Wellfleet? anyone been yet?

I'm new around here but I've found this site to be a GREAT source and maybe someday I'll add someting usefull...
But for now, I've got a queston.

has anyone been to the fish guy's Thursday night dinner?

A bunch of us winos from a different board (eBob) are heading there on the 30th and we are taking a bit of a leap of faith booking the whole dinner (12 at $100 per person)

here's the pull quote I got from the chicago mag dish email

On October 19th, Bill Dugan, “the Fishguy” of Fishguy Market (4423 N. Elston Ave.; 773-283-7400), launches Wellfleet, a weekly in-store dining experience. “Every Thursday, beginning at 7 p.m., we will seat up to 12 people for dinner,” says Dugan. “It’s about getting a smaller group of people together and putting out high-end ingredients, such as fresh blue shrimp from Baja.” Diners watch their food being prepared, with the Fishguy on hand to talk about fish, of course. Dugan got the idea for Wellfleet after reading about underground dining clubs in Paris. “It dawned on me one day that I could do that in the store one night a week and give that a shot,” he says. (Dinners are $100 and BYO)

I've got no connection to the place (other than I'm going to have dinner there...)
and if this looks like an adver. please feel free to edit this post...

thanks
mel

i have not been there, but my husband and I have talked about going sometime. it sounds like a good time. let me know how it turns out.

I doubt any review I could do would be as good as the ones I've read hear
but I'll be sure to report our findings

best,
Mel

Just back from a disappointing dinner at Wellfleet. To get right to the point,
don't bother if you have spent the same amount at a fine dining establishment you will not be pleased eating here. I've never felt rushed at a restaurant before tonight! The 12 of us (we're a bunch of winos...)
had planned our meal around the 5 courses listed for the meal. we like to serve a few wines with each course. We brought our own glassware, poured our own wine and felt some real pressure to get the heck out so they could go home.... My biggest problem was how they combined courses (which messed up our planned wine flights) What was supposed to be a 5 course meal became a 3 course meal.

Freshly harvested Illinois Sturgeon Caviar a la Joel Robichon,
Oysters in the style of Asia.
House-smoked Magret with Arugula salad,
Poached Maine lobster, Peruvian crocquetta and tangerine butter.
Assorted cheeses with rustic toast and cured fruits.

They ended up putting the caviar and the oysters together.
(we asked to switch the duck and the lobster course)
so then we got the lobster course
followed by a combined duck and cheese course.

The pacing really mess up our night. Toward the end, they told us it was time to leave the restaurant 2.5 hours into dinner (to move toward the art gallery for dessert). I've never felt so rushed in all my dining experiences ever! I've paid a lot less and been treated MUCH better.
The food was OK the main course could have used a veggie (other than mashed potatos (used twice, once as a supporting role to the lobster shell and once as a crocquetta (fryed mashed potatos))

skip this flash in the pan and spend your $100 elsewhere.
forgot to add that the site is set up with 6 2 top and it does not look
like you would be able to make more than one 4 top out of the space avail.

mel

Hi Mel,

I saw the original discussions planning the dinner and now I'm glad I passed

Best,
Al

mhill95149 wrote:Just back from a disappointing dinner at Wellfleet. To get right to the point,
don't bother if you have spent the same amount at a fine dining establishment you will not be pleased eating here. I've never felt rushed at a restaurant before tonight! The 12 of us (we're a bunch of winos...)
had planned our meal around the 5 courses listed for the meal. we like to serve a few wines with each course. We brought our own glassware, poured our own wine and felt some real pressure to get the heck out so they could go home.... My biggest problem was how they combined courses (which messed up our planned wine flights) What was supposed to be a 5 course meal became a 3 course meal.

Freshly harvested Illinois Sturgeon Caviar a la Joel Robichon,
Oysters in the style of Asia.
House-smoked Magret with Arugula salad,
Poached Maine lobster, Peruvian crocquetta and tangerine butter.
Assorted cheeses with rustic toast and cured fruits.

