We didn't get lucky at Green Zebra

This Saturday night I, and four friends, had an underwhelming experience at Green Zebra.

I had friends in town, and after much consideration and research, we chose Green Zebra for our Saturday night dinner. I have read many great reviews of the restaurant here and on other boards, as well as in Chicago Magazine. Needless to say the experience was much anticipated. We had a 9:30 pm reservation for four people. At the last minute we had an addition to our party. When I asked the hostess if we could add one to our party – which at 9:30 I thought would not be a problem, its not like we were springing this on her at 7:00 on a Sat. night – she first told me no, that they plan their reservations weeks in advance and there would be no way to add another person. Now, I have been working in restaurants and hotels as long as I have been working, and the first thing I learned in this business, is never say no to a guest. Apparently she remembered this dictum and told me that if we waited 15-20 minutes they could seat our entire party. In less than 10 minutes a gentleman escorted us to our table, and when I thanked him for accommodating us, he replied with words that should never pass through the lips of a restaurant manager, “YOU GOT LUCKY.” I wanted to punch him in the face and tell him that he was the lucky one, but I decided to just enjoy the bottle of champagne that we had purchased in the interim.

We all knew that the menu consisted of small plates, but the menu was organized in three sections so we weren’t sure if it was best to order in individual courses or to share various plates. We asked the server how we should order, she explained that the three sections of the menu were organized from “lightest” to “heaviest” and we could order, “however we wanted.” So each of us, without direction from our server, chose two items with some overlap. I assumed that we would be sharing so when the items I was interested in were already ordered I went with my second choices.

The amuse was whimsical but uninspiring: shelled edamame, spiced popcorn, spiced peanuts. While the butter was high quality, the white bread was chewy and the wheat dry.

The dishes were delivered to each individual and presented in a way that was not conducive to sharing. While I had my eye on the sweet corn mezza luna, my first dish was a spring onion soup that, although it was pleasingly hot, had the look and consistency of pea soup and the flavor of onion water. The soup began the trend of all of our food being horribly unseasoned with no salt or pepper in sight. From a restaurant with a reputation such as Green Zebra, I would not expect to need to add salt or pepper.

The sweet corn mezza luna was, in fact, wonderful. It had a reisling reduction that didn’t compete with the sweet corn and very nice beets and brussel sprouts. We found, with no help from the menu that mezza luna is a ravioli. We don’t consider ourselves naïve in such matters, but we would have appreciated a little clue as to what we would be ordering. Several times we referred back to the menu to identify a flavor, a foam, or an ingredient and came up with an inadequate description.

Other items ordered were wild mushrooms with polenta: bland farina-like polenta with barely cooked mushrooms – more like a side dish than a course. A lentil cake with a red pepper relish that was fine, not enough relish, again the cake was bland. The roasted beet salad with a carrot yogurt sauce was the other standout of the night. The beets were really fresh so it was hard to do them any harm and the yogurt sauce was a nice accompaniment. The beet dish was much more generous than the other dishes for some reason. The chicken with fingerling potatoes was, again, just okay and very dry. The mushroom gallette was also pretty good. The gnocchi and sweet potato dumplings were both bland and unexciting.

Not only did the dessert menu not have anything that sounded appealing, the two items we settled on were really bad. We had cream puffs that literally tasted like someone ran to Jewel and picked up a package of Mrs. Smiths frozen cream puffs and neglected to thaw them before serving them to us. And a apple beignet that was just plain boring.

Finally, for a menu that is devoid of meat, I was surprised to spend nearly $100 per person.

I will probably be crucified on this board for badmouthing such an esteemed restaurant, but I have little tolerance for that type of service and inadequate food from a restaurant named one of the best new restaurants of 2004. Based on my meal there the other night, they are the lucky ones to stay open if that is how they are presenting themselves.

I will probably be crucified on this board for badmouthing such an esteemed restaurant

Not at all. Nothing you complain about sounds uncharacteristic from my own meal at its sibling, Spring, where the food was often "subtle" (by which I mean, "bland") and the wine service, at least, left a LOT to be desired. Now that was two years ago, so I can't claim it has a whole lot of validity today, but it leaves me un-shocked to hear this.

I'm not surprised at all - Green Zebra seems to be one of those restaurants that when they're "on", it's fantastic; and when they're "off", well...the less said the better.

