Eva Restaurant by Thad Westhusing
Having dined at Eva many times, this restaurant has become known for providing good service, delicious food, a solid wine list, and a pleasant atmosphere. Plus, it offers a very convenient option for us, for it is only a ten minute walk from our home. It was an ideal choice to celebrate the homecoming of family on a beautiful summer evening.
Arriving for our 7:30 pm reservation, we were promptly seated at our table with menus in our hands and water glasses filled, but after that point the quality of service declined. It wasn’t until ten minutes later that our waitress finally greeted us, after passing our table several times making eye contact but saying nothing. It was clear she was busy, but it’s not a good start when you make no attempt to briefly check in or at the very least apologize for the wait.
Our waitress just appeared and asked if we would like something to drink, never acknowledging the delay. Fortunately for her, she quickly steered my attention to the wine list whereupon I settled on a bottle of the Scott Paul 2006 La Paulée Pinot Noir.
This wine ended up captivating us so much that we soon forgot about the poor attention being paid by our waitress. In fact, it served to compensate for the duck I ordered which arrived over-cooked and dried out, but more on that in a bit. From the first pour to the last sip, the ’06 La Paulée continued to evolve, displaying good fruit, a slight earthiness, and balanced acidity.
Were it not for the Scott Paul pinot, I probably would have paid more attention to the state of my dried out duck, returning it immediately for another dish. Instead, I dove in and struggled through about half of it before giving up. To her credit, the waitress offered to replace it or take it off the bill. I opted for the latter, as the only thing I wanted anything more of was another glass of the elegant La Paulée.
Even still, my friends really liked the goat cheese and mushroom crepes and the roasted chicken. And we all enjoyed the romaine lettuce, crouton and bacon salad, delicious taramasalata dip with grilled pita bread, and sticky pudding for dessert.
The issues with service and duck aside, it was an enjoyable dinner and I will definitely return, especially if they keep a plentiful supply of Scott Paul pinot noir on hand.
over 4 years ago
