Gargoyles table v. bar

[tatamagouche]

I'm dining tonight w/ someone who prefers table service. Does anyone know if they'll serve bar menu items in the dining room?

[bobot]

There is table service in the bar (the tables in the bar area) with the bar menu. Also, if those tables are full, they will serve you the bar menu in the dining room. I've done all three (at bar, at table in bar, at table in dining room) and never had a problem.

Edit: GAH! Tricked by old thread!

[ebone]

Is there a TV in the bar? Maybe for the sox tomorrow night...

[pollystyrene]

Nope.

[gini]

Actually, there is, above the small sitting area in the bar. They often turn it on for Sox games (I caught one there last week).

[ebone]

Thank you.

[a l i c e]

Are they still doing "Tokyo Tuesdays" (bento box paired with a sake flight)? I still haven't tried it but sounds intriguing.

[tatamagouche]

FYI, they still had it as of last night...only served in the bar, though.

[finlero]

Yes, the bento boxes are very literally served only at the bar, as in not even served at the tables in the bar area.

I tried one recently, and frankly wasn't all that impressed. While I very much enjoy the playfulness of the Gargoyles menu, and often find the food quite delicious, the Tokyo Tuesdays concept falls into the smaller, but nonetheless significant minority of Gargoyle's ideas that work better on paper.

Nothing wrong with the box per se; it just wasn't particularly exciting. Actually, it tasted to me like a fairly conventional bento box from a mid-grade traditional Japanese restaurant. Everything was fine, the satay, the sashimi, the cooked salmon, the seaweed salad, but nothing transcended (or even tried to transcend) the theme -- it was just a bento box.

I did enjoy my sake flight, which included two premium-grade sakes, as well as a particularly good unfiltered one.

At $15 for the box and $10 for the flight, not a bad deal, but for me, once was definitely enough.

[Boston_Otter]

They're still doing Tokyo Tuesdays, and are currently advertising it as "a bento box served with a complimentary sake flight". Sounds like you had to pay for your sake separately -- do you think it's changed, or is it basically "$25 for the full experience"?

[betta]

The Bento box is separate from the sake flight.
the sake is "Complementary" (meaning paired)
NOT "Complimentary" (meaning free)

[Boston_Otter]

I had the bento box last night, and it was frankly a pretty poor dinner.

For $17.50, it had a pile of dry rice with a single unagi rangoon on top, a scoop of their tuna "poke" appetizer, a serving of udon noodles with two clams (the noodles from their monkfish entree), and of all things, a duck drumstick (from their duck confit entree). Basically just parts of their various menu stuck into a laquered bento box.

Served on a Pier One placemat with knife and fork, it felt like I'd walked into a restaurant circa 1955. "From the mysterious Far East, we present a Japanese Bento Box filled with Chinese noodles, a faux-Hawaiian tuna dish, a fried dumpling, and a piece of duck!"

The fact that our waitress sloppily served us the sake flight (spilling one sake into another while she did so) and sort of shrugged when I asked what sakes went with which foods didn't help.

All in all, not a good way to spend $25 on a meal. I'm not sure I'll be returning to Gargoyle's anytime soon.

[yumyum]

Wow -- thanks for that report, as disappointing as your experience was. Did you sit in the dining room or the bar? Just curious ... bar area is my preference.

[Boston_Otter]

In the bar; that's the only place they serve the "bento box" on Tokyo Tuesdays.

To be fair, I love their bar menu in general and have always had great service and some of the best drinks in town there.

[finlero]

Funny, I dined at the bar last night as well, for the first time in several months, again supporting my argument that we need a secret Chowhound hand sign. (I love MC Slim JB's suggestion for it to be "a shadow-puppet dog with the pinky/lower jaw moving up and down as if chewing".)

Frankly, considering the mediocrity of this item, I'm a little surprised it's still on the menu. But my burger was good as ever. Tokyo Tuesdays or not, it's a pleasure to have Gargoyles in the 'hood.

[heathermb]

What's on the burger these days?

[finlero]

A deliciously messy combination of bacon, boursin, and steak sauce. Bring a bib.

[gini]

Haven't seen much talk about the bento box at Gargoyles for Tokyo Tuesdays recently. An update - the box last night had: hoisin duck drumstick, as delicious as it is in the entree version; tuna poke, I still do not understand why this is a signature dish - it's fine, but there are so many things Santos does better; sauteed mussels with noodles, tasty; rice with vegetables, was the rice supposed to be crunchy? I have no idea.

DC was definitely happy with the choice, though I agree it's rather ordinary. I was far happier with my lamb bacon, tomato and lettuce sandwich and a bowl of butternut squash bisque. That's right, lamb bacon. Freaking delicious stuff.

[yumyum]

Woah woah woah ... lamb bacon. You just blew my mind.

[BobB]

Must be catching on - I had lamb bacon at Troquet a couple of months ago and it was AMAZING! Had me googling sources and recipes.

[yumyum]

"Must be catching on" -- from your lips to god's ears. I want more lamb in any form. Thanks for bringing up Troquet too.

[gini]

I don't believe the bar menu is available in the dining room, but if you sit at a table in the bar area, you can have both menus and table service.

[tatamagouche]

Cool. Thanks!