I dined at Charlie Palmer's on a recent Saturday evening. The restaurant has a great atmosphere and was very busy. We were ushered to a table on the service aisle, but upon observing our disdain for this location, the manager had us moved to a less-traveled spot. We had cocktails and ordered a bottle of wine from their electronic wine list. We ordered our first courses. The Ricotta Agnolotti was served overcooked, oversalted and bland. The Artisan Salumi, a selection of house-cured meats, was generous in portion and very tasty. The Sauteed Foie Gras was overcooked and barely warm, it must have sat in the kitchen for some time prior to being brought to the table. The accompanying heirloom apple and rosemary duck jus would have been better had the dish been hot.\r
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The main courses, the Dry-Aged NY Sirloin and the American Wagyu Flatiron Steak, had obviously been prepared when the agnolotti was ordered as both were served at room temperature, i.e., barely warm and devoid of any meat juices. The steaks were oversalted and the reduction sauce from the sirloin was viscous and needed to be scraped from the meat. Two side dishes, the Polenta - somewhat bland by nature, and the Hen Of The Woods Mushrooms - oversalted, were both unremarkable. \r
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Although two wait staff were assigned our table, we had to request refills for empty wine glasses on multiple occasions. The kitchen is obviously heavy-handed with the salt, perhaps in an attempt to provide the dishes with flavor that was not present from regular cooking. A big dissapointment.
Pros: Ambience - great space, cool use of wind theme.
Cons: Oversalted food, kitchen timing off.
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