Scampo (corrected from Spago)

[merry18]

I was very excited to try the restaurant in the LIberty Hotel for my birthday.....the frst drink at the Alibi Bar was great...really cool bar..dark and great music......then came dinner at Spago...the waiter was fantastic...nice and knowledgeable about the menu...the garlic bread that we ordered was burnt...I had to send it back to get new bread and in the meantime, enjoyed my wine while smelling other burnt bread wafting across the beautiful restaurant.....not great. The homemade mozarella that we ordered with prosiutto yielded only two pieces of cheese with about 10 slices of meat....wasn't the cheese the main attraction? One of the managers was hustling entrees back and forth from the kitchen to help the waitstaff that obviosly couldn't handle the Sunday night "crowd" themselves....the only problem was....he stuck out like a sore thumb wearing less than street clothes....couldn't Lydia Shire tell him to wear a suit? Maybe she pulled him off the street after the Celtics game let out to help with service? Strange....I was wondering why I took so long to decide on my outfit when the manager doesn't even care what he looks like....

Move to dinner...my cod was so salty that I had to ask for another bottle of still water to wash it down..and my husband almost sent his "black pig" chop back because he noticed that it was still "oinking" until we were told by another member of the waitstaff that the pig "eats better than we do and that it was ok to eat it like that"..ah, ok, whatever you say.

I think if I go back to the Liberty hotel, I'd have a light pizza and salad outdoors after the weather gets nice to avoid the smell of burning bread...the restaurant isn't all I was expecting....too bad for the amount of money we just dropped on my birthday.

[MC Slim JB]

I've had excellent food on a couple of visits here. The breads are spectacular, the charring on purpose, though that my change in the same way that Brasserie Jo's once authentically-charred croques are now carbon-free. But the service has been a pretty big mess both times, I suspect a combination both front and back of house still not being ready for prime time. I think it could be dynamite once they get those issues worked out.

[hotoynoodle]

kurobuta is considered the most prized pork in japan. much like kobe beef cows, they eat very exacting diets. in the past, pigs ate garbage which was why the meat was unsafe to eat unless cooked well-done. it might have helped if the server had been a bit more pro-active and explained that, but it's been on local restaurant menus at least 5 years.

i had the mozzarella with peaches and pistachios and thought it was wonderful. smooth and creamy, enough of a serving that i didn't feel cheesed out.

lydia has always been great with bread too, and i thought it was all scrumptious.

the menu strikes me as built for grazing, which is what we've done the three times i went. i loved everything, and thought the space was awesome. in fact, i'm heading there tonight for drinks and bites on the patio.

i'm sorry, but i'm always disappointed when somebody eats and posts with a closed mind. i'm sorry it wasn't what you were expecting.

[phatchris]

I had the pork chop a few weeks ago and thought it was one of the juiciest best chops I've had in a long time. My wife had the cod and she too thiught is was too salty.

[pollystyrene]

I don't see what about the OP's post was close-minded. We don't want to discourage people from posting their opinions, whether they're in line with ours or not.

[chowfamily]

Service seems to have been key here.

This was a special occasion meal for the OP and, if the cod was so salty it had to be washed down, it seems natural to have been concerned about the pork as well, especially since many have grown up with the understanding that pork, and now chicken, have to be cooked to a certain temperature.

It might have helped keep the special occasion special if the the server had not assumed familiarity with well-fed pigs, explained in advance the nature of the pork, and had mentioned the saltiness of the cod.

[ScubaSteve]

medium to medium rare is kinda the new preferred level of done-ness for pork lately. keep that mind and next time order accordingly, in fact i'm surprised they didn't ask you for your preference.

[emilief]

We have had 3 very exceptional meals at Scampo. The charred garlic bread is supposed to be that way and is delicious ( goes to show you how opinions vary greatly). The other breads, particularly the naan and foccacio- are excellent. So sorry you did not have a good time.