They ended up putting the caviar and the oysters together.
(we asked to switch the duck and the lobster course)
so then we got the lobster course
followed by a combined duck and cheese course.

The pacing really mess up our night. Toward the end, they told us it was time to leave the restaurant 2.5 hours into dinner (to move toward the art gallery for dessert). I've never felt so rushed in all my dining experiences ever! I've paid a lot less and been treated MUCH better.
The food was OK the main course could have used a veggie (other than mashed potatos (used twice, once as a supporting role to the lobster shell and once as a crocquetta (fryed mashed potatos))

skip this flash in the pan and spend your $100 elsewhere.
forgot to add that the site is set up with 6 2 top and it does not look
like you would be able to make more than one 4 top out of the space avail.

mel

As the owner of the Fishguy market I am compelled to respond.

The person who booked the group did not alert me to the fact that they were a “wine group” and would desire to REWRITE my entire concept of entertaining and serving. “Wellfleet” is an opportunity for our staff to open our market one night a week and endeavor to serve great quality food simply and without a lot of fanfare.

We encourage people to bring wine and have fun, of course.
These folks should lighten up and recognize that the reason I am NOT a “restaurant” is so that I will not have to put up with groups that feel they can “take over” a venue and then hang around all night talking about wine. They did not make a move toward the door till 12:30. We have had a ball with every group to date and they are usually ready to pack it in by 10:30 or so. This group was not even ready for the salad course by then.
We still had a separate cheese course yet to serve as well as the dessert course at our gallery…they were completely ignorant to the timing. We ended up changing the service around to suit them which interfered with our plating aesthetic.

My staff and I did what we could to please this group.
When you keep a staff hours after the norm… a tip, or a hearty handshake goes a long way. In addition, as a wine club, they brought in approximately 27 bottles of wine. Many B.Y.O. restaurants in Chicago charge between $5 and $15 per bottle corkage fee. I can feel confident in saying the majority of restaurants would not permit this amount of bottles brought in.

I grew up in Napa Valley and have spent the last 30 years supplying world-class chefs and understand food and wine. It is about having fun, and enjoying some of the fine things that life has to offer. I was also raised with manners and would never allow a group like that in my home or establishment if I knew they would behave in such a callous manner...

So… Thank You for a valuable learning experience, I mean that with all sincerity.

I would encourage readers to visit our website and see what some professionals have had to say about Wellfleet.
We are having a great time with it and I am extremely proud of the quality of product we proffer.

My staff is informed, friendly and sincere and we welcome all!
Bill Dugan
Owner/Operator
The Fishguy Market
and Host of Wellfleet

for what it's worth

oddly enough, I was thinking about these original Wellfleet posts over the weekend(why, I have no idea)

something irritated me and I mulled

as per the owner's response...well, that's basically the impression I had of the original poster(funny what received grammar and syntax reveal); that they were boorish and, at the very least, misunderstood your concept

I suppose that's simply reading betwen the lines

anyway, all this is to say that I appreciate you posting on your store's behalf and -that to those discerning- your side of the story was always already obvious

too bad you(and your employees) had to put up with all that

This is a very interesting and potentially instructive exchange. It's rare that we will get a negative post about a place and then be fortunate enough to have the proprietor respond with his/her perspective.

billdugan wrote:The person who booked the group did not alert me to the fact that they were a “wine group”

What if they had said they were a "wine group"? It would seem that your place is very well suited to groups of people who like wine and conversation. It’s hard to predict a group’s behavior in advance, but would a “wine group” be a red flag to you?

billdugan wrote:These folks should lighten up and recognize that the reason I am NOT a “restaurant” is so that I will not have to put up with groups that feel they can “take over” a venue and then hang around all night talking about wine.

How would you define your operation? If you’re serving food to eat on premises, then that seems to mean that Wellfleet is something like a restaurant. I hope I don’t sound challenging; you’re taking an interesting position here: how is Wellfleet different than other places that serve prepared food to the public?