I've had two wonderful meals at Green Zebra, and one meal that made me wonder if I had been halluncinating the previous two times. The big problem (in the food, and especially in the service) seems to be consistency: during meal #3, some of the dishes our party had ordered were outstanding, and some were nearly inedible. At times, our server was hovering and somewhat intrusive; for nearly half the meal, however, he was nowhere to be found.

It's a frustrating place, because they're offering tantalizing hints of greatness, but simply not following through.

(crossposted)



How did you manage to spend $100 per person? You only mention ordering two plates (plus desserts) per person, and the plates are all under $15. I can see wine taking a big chunk, but that's a lot of wine

My fiancee and I were there in November and had 6 courses, shared between us, for $80 total, after tax and tip. We did find one dish to be quite bland -- a wild rice + barley cake -- but on the whole it was very good. n.b.: we didn't drink any wine and had no dessert there. I had a cake from vanille patisserie at home

Was the bread chewy in a stale way, or chewy in a baguette way?

And I think bumping your party size from 4 to 5 is significantly different than, say, 3 to 4. GZ doesn't have very much besides 2 and 4 tops. To a certain extent, you *were* lucky that they were able to find a larger table or a 2+4 next to each other within 10 minutes. I don't think the manager was being rude, I think he was being honest.

I haven't been to GZ since November, so I can't comment on the latest menu or the new chef. I'm still hoping to go soon, so perhaps I'll end up agreeing with you that the food needs work now. But the service and cost issues you cite don't quite make sense.

gleam wrote:(crossposted)
And I think bumping your party size from 4 to 5 is significantly different than, say, 3 to 4. GZ doesn't have very much besides 2 and 4 tops. To a certain extent, you *were* lucky that they were able to find a larger table or a 2+4 next to each other within 10 minutes. I don't think the manager was being rude, I think he was being honest.

Hope I'm not being rude, but I agree with this. I didn't think the server or manger sounded unreasonable in your report at all. I know from bitter experience that this place is pretty much always packed, 9:30 or not, and it can be difficult to obtain a sixtop without pre-planning. I know it's all highly subjective, but I'm sure he didn't mean anything by "you got lucky". Certainly nothing that merited a punch in the face

GinaO wrote:I will probably be crucified on this board for badmouthing such an esteemed restaurant...

I think you may have misjudged our little community, albeit slightly. "Crucifictions" are never administered because someone shared their experience, good or bad, esteemed or not. Honest, detailed descriptions are always welcomed. Assumptions and views may be challeneged, but I sincerely doubt anyone will pounce (too hard) just because you didn't enjoy their favorite place (Different strokes for different folks). Finally, esteem in the Chicago media or on other food boards rarely guarantees esteem on LTHForum.

I, for one, enjoyed my only visit to Green Zebra. I'm not rushing back, mind you, but I was impressed with the creativity, flavors, environment, and service. I'm sorry it didn't work for you. (Also, I echo gleam's surprise at your $100/pp price tag. I ate my way through a good portion of their menu, with wine and coffee, for considerably less).

Best,
Michael / EC

gleam wrote:To a certain extent, you *were* lucky that they were able to find a larger table or a 2+4 next to each other within 10 minutes. I don't think the manager was being rude, I think he was being honest.

Perhaps it was an honest response, but not terribly diplomatic. He should have said, "I was lucky" or "We're in luck," because there may indeed have been some luck in finding the seating on short notice, but I'd say the lucky party was Green Zebra, not the patron. I doubt they'll be packing them in like that forever; they should be thankful for every butt in every seat.

JimInLoganSquare wrote:Perhaps it was an honest response, but not terribly diplomatic. He should have said, "I was lucky" or "We're in luck," because there may indeed have been some luck in finding the seating on short notice.

Agreed: it wasn't the best choice of words -- I would have said "we're in luck" as well. I wasn't there to hear his tone of voice, so I can't say whether the "you got lucky" was meant the way I assume it was meant, though.

I also wonder if some of this was 930pm on Saturday night fatigue. It is sort of a tough time for many restaurants.

This is not meant to minimize or justify your experience in any way, Gina, as it does not sound good at all. And, as EC said, we very much appreciate thoughtful, detailed postings, which yours is. But the main message I got from it was not to go to GZ late on a Saturday. No, it should not be that way, but for many places it often is.

