chestnut brooklyn

i had dinner last night at this restaurant with great expectations. it was beautifully lit on a great summer's night with my best pal, who'd recently returned from india. we opted for the candlelit garden, hoping it would be quiet enough to catch up on her adventures & mine & enjoy a yummy brooklyn meal.

the restaurant offered a prix fixe for $25 which was quite reasonable considering most of the entrees ranged between $19 & $22. i chose the grilled calamari stuffed with quinoa (my friend & i are still trying 2 decide whether the pronounciation is keen WAH or kiNOwah) and she ordered the gnocci. the fresh shaved hearts of palm were an interesting touch to the calamari, but the dish itself was unremarkable. the gnocchi was perfect, light and pan toasted with a hint of bacon, and trumpet mushrooms leaving the illusion of truffles.

for our main course, we ordered the celeriac root with black lentils and the stuffed pork chop. the vegetable dish arrived with a creamy sauce which was overwhelmingly rich, and my friend finished it with delight. the pork chop told the story as to why this restaurant, as beautiful and quaint as it was, was able to offer meals at such a discount. they dont use ANY seasonings. no salt, no pepper, no garlic, no nothing. this beautiful chop, steakhouse sized came to the table with a creamy mountain of coarse polenta and a bit of a red wine sauce. the meat tasted as if it'd been soaked in dishwater, and had no other taste or smell. disappointed, i tasted it in only about three bites, and left the rest on the plate. fittingly enough, our waitress never once took the initiative to ask whether anything was amiss since my entree went uneaten.

dessert was a bit more creative. i ordered the churros (good choice. how can u go wrong with fried bread, right?) and hot chocolate (entirely too much artificial vanilla flavoring to make up for the lack of seasoning on meats, i suppose?) and my friend ordered the lemon verbena (great!), orange (very good) and vanilla ice creams.

in short, i wasnt thrilled with the food or the service. our waitress wasnt particularly helpful and strangely, i'd try the food here (in appetizer bits ONLY) again, because this place was so beautiful & i really DO want to like it. the hostess-owner was gracious, it was elegant & well priced, but i'm hoping that the lack of salt & pepper were more a fluke, than the normal routine.