Monday, May 20, 2013.
Salty Poor Boy.
My writing day was going well, so MA and I took a lunch date. Our appetites converged: she was on the mood for a roast beef poor boy, and that morning I wrote something on that subject. (Writing about a good dish often makes me hungry for it.)
Neither of us had gone to Bear's Grill since it moved to LA 22 some months ago. Bear's had a strong record with both of us. But when a restaurant moves--even if all the people, recipe, stoves, and pots are the same--the food changes. Always.
And it did today. We had only one problem, but it was a bad one. The roast beef gravy was so salty is to make it inedible. (Well, semi-inedible. We did our best to put away half a sandwich.)
Overseasoning or underseasoning food is a common problem. But it does have an easy solution. Even though most people in the restaurant biz are thoroughly sick of their own food regardless of its excellence, they must force themselves to taste it every day if they want to maintain consistency. Nobody had tasted this gravy, or they would not have let it get out of the kitchen. I told them they should, but the waitress said that they had and reported no problems. The restaurant was full and we didn't hear anybody else gripe about Bear's signature poor boy.
But. . . it was too salty.
Bear's Grill & Spirits. Mandeville: 4700 LA 22. 985-674-9090.
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