My sense is that you are diplomatically refraining from being overly critical of customers, but one does get the impression that this group of self-described "winos" was having such a good time that they tended to overwhelm the space. I'm not sure, though, based solely on what you've said, how they were "callous."

All that said, thanks for posting. The Wife and I are planning to visit Wellfleet after the New Year and we’re sincerely looking forward to it.

Hammond

I haven't had the chance to go eat at Wellfleet but I intend to. I do know that the FishGuy has the best seafood in the city and is one of if not THE most knowledgeable people on seafood in Chicago (and perhaps the country). Bill's forgotten more about seafood than most of us will learn in a lifetime.
If Wellfleet is supposed to be a relaxed supper club, I'd say it's really unfair for a tasting group to commandeer his space with the intention of staying for a couple hours past the normal time.
I suppose had the guest been a little more transparent about his entire objective, he would have had a better time. I would be curious to see the list of wines that they brought.

MacMyRoni wrote:If Wellfleet is supposed to be a relaxed supper club, I'd say it's really unfair for a tasting group to commandeer his space with the intention of staying for a couple hours past the normal time.
I suppose had the guest been a little more transparent about his entire objective, he would have had a better time.

MacMyRoni, welcome to LTHForum.

I'm trying to see this from both sides.

This tasting group did "commandeer" the space in the sense that they bought every available seat. The place seats 12; they paid $1,200. Nothing unfair so far, right.

It's impossible to know what they intended, but as it's unclear when they were seated, it's hard for me to know if they stayed too long. It's also impossible to know what's "normal time"? Are there stop/end times posted on the menu somewhere? If there are, and if these revelers stayed hours past the stated end time, then yes, this is indeed boorish behavior.

David "Or you can call me Judy Collins" Hammond

Reading this exchange reminded me of this incident:

Years ago, I had a friend who was a part time accountant for Leslie Reis' celebrated Cafe Provence in Evanston. She recounted a story one evening of how Leslie dealt with some unruly guests:

One evening, there was a large party who largely ignored the decorum of this restaurant. The final straw occurred with the after dinner drinks when the host lit up a cigar. There was a no smoking policy, which this gentlemen was reminded. He asked to see Leslie Reis, where he proceeded to remind her he had accumulated a bill of over a thousand dollars so he was entitled to his cigar. She took the bill from the waiter, tore it in half in reply, "You no longer owe us a dime. You are now my guest. Leave!"

A wonderful demonstration of power and sensibility over nonsense.

Regards,

While I was not present at this dinner, I do know some of the people who attended and I find it hard to believe some of Bill’s comments about their manners and behavior. This has not been the case at other dinners, or wine tastings, organized by this group. Your response sure seems to add credibility to their service issues. You may want to use a publicist, or at least a more neutral party, to respond for your business in the future.

Here is the link to a post on another website about this dinner which was pretty positive, for the most part:

http://dat.erobertparker.com/bboard/showthread.php?t=112504&highlight=Wellfleet

You may not want to own a restaurant, but $100 per person to eat in the front of a fish market, are fine dining prices. If the courses were combined to what amounts to three, that is not a good deal in my eyes. It better have been an awesome meal.

If no corkage fee was agreed to prior to the dinner, there should be no complaints.

Personally, this post turns me off more than the original one. Since the dinner occurred not very long after you started these events (and they are only a once a week affair), I thought some of the misunderstandings were due to the newness of the venture. I now realize that is probably not the case.

I have previously worked in retail for many years and I am very surprised by the hostility of your response, especially to a forum where you should be attempting to draw new business.

How would you define your operation? If you’re serving food to eat on premises, then that seems to mean that Wellfleet is something like a restaurant. I hope I don’t sound challenging; you’re taking an interesting position here: how is Wellfleet different than other places that serve prepared food to the public?

