Good point.
Thankfully, I havenât seen the $20 ones! And, yes, I agree thatâs ridiculous.
I actually donât know if $10 is THAT bad (the one from Flower Child, IIRC, is a pretty decent size). I mean, even guac (admittedly from Bristol Farms, which has a good amount of avocado) costs $9. By the time I get some GOOD crusty bread (like from Milo and Olive) and then take the time to slice and mash (I stink at slicing avo), then $10 might be okay from time to time (IMO).
The salad above is listed for $11, which, depending on the size and amount of avo, seems like a reasonable price to me.
Yep⌠I remember an episode of Top Chef with Dana Cowin (Food & Wine) as a guest judge. She said she was over the kale salad trend. Padmaâs head snapped back and she exclaimed âI love kale salad!â. And there it is. Yes, kale is very popular lately, but a trend? Itâs a vegetable for crying out loud. Itâs healthy ruffage and in a salad with the right dressing and toppings itâs delicious. I also LOVE it with avocado.
Itâs become appropriated by the âhipsterâ culture, and so it is now viewed as such on a macro level. Take La Croixâit was initially a drink moms brought their kids for girls scout meetings or soccer practice in the Midwest. And nobody really liked it. But it was adopted by the âhipstersâ, and thus it is now viewed as such, regardless of your history with it, or intent in drinking it.
La Croix source:
I bake my own whole wheat bread so the cost is close to zero. An avocado costs me at most $1.25. I got a case of bottles of Spanish olive oil for $10.00 at Surfas because it was close to the sell by date. I get lemons from my tree. Toasted sesame seeds are inexpensive even at Nijia where I shop for Japanese ingredients. To me, $10.00 is a ludicrous price to pay for avocado toast.
Unpopular onpinion: $10 for avocado toast isnât terrible if you only want 1-2 servings. A quality avocado is like $2 and some fancy ass bread is $5.
$20 is an invitation for violence tho
Yes, eating at home is cheaper. Restaurants are trying to make a profit.
P.S. Kudos on your baking skills.
Yes, when I eat out I go for food that is above my culinary skill level and/or would take forever to make so many components (dim sum).
I have friends who go out for dishes that are easy to make at home. They say that they enjoy being served and not having to do dishes. I love to cook and donât mind doing dishes.
Hereâs the bread recipe I use. Itâs easy and it pairs beautifully with avocado.
Thanks @TheCookie. I just think there are too many top 10 lists in mainstream media so people are tired of them, and Iâm just 1 poster. Maybe Iâll PM you.
Daniel Patterson was the chef of two-Michelin-star Coi. Matthew Kirkley is the chef of three-Michelin-star Coi. I donât know that Patterson has cooked much in any of his groupâs restaurants since he quit Coi
Keith Corbin is the chef, not the chef de cuisine. Thatâs how DPG does things.
Not anymore - he hasnât been for almost a year. Itâs now Erik Anderson (formerly of The Catbird Seat in Nashville).
FWIW, I think Matthew Kirkleyâs menu at COI was more interesting than Daniel Pattersonâs ever was.
Anyway heâs the one that got the third star last October.
At the restaurant he was running and directing everything, chef de cuisine in actuality. If this corporation isnât giving him the actual title thatâs sad.
The chef is the boss. Chef de cuisine reports to a chef or executive chef, itâs basically a sous chef at a place were the chef is not very hands on.
Sometimes people from other parts of the country are shocked at how much an avocado can cost out here.
Thanks for the heads up @robert @BradFord. I always figured Coi was to Chef Daniel Patterson like Spago was to Wolfgang Puck: Meaning that Wolfgang Puck still pops in the kitchen at Spago and occasionally even cooks something from time to time (it happened to our friends last year IIRC). But if Chef Patterson is just collecting paychecks from that restaurant now (as part of Daniel Patterson Group company) and nothing more, thatâs good to know.
Iâm not sure how different the relationships Patterson and Puck have with the chefs who run their groupsâ restaurants are. Puck is very much the face of his brand while Patterson stays more in the background. E.g. from Asterâs âaboutâ page you wouldnât even know that Patterson or DPG were involved.
I was looking forward to dinner here after @Chowseeker1999âs great review. Unfortunately I didnât love it. Almost everything was too mild/under-seasoned and ironically lacking soul. Service was friendly and attentive but still needs training on the menu.
deviled eggs
Not bad, not great, just okay.
shrimp & grits
Shrimp was okay, grits were bland and under-seasoned. Needed more sauce.
skillet fried chicken
The most disappointing dish of the night. Again it was under-seasoned and unfortunately also overcooked and dry.
candied yam gratin, spiced cashews
Best dish of the night, loved how they sliced the yams to form a layered brick, like a yam mille feuille. I wish the portion was larger.
oxtails & rice
Oxtails were okay but werenât tender and didnât have enough gravy like in @Chowseeker1999âs pics.
green beans simmered in spicy tomato sauce
no toto
Hi @PorkyBelly,
Thanks for the report back and bummer about your visit! Thanks for trying out the other dishes we didnât get to on opening night (and good to know they werenât worth ordering, unfortunately). I was considering the Shrimp & Grits, but ended up trying other dishes instead.
Yah, your Oxtail & Rice looks way more dry than the dish in my pics! I hope it was just a fluke / off-night, or else theyâre cutting corners (and maybe making a big batch and serving it multiple nights in a row?), which would be sad.
The Fried Chicken had problems on our visit, but it seems like they didnât improve it at all for your visit.
Iâm glad you liked the Candied Yam Gratin with Spiced Cashews at least (and good to hear it was still tasty on your visit).
We were hoping to go back in the near future, so weâll see if itâs just opening weekend jitters, or if they were only on point for Grand Opening night (and fallen off a cliff afterwards (which I hope not)). Was Chef Corbin on the line cooking? (Just curious.)