to 5;
Food, Quality means much more to us than quantity.
Beer and Wine, Based on selection and pricing
Beer and Wine, Based on selection and pricing
Service, Speaks for itself
Ambiance, Does the look fit the food and pricing
Ambiance, Does the look fit the food and pricing
Price, And finally does the pricing equal the results we had.
Food, 3.50 Very nice food , though a bit too heavy on the starches and not heavy enough on the proteins. Dessert was a total miss.
Beer and Wine, 3.0 Nice beer and wine selections, list is small and expensive.
Service, 3.0 Is there some kind of class where servers are taught efficient but aloof. Come on people, be a bit friendly, it will help your tip tremendously.
Food, 3.50 Very nice food , though a bit too heavy on the starches and not heavy enough on the proteins. Dessert was a total miss.
Beer and Wine, 3.0 Nice beer and wine selections, list is small and expensive.
Service, 3.0 Is there some kind of class where servers are taught efficient but aloof. Come on people, be a bit friendly, it will help your tip tremendously.
Ambiance, 3.5 Nice space but the location seems to be a death knell for local places.
Price, 3.0 VERY pricey, but the excellence in taste and presentation almost make up for it. Definitely a special occasion place.
Overall 3.20 I really, really wanted to like this place. It's everything I can hope for in a Burlington area restaurant, locally produced food, innovative preparations, comfortable and stylish interior. BUT something just didn't set me on fire. Maybe it was the indifferent service, the extremely high pricing, or the lack of selection, but I just wasn't blown away. Maybe we will give them another chance at a later date and report back.
Price, 3.0 VERY pricey, but the excellence in taste and presentation almost make up for it. Definitely a special occasion place.
Overall 3.20 I really, really wanted to like this place. It's everything I can hope for in a Burlington area restaurant, locally produced food, innovative preparations, comfortable and stylish interior. BUT something just didn't set me on fire. Maybe it was the indifferent service, the extremely high pricing, or the lack of selection, but I just wasn't blown away. Maybe we will give them another chance at a later date and report back.
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