It is a self described "occasional" restaurant serving up to 12 people each Thursday evening starting at 7:30 and usually till 10:30 or 11.
It's different in that we have a direct connection (being a wholesaler) to the goods I offer and in fact will grow myself and/or have neighbors grow much of my seasonal produce as well. The key word here would be fresh! We spend all week preparing to have a staff of 6 serve 12 people. I also take a few moments at the start to describe the provenance of the products we are serving. I’m a fishmonger, the menu will always be seafood driven. It is in my fish market and it's in Mayfair and that in of itself is different.

My sense is that you are diplomatically refraining from being overly critical of customers, but one does get the impression that this group of self-described "winos" was having such a good time that they tended to overwhelm the space. I'm not sure, though, based solely on what you've said, how they were "callous."

Callous in the sense that they had no real understanding of cuisine, yet were quite critical. I mean, c'mon, give me a break; you want to challenge a Joel Robichon classic? These guys were criticizing everything! Some of the comments made over the course of the evening were silly.
Maybe they had imbibed too much by that point.

David Hammond wrote:This is a very interesting and potentially instructive exchange. It's rare that we will get a negative post about a place and then be fortunate enough to have the proprietor respond with his/her perspective.

billdugan wrote:The person who booked the group did not alert me to the fact that they were a “wine group”

What if they had said they were a "wine group"? It would seem that your place is very well suited to groups of people who like wine and conversation. It’s hard to predict a group’s behavior in advance, but would a “wine group” be a red flag to you?

If they had said up front that they were a wine group, I would have tried to talk them in to a tasting at the gallery I operate with my neighbor Martha (Gallery M).
I t would have been more conducive to the time they required. I would have had an opportunity to agree to a few ground rules perhaps.
I do now get a bit more specific with groups who reserve all the seats.
We are here to serve and help folks enjoy a nice meal. I want it to be memorable for all the right reasons.

billdugan wrote:These folks should lighten up and recognize that the reason I am NOT a “restaurant” is so that I will not have to put up with groups that feel they can “take over” a venue and then hang around all night talking about wine.

How would you define your operation? If you’re serving food to eat on premises, then that seems to mean that Wellfleet is something like a restaurant. I hope I don’t sound challenging; you’re taking an interesting position here: how is Wellfleet different than other places that serve prepared food to the public?

My sense is that you are diplomatically refraining from being overly critical of customers, but one does get the impression that this group of self-described "winos" was having such a good time that they tended to overwhelm the space. I'm not sure, though, based solely on what you've said, how they were "callous."

All that said, thanks for posting. The Wife and I are planning to visit Wellfleet after the New Year and we’re sincerely looking forward to it.

Hammond

I'm curious. . .do we consider that both the dining establishment and the diner have rights AND obligations? As the adult child of a retired restaurant owner and as a frequent diner, I would hazard that they do. I find it hard to believe that the onus of this falls completely on either party.

If I am reading between the lines correctly, it sounds to me that both parties had a preconception about what would happen and neither fully articulated that to the other. If I were to bring in 27 bottles, I would definitely cue my host that this is what I planned so that I could ensure it would meet my needs. Should I have been the host, when I saw the 27 bottles, I would have immediately tried to acertain what was wanted to ensure I met their needs; should I not be able to, I would explain that ASAP. Also, were I the host, I might want to explore the needs and interests of a group before they arrived, so that I could best fulfill them. Than again, I am reading inbetween the lines and may be understanding it incorrectly.

At this point, it seems both parties have drawn their respective lines in the sand.

billdugan wrote:Callous in the sense that they had no real understanding of cuisine, yet were quite critical. I mean, c'mon, give me a break; you want to challenge a Joel Robichon classic? These guys were criticizing everything! Some of the comments made over the course of the evening were silly.

I know quite a few of the guys are really into food, and good cooks as well.

