Well can’t say it was utterly disappointing but....

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Well can’t say it was utterly disappointing but….

[Pics via Joy P. and Joan S. of yelp.]

It could have been better. Way better. We went to Jiraffe last night. Figured Monday night. Nice way to start the week off and lack of the SanMo weekend crowd. I booked us a table for 7:45. Parking is street or valet. It’s next to Wokcano which looks pretty authentic due to it’s love for ‘asian themed’ fonts.

Even tho we had ressies, we had a short 10 minute wait. Which in retrospect, really set the theme for the rest of the night. Ick. Waiting. Like waiting to deflower a virgin. Waiting for pay day. Waiting is not the best thing in the world especially when it comes to getting fed.

We are sat in a corner table which is actually pretty nice cuz the place is ironically packed for a Monday and loud. Lots of laughter. Laughter that pierces my emo soul. :*(

Our amuse bouche was a mushroom soup. Delicious. Seriously. Packed full of flavor. So much that we decided to order the mushroom ravioli for an appetizer. Well, also cuz the other option our waiter recommended was a beet salad. [yea yea you’ll beat my salad. Dirty.] Beet salads sound absolutely disgusting so ravioli it is. I got the lamb for my entrée and he got the aged rib eye.

At this point, I’m still pretty happy. We got our bread fairly quickly after the mushroom shot. Our ice teas were filled. Going smooth you know? Maybe 15 minutes lapsed and then we got our ravioli. Don’t worry. Still happy.

The ravioli is something else. Wow. The chef really knows how to work shrooms. There’s five pieces. Fairly small if you ask me but the texture and flavors were impressive. It’s almost like I can’t believe they can make something so small and simple so rich and flavorful.

This is when I started getting antsy. OK. I wasn’t too antsy. I enjoy my company but damn you can only stare into each other’s eyes for so long before getting nauseated and high on ambiance. I’m pretty sure the wait between our entrees and appetizer was longer than 45 minutes. Waiting is no excruciating pleasure.

Finally, our entrees came and while I thought the lamb was cooked perfectly and the sides were inventive. I was not amazed. My eyes didn’t roll back. I didn’t feel like raving about the lamb [possibly cuz I was so hungry by then]. I mean, it was good. But not great. The ‘potato egg rolls’? They were fried potatoes in an eggroll skin. Interesting, but not in a good way.

I tasted the rib eye and it was ok. Once again, it’s good. Not great. In fact, I would say my lamb was cooked a little bit better because it was more rare and moist.

Would I go back? Maybe. Maybe when their bistro night menu sounds good. Because at that price point, I expect a little better. Way better.