LUNCH: Grange Restaurant

Grange Restaurnant's Web site

I was excited to try this nice new place but I have to admit I was disappointed. I work downtown so I was just a short walk away. I had pretty high expectations for Grange. It started well. The Citizen building is old and gorgeous and the space Grange occupies is also very well done. Our bread was rustic and fresh and served with an amazing herbes de Provence spread. Our appetizer was marinated olives served with flatbread drizzled with olive oil and topped with goat cheese. It was fine. The flatbread was grilled but looked soggy from the oil. I ordered the lunch special of a salad and fish tacos. I settled on the watercress and frisee salad with Point Reyes blue cheese and roasted pears. It looked a bit sad. I couldn't taste even a hint of the walnut vinaigrette, I had to search for the tiny crumbles of cheese, and the pears were flavorless. I ordered the overpriced Rosemary cocktail. I couldn't taste the rosemary at all but pieces of it kept floating into my mouth with each sip. My fish tacos on the other hand were outstanding, if a bit spicy. The fish was lightly fried and topped with cabbage and fresh green salsa. The beans that accompanied them were not bad. I also tried my friend's mushroom risotto. I am usually very disappointed when I order risotto in restaurants but this one was very good. It was earthy, flavorful, mushroomy and had a great consistency. My other friend ordered the Petrale Sole with French fries that he really enjoyed. I indulged in dessert for the sake of our readers. ;) The pudding cake was very good. In my eagerness to get to the best part of the meal I neglected to note the type of sauce it came with. I can tell you that it was a tasty liqueur sauce with candied fruit. And I'll even admit that I ate every last bite of it. Overall, for the hefty price (around $50 total for my lunch with tax and tip) I expected much better food.