Speaking of 'give me a break', should Joel Robuchon and Wellfleet even be mentioned in the same sentence? If you are intimating that you used a JR recipe, that means nothing. Was the execution as good as Robuchon's?

ViewsAskew wrote:
At this point, it seems both parties have drawn their respective lines in the sand.

No line in the sand from me! Bill is a great guy and was plenty of fun to be around. I think we both had different ideas on how the night would go and I'm sorry that we did not discuss things in greater detail before the event.
We based our plans on Bill's published PR material.

FWIW, a few points I'd like to make:

billdugan wrote: Many B.Y.O. restaurants in Chicago charge between $5 and $15 per bottle corkage fee. I can feel confident in saying the majority of restaurants would not permit this amount of bottles brought in.

I guess we are just lucky to be dinning at wine-friendly restaurants

FWIW, we brought our own wine, glasses, openers and we poured our own wine. We used a few of Bill's glasses (they were very nice) but since we were at a no corkage BYO we did all we could to handle our wine ourselves.

Yes, we had roughly 27 bottle of wine for 12 people. Did we finish all 27?... No way! Did we offer Bill and his staff tastes of the wines we poured Yes. I did not check but I'm sure we left plenty of bottles for the staff to try as their shift ended.

billdugan wrote:they were completely ignorant to the timing.

Bill, I'm sorry, I did not see or hear that we were on a schedule
Where was it posted?

My staff is informed, friendly and sincere and we welcome all!

I have to agree you here!

I was also raised with manners and would never allow a group like that in my home or establishment if I knew they would behave in such a callous manner...

A bit harsh Bill....

billdugan wrote:Maybe they had imbibed too much by that point.

Nope, we all tested ourselves on the way out and no one blew over a .03

Christopher Gordon wrote:
as per the owner's response...well, that's basically the impression I had of the original poster(funny what received grammar and syntax reveal); that they were boorish and, at the very least, misunderstood your concept
I suppose that's simply reading betwen the lines

I'm sorry my English skills are lacking. I wonder if you feel that anyone
who learns English as a second language is "Boorish"?

Christopher Gordon wrote:
anyway, all this is to say that I appreciate you posting on your store's behalf and -that to those discerning- your side of the story was always already obvious
too bad you(and your employees) had to put up with all that

Pisst... Chris... you got a dab of brown stuff stuck to the tip of your nose

MacMyRoni wrote:I suppose had the guest been a little more transparent about his entire objective, he would have had a better time. I would be curious to see the list of wines that they brought.

Bill and I exchanged email prior to the event and discussed that we would be interested in changing the course order to better pair with the wines we would be bringing. this exchange also included that we would be bringing our own glassware.
Here's some of what we drank:
Champagne
1995 Joseph Perrier Champagne Cuvée Royále

Chablis
1996 Domaine Laroche Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot
1997 Domaine Laroche Chablis Reserve de l'Obediencerie Blanchot

Daguenueau
2004 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Buisson Renard
2004 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Pur Sang

More non-chards
2003 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc
2005 Scholium Project Verdelho Gemella Lost Slough Vineyards

Clos Pepe Vineyard Chards
2005 Diatom Chardonnay Clos Pepe Vineyard
2005 Loring Wine Company Chardonnay Clos Pepe Vineyard

Big Chards
2004 DuMol Chardonnay Isobel
1999 Kistler Chardonnay Vine Hill Vineyard
2004 Lewis Cellars Chardonnay Reserve

Pinot
2003 Adrian Fog Pinot Noir Savoy Vineyard
2004 Roar Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard
2004 J. Rochioli Pinot Noir River Block
2002 Peay Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate
2003 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Koplen

Dessert
1989 Château Rieussec
1990 Château Rieussec


to Cathy2:

...largely ignored the decorum of this restaurant....

No one lit up a cigar or violated any decorum issues
and I for one find your comparson insulting

Al Ehrhardt wrote:

billdugan wrote:Callous in the sense that they had no real understanding of cuisine, yet were quite critical. I mean, c'mon, give me a break; you want to challenge a Joel Robichon classic? These guys were criticizing everything! Some of the comments made over the course of the evening were silly.

