Sandwiched between two sections of a food court on street level was the stairway that led to the restaurant upstairs. Cheerful staff greeted us enthusiastically—almost too enthusiastically. While we were deciding what to order, the service staff approached us no fewer than three times to check if we were ready. When we finally placed our orders, the server practically could not contain her excitement. The amuse bouche of meatloaf appeared the instant our orders were taken. Fortunately it was rather tasty, and whetted our appetites for what was to come. Our starter, salmon carpaccio with mesclun salad was however a little disappointing. The mesclun sauce overwhelmed the seafood and the greens, masking their natural sweetness and crispness. Next to arrive was our main—linguine in cream mushroom sauce. The pasta was done to perfection, and the thick cream got our thumbs up. The only flaw was that there was too little sauce, but a quick request to our server remedied that. The down side to such attentive service was that it became intrusive. A few too many attempts by the server to see how we were doing interrupted our conversation and left us feeling disgruntled. Our other main—grilled pork chops—was satisfying. The chops were nicely done and were served with demiglace sauce. This time the sauce came on the side, which worked well because it was very intensely flavored and would have overpowered the pork had it been poured on top. Mashed potatoes accompanied the dish, but they were a bit of a letdown because they were too coarse. For dessert we opted for crème brulee. With a thin crust of brown sugar and light, creamy custard, this dish was an utter classic and a lovely way to end the meal.
