We ordered the Calamari Appetizer and it was very good. Accompanying it was a simple, tasty marina sauce and a sweet Mango Salsa with lots of cilantro and green onion - both very good pairins with the lightly breaded, delicately fried Squid.\r
Next course was the Criallos salad. A salad with the Restaurant's name should be great. It consists of Spring Greens, Diced Pears, Candied pecans, blue cheese, and a poppyseed dressing. The Dressing was great, but the pears were essentially slightly sweet potatos - no flavor at all. It hurt the salad badly. It's fall - Pears are in season - there's tons of excellent pears to put with these other ingredients to make the salad a star. It was a woeful flop.\r
My wife's main course arrived, a Trio of Scallops, Shrimp, and Lobster in an Amaretto/chili sauce. Thank god for the slightly sweet, spicy sauce which helped to overcome the rubbery texture of the shrimp and lobster. The scallops were cooked well and was the best of the 3, but the dish was a dissapointment. It was served, like nearly 50% of Criallo's entrees, with a side of ""Sticky Rice"" and vegetables. Essentially ""Sticky Rice"" is a nice term for big huge glob of unsalted, unseasoned pasty, gummy rice. Horrid, horrid side dish. the vegetables were good, but totally ordinary. \r
My entree was the bluecheese encrusted Halibut with the Mashed Potatos and vegetables. This was quite frankly the absolute worst food pairing I've ever had in my life - the bluecheese overpowering the white fish in a bad bad way. Avoid this dish at all costs. The fish itself was overcooked and dry. The potatos were good, but potatos as potatos. The vegetables again, good but ordinary. The service and ambiance were good, but when you pay this kind of money you expect much better food. Criallo's fails to deliver.
Pros: Decor, Service, Ambiance
Cons: Poor execution of the main entrees, the same poorly done side dishes for all entrees, the food quality as a whole.
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