I know quite a few of the guys are really into food, and good cooks as well.

Speaking of 'give me a break', should Joel Robuchon and Wellfleet even be mentioned in the same sentence? If you are intimating that you used a JR recipe, that means nothing. Was the execution as good as Robuchon's?

If I was only Senator Lloyd Benson the of Texas I think you know what I would say here....
But I'm not so as I said to Bill that night, I thought the dish could have used a touch more salt.

MacMyRoni wrote:I would be curious to see the list of wines that they brought.

Hi MMR,

If you follow the link in my post from earlier this evening, there is a complete list, with tasting notes, for the 19 wines opened that evening.

Best,
Al

Al Ehrhardt wrote:

MacMyRoni wrote:I would be curious to see the list of wines that they brought.

Hi MMR,

If you follow the link in my post from earlier this evening, there is a complete list, with tasting notes, for the 19 wines opened that evening.

Best,
Al

19 listed and there was a 1990 Santa Cruz Mountian Vineyard Pinot (bonus pinot!)
and a third desert wine (untried by me)
so give or take 21 bottles.
27 seven sound much more like it, I guess we were slacker that night!

mhill95149 wrote:

ViewsAskew wrote:
At this point, it seems both parties have drawn their respective lines in the sand.

No line in the sand from me! Bill is a great guy and was plenty of fun to be around. I think we both had different ideas on how the night would go and I'm sorry that we did not discuss things in greater detail before the event.
We based our plans on Bill's published PR material.

FWIW, a few points I'd like to make:

billdugan wrote: Many B.Y.O. restaurants in Chicago charge between $5 and $15 per bottle corkage fee. I can feel confident in saying the majority of restaurants would not permit this amount of bottles brought in.

I guess we are just lucky to be dinning at wine-friendly restaurants

FWIW, we brought our own wine, glasses, openers and we poured our own wine. We used a few of Bill's glasses (they were very nice) but since we were at a no corkage BYO we did all we could to handle our wine ourselves.

Yes, we had roughly 27 bottle of wine for 12 people. Did we finish all 27?... No way! Did we offer Bill and his staff tastes of the wines we poured Yes. I did not check but I'm sure we left plenty of bottles for the staff to try as their shift ended.

billdugan wrote:they were completely ignorant to the timing.

Bill, I'm sorry, I did not see or hear that we were on a schedule
Where was it posted?

My staff is informed, friendly and sincere and we welcome all!

I have to agree you here!

I was also raised with manners and would never allow a group like that in my home or establishment if I knew they would behave in such a callous manner...

A bit harsh Bill....

billdugan wrote:Maybe they had imbibed too much by that point.

Nope, we all tested ourselves on the way out and no one blew over a .03

Christopher Gordon wrote:
as per the owner's response...well, that's basically the impression I had of the original poster(funny what received grammar and syntax reveal); that they were boorish and, at the very least, misunderstood your concept
I suppose that's simply reading betwen the lines

I'm sorry my English skills are lacking. I wonder if you feel that anyone
who learns English as a second language is "Boorish"?

Christopher Gordon wrote:
anyway, all this is to say that I appreciate you posting on your store's behalf and -that to those discerning- your side of the story was always already obvious
too bad you(and your employees) had to put up with all that

Pisst... Chris... you got a dab of brown stuff stuck to the tip of your nose

MacMyRoni wrote:I suppose had the guest been a little more transparent about his entire objective, he would have had a better time. I would be curious to see the list of wines that they brought.

