571450 Tue Nov 11 15:17:01 -0800 2008 5 6 Southwest 0 4165565 I don’t even know what to say about Eddie’s House. It has been two weeks since we ate there and I still have not been able to come up with any cohesive thoughts for a review. Granted, I had not heard many positive things prior to experience there but I felt compelled to try it anyway. After all, Eddie has anointed himself as our local “celebrity chef,” with regular gigs on television and a recurring (and totally confounding) column on Chow Bella, the New Times food blog. This is, by no means, a comprehensive review but I’ll share my initial reactions. I ordered the Caesar Salad and Chermoula Roasted Chilean Sea Bass. Some quick thoughts: Caesar Salad – The alleged “olive tapenade” had absolutely no flavor at all, and the salad as a whole lacked any sort of Caesar Salad flavor. No garlic, no anchovies, no saltiness….nada. Chermoula Roasted Chilean Sea Bass – Chermoula is a Moroccan-inspired marinade that is supposed to add flavor and depth, but in this case it did neither. The portion size said “guppy” - - not “sea bass.” The fish, while cooked well, had no flavor enhancement whatsoever and was sitting in a puddle of liquid from the broccolini. Speaking of which, the broccolini was supposed to have a “candied lemon” preparation but I could detect nothing of the sort. It tasted like plain broccolini that I would steam at home. Some final thoughts to this otherwise lifeless and depressing mini-review: The room itself is very pleasant, but our experience was ruined by a heavy odor of smoke. We wondered if we were just seated in a poorly ventilated area of the room, as the smoke was so prevalent that my eyes had started to water and my wife’s throat hurt. When the bill came, someone mentioned to the server that he would need to go to the dry cleaner to get the smell out of his clothes. Her response was “oh, yeah, sorry about that. The grease trap on the grill caught fire…someone was supposed to have cleaned it out but didn’t.” Huh?? If you model your persona as a “celebrity chef” (even if just a local one) you better deliver. I’m always willing to cut a restaurant a break for having an off-night, but our experience mimicked what I have heard from so many other people. I guess I should have listened, but I really wanted to give Eddie the benefit of the doubt. More time on your food, Eddie, and less time on your blog and TV! All in all, this was one of the weaker dining experiences I have had lately. Maybe that location is truly cursed. Sadly, I was really looking forward to the evening because we were with some friends who we don’t get to see that often and I’m just sorry that the meal wasn’t better. Maybe Eddie should stick to fly fishing. Tue Nov 11 15:17:01 -0800 2008 65085 ejs1492 1 4165652 Eddie is a nice guy, but totally overrated. 15 years ago, maybe he was an above average chef in town. Unfortunately, the valley has grown up. I never have his restaurants at the top of my "must try" or "need to get back to" lists. Tue Nov 11 15:49:20 -0800 2008 4165565 137248 danieli10 1 4165854 *Disclaimer: i have never eaten at Eddie's House. I've eaten at Eddie Matney's years ago. Eddie annoys me. I ignore his rants on Chow Bella, and various other articles that pop up that he "guest" writes. That rag of a magazine, 944, in this months "Food Issue", features an interview with him. Your experience at Eddie's House flies in the face of something he says: "A lot of the guests who come here [Eddie's House] and say, 'Oh my gosh, this was so great. The flavors were so good.' No one ever says it was bland. If anything, they say, 'Geez, this has so much flavor.'" ejs - perhaps we should ignore you? You're obviously no one. Sorry, couldn't resist. :D Tue Nov 11 16:56:35 -0800 2008 4165565 67548 azhotdish 2 4165973 You should totally ignore me. That's why I'm here.....just a guy with a blog who likes food and wants to be ignored by Eddie. Seriously, though, that quote makes me want to laugh, or choke. My wife's entree - the Eddie' House Chicken - and her salad were so OVER-flavored that she specifically said "it's like they spiced it for the sake of spicing it." But, based on my experience, I'd refer to it as "Eddie's House of Bland" I'm going to post some photos of our meal on www.ericeatsout.com later on. Eddie would not be proud. Tue Nov 11 17:34:59 -0800 2008 4165854 65085 ejs1492 1 4166133 When we moved to the Valley, Chef Eddie was the hot topic. We dined with him and we just could not get it. Still, he was a major contributor to many of our charities and was totally accessible, when he was present at any of the events. We kept trying, but still did not get it. I chalked it up to our tastes and our expectations. As a person, I really like him. As a local, well he does give back more than his share to the valley. I respect that, more than I can possibly convey in a reply. I applaud him for his endeavors. I have not experienced his new location. The reviews, that I have read, have not been too kind. still, we’ll make it there, if for no other reason, than to support a contributor to the Valley. I’ll be sure to do a review and will try to keep it 100% objective, as I always do. Thanks for taking the time to do your review. That is what CH is all about. Hunt Tue Nov 11 18:51:31 -0800 2008 4165565 11329 Bill Hunt 2 4167121 Eddie has been good to the community, no doubt. But it seems that his food has not changed a bit since his heyday in the 90's. I actually felt the same way about Christopher Gross' new venture. Comfort food, prepared well, is great! (but this wasn't) I'm not saying that food has to be "nouveau" to be good these days...molecular gastronomy has it's place and so do traditional preparations...but to stay "on top" one has to do more than "more of the same".....especially when you self-propogate your image as a celebrity chef. Honestly, I'm weary from bad restaurant experiences lately. With the exception of NOCA, I've been underwhelmed as of late. Need to find someplace great to review....with all the negative news these days, it would be great to write something positive! Wed Nov 12 07:45:23 -0800 2008 4166133 65085 ejs1492