October 30, 2007...10:19 am
The Velvet Glove ripped by reviewer
Wow.
My husband and I have a list of places we’d like to try in Winnipeg. Restaurant Dubrovnik, 529 Wellington and Hy’s are all on the list. One of the restaurants that we’ve been noodling over for a while is The Velvet Glove. They boast a CAA Four Diamond Award, and frequently appear on “must-eat” lists of Winnipeg restaurants.
I’ve always been an admirer of Marion Warhaft’s reviews, especially since she doesn’t just review the hoity-toity places… She’s just as apt to review the mom & pop place that just opened. (That also may be due to her contractual obligations, but it’s nice all the same.) She doesn’t lay into a place very often, as you can see by browsing through the reviews that are available online. Even when she does dislike a place (for example, see her review of Moxie’s, a contemporary-style generica restaurant) her reviews still show that she’s trying to find something good to say.
So I was surprised to read her review of The Velvet Glove, which detailed the poor food and annoying service she received on her visits there. (She always makes multiple trips to a restaurant before writing a review, in order to save the establishments from what might just be a bad night.) The seafood seemed particularly bad, according to the meals she reviewed:
The halibut, for instance — “tea-poached,” according to the menu — was also too fishy, partnered by a blah of stir-fried noodles with no seasoning other than a final moistening of miso broth ($32). The seafood grill comprised two small lobster tails, a few scallops, a slice of salmon, four mussels and a single clam ($39) — all acceptable, but topped by a blob of tasteless white sauce that was described by the waiter as Bearnaise, but wasn’t. The menu does mention a “rich butter sauce” or a “light fennel foam,” but I hadn’t been offered a choice, and I assume the foam was what I got.
I have noticed that she tends to grade the more expensive restaurants more harshly than the mom & pop places, which is proper: if you are paying more, then the food and service should be held to a higher standard. Since The Velvet Glove is one of the most expensive restaurants in town, the fact that they received the same rating as Moxie’s (2.5 out of 5 stars) is… well, bad.
We’re still interested in going to The Velvet Glove, but it’s been pushed down our priority list a bit. I’m also interested to see if there’ll be a follow-up review.
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