Bill and I exchanged email prior to the event and discussed that we would be interested in changing the course order to better pair with the wines we would be bringing. this exchange also included that we would be bringing our own glassware.
Here's some of what we drank:
Champagne
1995 Joseph Perrier Champagne Cuvée Royále

Chablis
1996 Domaine Laroche Chablis Grand Cru Blanchot
1997 Domaine Laroche Chablis Reserve de l'Obediencerie Blanchot

Daguenueau
2004 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Buisson Renard
2004 Didier Dagueneau Pouilly-Fumé Pur Sang

More non-chards
2003 Château Smith Haut Lafitte Blanc
2005 Scholium Project Verdelho Gemella Lost Slough Vineyards

Clos Pepe Vineyard Chards
2005 Diatom Chardonnay Clos Pepe Vineyard
2005 Loring Wine Company Chardonnay Clos Pepe Vineyard

Big Chards
2004 DuMol Chardonnay Isobel
1999 Kistler Chardonnay Vine Hill Vineyard
2004 Lewis Cellars Chardonnay Reserve

Pinot
2003 Adrian Fog Pinot Noir Savoy Vineyard
2004 Roar Pinot Noir Pisoni Vineyard
2004 J. Rochioli Pinot Noir River Block
2002 Peay Vineyards Pinot Noir Estate
2003 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Koplen

Dessert
1989 Château Rieussec
1990 Château Rieussec


to Cathy2:

...largely ignored the decorum of this restaurant....

No one lit up a cigar or violated any decorum issues
and I for one find your comparson insulting

Al Ehrhardt wrote:

billdugan wrote:Callous in the sense that they had no real understanding of cuisine, yet were quite critical. I mean, c'mon, give me a break; you want to challenge a Joel Robichon classic? These guys were criticizing everything! Some of the comments made over the course of the evening were silly.

I know quite a few of the guys are really into food, and good cooks as well.

Speaking of 'give me a break', should Joel Robuchon and Wellfleet even be mentioned in the same sentence? If you are intimating that you used a JR recipe, that means nothing. Was the execution as good as Robuchon's?

If I was only Senator Lloyd Benson the of Texas I think you know what I would say here....
But I'm not so as I said to Bill that night, I thought the dish could have used a touch more salt.

and the emoticon makes your comment soooooo much more palatable

(I find the implication of sucking up to a restaurateur I've never met and in all likelihood never will ...reprehensible)

Well, this conversation has taken a nasty turn.

Thread is being locked pending moderator discussion/decision to reopen.

Hammond

This thread has been unlocked.

Please let's try to keep the conversation civil, non-accusatory, grounded in facts and geared toward developing useful information and productive insights.

Thanks,

Hammond (for the mods)

ViewsAskew put it very eloquently and I agree with him. I can't imagine the fishguy is raking in the dough with 12 heads at 100 bucks a pop. The wine list looks good, I would have liked to have tasted the '96 Laroche.

MacMyRoni wrote:ViewsAskew put it very eloquently and I agree with him. I can't imagine the fishguy is raking in the dough with 12 heads at 100 bucks a pop. The wine list looks good, I would have liked to have tasted the '96 Laroche.

Bill will have to answer why he charges what de does but FWIW we paid for the entire meal about 20 days in advance to hold the booking.
I cant' think of any restaurant that REQUIRES to be paid in advance...
Good for him to be able to have such a practice. If I went into the "occasional" restaurant business I'd do the same.


Since I brought the '96 Laroche I thought I'd chime in. It was DOA oxidized The last of the 6 I purchased on release, the others were better!

One of the guests works as a cellar rat for Brian Loring and brought the two Clos Pepe vineyard wines and it was really fun to try the two wines made from the same vineyard, same block, picked the same day.... all the differences were in the winemaking and they were quite different.

mhill95149 wrote:Bill will have to answer why he charges what de does but FWIW we paid for the entire meal about 20 days in advance to hold the booking.I cant' think of any restaurant that REQUIRES to be paid in advance...Good for him to be able to have such a practice. If I went into the "occasional" restaurant business I'd do the same.

It seems, then, that there's not really a question of why Wellfleet charges in advance; they're a twelve-seat restaurant open one day a week. That makes this place very different than any other restaurant I know of, and if just one table or two cancels, they've lost a big percentage of revenue for the week.

