TBD Restaurant

Kris and i took Kim to TBD Restaurant to celebrate the venture into her 30's. we had a really great experience at their sister restaurant AQ earlier in the year so our hopes were set high for TBD. this restaurant is much more rustic and their focus is food made by varying sources from fire. think hearth, grill and smoke. it unfortunately didn't live up to all of the hype i'd built up in my head but i think i can say that i appreciate what they are going for. the service was great overall. there were smiling faces everywhere and they spaced our meal out nicely, though i do have one complaint. i'd made the reservation weeks in advance for three people and we were placed in the loft section with seats in a row sort of like bar seating. this is not conducive to conversation among three people or food sharing (their plates are meant to be shared). i had to pull my seat back away from my friends and the counter so that i could look at both of them while talking to them (totally not ideal for parties of more than two people). anyhow, this is what we had...

scallop ceviche with oranges, fennel and granita (i forgot the flavor)

the scallops were really fresh and this was pleasantly light 

arepa with mushrooms and pecorino

a good arepa, but i'm beginning to think i don't particularly like arepas in general.

bread with cultured butter and seaweed

great seeded bread. i really liked this except for the bursts of liquid from the fresh seaweed. the dried seaweed gave it good texture and flavor though. 

crab with heirloom polenta, leeks and mustard seed

there was an aftertaste that wasn't enjoyable for me. i think it came from the mustard seeds

uni with potato and jalapeno

a rich dish, however the jalapenos were pickled and made for an interesting dish. 

smoked lamb

nice and smoky however the lamb was a little tougher than i expected it to be. 

duck confit

SO overly salty. i expected the duck to be salty but the beans and sauce were overly salted as well. this dish had me refilling my water glass quite a few times. 

smores

you can't really go wrong with smores....