AnneV - have your consistency issues tied out at all to when you visited? I know many places do great with a full house, or a 75% full room, but can be taxed when they are dealing with the third full seating in an evening, for instance. Maybe that is what we have here.

Lastly, as Mike has detailed here, GZ and Spring do strive for a zen-like dining experience in many ways. For better and worse.

I recently went to Green Zebra as well. I also found that the staff person taking reservations had an attitude. We called to get a reservation (none available) and then asked if she had a rec. for a time of night that might be less busy if we walked in - - this woman actually couldn't think of any response to that and said she couldn't tell us in a not so nice tone of voice!! BTW, when we went at 9pm there was not a long wait as would stand to reason. We have had these types of experiences before at the "hot" restaurant of the year (bistro campagne staff person laughed at us two years ago for a solid minute when we called for a reservation a week before - - now that restaurant is no longer quite so in vogue and I have to say I go there pretty rarely due to that treatment in their heydey).

Our food was very good - - also had beet dish, great shitake/potato roll dish and we liked the mushroom galette (agree chicken was good, not amazing). However, my main gripe is that I left hungry and I feel like I would have had to order on the scale of 8-10 dishes for the two of us NOT to leave hungry. Our portions were very tiny and I sadly am not a light eater.

I'll never forget the time I went to see A Streetcar Named Desire at Steppenwolf and Gary Sinise must have been tired that night because he just sat around reading a magazine and barely saying his lines while Blanche and Stella yelled at him... when someone in the audience yelled "Be Stanley, you bum!" he said "I was in Forrest Gump and Apollo 13, I can do whatever I want!" and did the rest of the play with his back to the audience in a high-pitched English accent.

Of course, nothing like this ever happened, and my apologies for slandering one of the best Chicago actors (who was, incidentally, terrific as Stanley in that production). But that kind of sums up how I feel about the idea that any restaurant should get some slack for being lazy or snotty late on Saturday night. If you're worn out by late Saturday night and can't do your job properly any more you have no more business being in the restaurant biz than you do being in the theater. Attitude, I can take anything but that.

I truly don't mean to be rude in any way shape or manner, but bringing a last minute guest to a "hot" restaurant, generally is not a good idea. The whole point of reserving a table.... Please don't take this the wrong way.

Should the treatment you post be acceptable? NO....it should not. Yet I'm sure that the host/hostess gets the "Do you know who I am? I know your boss...." treatment at least several times a night.

First impressions are powerful, your's no doubt spoiled your evening and I'm sure that all the servers knew about you.....

I think, that if you did have 7PM reservations, you would have stood a better chance of getting a table than your 9:30 time.

I hope I did not offend, it was not my intention. And I really hope that your next "big dinner out" makes up for it.....

Since the issue of service has arisen with regard to Green Zebra, I should add our experience, which was much more favorable on this score.

Tables at Green Zebra are rather closely spaced (and this is a significant problem for a restaurant that by virtue of the oft-assumed connection between vegetarian cuisine and zen should exude a sense of calm). The diner at the table next to us knocked over our bottle of wine, which had perhaps another glass left in. Although it was not the restaurant's fault (other than spacing their tables uncomfortably close), our server brought us two glasses of a similar wine that they were serving by the glass (a wine that was, in fact, slightly better than the wine we had been drinking). My wife and I felt that this was a very appropriate resolution, and tipped accordingly.

However, I do thoroughly agree with Gina0's assessment of the desserts. We had two different desserts, both quite nasty. The watermelon soup (with tapioca) not only was rather tasteless and ill-textured, but the melon balls were not ripe. The orange crepes with orange form, had some off-tastes and certainly did not have a richly potent citrus aspect. GZ seems fond of foam, but unless the form is fully flavored it is little more than stale bubbles. As A. E. Newman would say, "Bleeech!"

In terms of the small "tasting" courses (the menu, like that at Trio Atelier, is divided into three sections) GZ suffers a bit from comparison with its more elaorate competition. The descriptions of the dishes suggest that one should be comparing them with the cuisine at Trotter's, Avenues, or even its sib Spring, but the subtlety of taste and execution is not quite there. Of course, the prices at GZ are qutie different ($70/apiece for four courses and wine, tax and tip). Yet, how can one not compare these dishes to those to which they seem to aspire, at least if we are to believe the culinary novelist who shaped the menu. So the Green Pea Soup With Citrus Gelee (a creme fraiche based soup) was tasty enough, but surprisingly heavy in mouthfeel, not summerly enough. Not unpleasant for under $10, but not sublime. This was true for most of the main dishes - exciting ideas, priced right, but not three-star execution. The best dish - by far - was Prospera Farms Baby Carrots, carrot cake, black truffles and aged balsamic vinegar. The flight of baby carrots was sublime, kissed by wonderfully sweet vinegar. This was a superior dish, just right for a hot June afternoon.