That's an impressive line-up of wines you laid out (sorry to hear about the messed up Laroche). Seems like the food maybe took a backseat to the drinks...?

Hammond

I can't speak to anything in the posts above - all I can say is that the one time I visited Wellfleet was a great experience. Bill and his staff set a very warm, welcoming, fun experience that is completely unique in Chicago. The food was great - but mostly it is fun. It is designed for people that love food and the experience of sharing great, fresh seafood with friends (and strangers) with mutual interests.
The concept of the main courses in the market and the dessert in the gallery next door is great - we struck up conversations with our fellow diners and with Bill and his staff.
This is a great experience for any true food lover.

eburg wrote:I can't speak to anything in the posts above - all I can say is that the one time I visited Wellfleet was a great experience. Bill and his staff set a very warm, welcoming, fun experience that is completely unique in Chicago. The food was great - but mostly it is fun. It is designed for people that love food and the experience of sharing great, fresh seafood with friends (and strangers) with mutual interests.
The concept of the main courses in the market and the dessert in the gallery next door is great - we struck up conversations with our fellow diners and with Bill and his staff.
This is a great experience for any true food lover.

eburg,

What did you eat when you went to Wellfleet?

Hammond

David Hammond wrote: Seems like the food maybe took a backseat to the drinks...?

Nothing shy about smoked duck breast!

The wine pairing were workable with the food, but when the advertised courses were combined without notice it messed things up a bit.

Had we all be sitting at one table instead of at a bunch of 2 tops, I'm sure we would have dragged out dinner much longer with our conversations.
If I had to guess, I would say that the Bill likes to run the show and if he's got 6 couples there he can but when faced with 12 member of a group with their own agenda he effectively loses the control he has with his usual crowd. I'm sure that dealing with us was a challenge!

The funny thing about the night was how much fun we were having (and it seemed to include the staff) until we were told that it was time to move to the venue for desert. At that point it was obvious that we had ticked off Bill yet he seemed to recover and was joyful and a great host for dessert. Now that I've posted a somewhat less than positive review we get called "silly", "callous" & "ignorant" Now I worry that I can't even shop at the fish market anymore?

In response to David.... I lifted the menu right off the Fish Guy web site.

Crustacea 3-way:
Alabama Shrimp with heirloom tomato Bloody Mary,
Tempura Languostine served with Romesco sauce,
Freshwater Prawn with a lemongrass emulsion.
Sashimi of Domestic Bluefin Tuna with fresh horseradish gremolata
Terrine of Duck liver on gingerbread with fig jam,
Giant “Mano de Leon” scallop served with Pico de Gallo,
Kurubota pork cheek with melon glaze

If memory serves me correctly - the Bluefin was replaced with an excellent cured Salmon. Desserts were from the bakery of Peter Yuen (on Argyle - also worth a visit).

eburg wrote:I can't speak to anything in the posts above - all I can say is that the one time I visited Wellfleet was a great experience.

Like eburg, I'm not touching the current controversy with a barge pole--but also like eburg, I had a great experience at an evening event at The Fish Guy's store. Mine was about six years ago; a friend, who lives in that neighborhood, was having her fiftieth birthday and decided to have it there. This was before "Wellfleet"--it was not a restaurant experience at all, I don't recall any tables or chairs, we were all standing or leaning (I think there was a counter along the long wall opposite the fish case), learning about fish from Bill, drinking wine we'd brought and having small portions of various sea creatures prepared various ways by a visiting chef--I don't recall exactly from whence he came, but if memory serves it was a good seafood place on North Ave. near Wicker Park which we had been to a couple of times and which is now gone. (Starfish? Echo?) Bill could not have been a more enthusiastic, friendlier impresario. Everything we ate was terrific, made tastier by Bill's passion, knowledge, geniality, and overall hosting skills. A fun night.