For me, the crowded, noisy ambience of GZ worked against what should have been a restaurant that might have created and then filled a valuable market niche. It is currently blessed and cursed by its popularity and the understandable desire to capitalize on that popularity.

And a pastry chef is very much in order.

Just wanted to resurface this thread and mention a rather average dinner I had at Green Zebra this weekend.

While I very much enjoyed the decor and ambiance, the small plate selections were hit or miss, often bordering on bland (great potato puree soup, mediocre skatewing). The service was equally hit or miss, with the waiter oscillating between attentive and absent.

I see no reason to go back.

interesting thread.

i totally agree with the original poster that 'you got lucky' was a completely inappropriate and rude thing to say.

i work in the hospitality industry, and one of the main ideals that you strive every day for is to make it look effortless to the guests. that guy had an opportunity to foster some really bigtime good will. he could've made the poster feel special, telling them that he moved heaven and earth to accomodate them. it may have been true that luck played a factor in the way the right tables opened up, but a true hospitality professional wouldn't let the guest know that, and certainly wouldn't say it to them in the arrogant, snooty way that i took the original poster's comment.

it's certainly true that restaurants that become the 'hot' place of the moment (or year) can often develop an attitude and breed a culture of "these people are lucky to be allowed in here". i've seen it time and again.

but that's antithetical to the ideal of hospitality. you just don't do that.

this thread is just underscoring why i studiously avoid places that are considered the 'hot' restaurant of the moment.

Has anyone been here recently? Anything to report back?

Thanks!

Jack

I ate there about a month and a half ago. Can't remember enough of what I had to give you meaningful descriptions, but everything was delicious and creative -- one pasta dish in particular was so good I ordered it again for my dessert. Service is still smooth, the place is still packed although on a weeknight, they happily accommodated me and my dining companion as walk-ins. Don't hesitate to go again.

I have to say, my experience at Green Zebra was very much the same as Gina's.
In a word: Disappointing.

The dishes were served in a way that made sharing difficult. Some dishes were great, others I felt I could've made myself. None of it really blew me away.

And I thought the service was poor. Our waiter didn't seem terribly interested in engaging us. Had he been more enthusiastic about the menu and spent a BIT of time at our table, we probably would've ordered more, but after only 2 dishes each, we decided we'd had enough.

Definately overrated as far as I'm concerned.

m

mdonovan wrote:The dishes were served in a way that made sharing difficult. Some dishes were great, others I felt I could've made myself. None of it really blew me away.

As with most restaurants, their dishes are not exactly prepared for sharing. Kind of like sharing a plate of steak and mashed potatoes with a bourdelais sauce. I guess you could divvy it up, but it's not like sharing a pizza. However, I have found that if I tell my server that we will be sharing, the course is served split up on two different plates.

mdonovan wrote:And I thought the service was poor. Our waiter didn't seem terribly interested in engaging us. Had he been more enthusiastic about the menu and spent a BIT of time at our table, we probably would've ordered more, but after only 2 dishes each, we decided we'd had enough.

On the contrary, if there was one complaint I have about the service is that it has been slightly over-engaging in my several visits there. Very chatty, very willing to talk up their food, etc. I generally don't raise this as an issue because I realize it's a personal preference, but I prefer my servers to be more unobtrusive.

I hope your experience really truly wasn't as bleak as you presented it because you did, however, state that at least half of your 2 dishes were great, right? So that's good.

Had dinner at Green Zebra last night. We tried Open Table, couldn't get a reservation when we wanted, and so we called. They took us about 1/2 hour earlier than we wanted, which was better than late, since we had theater tickets (and dinner end up taking 2 1/2 hours!).

We added a 5th person to our reservation earlier in the day, which they were able to do by adding a chair at the end of our table (two 2-tops they had set together).

The food was good, though I agree with the earlier posters that the tastes were subtle. One of our dishes had black truffle, and I couldn't taste or smell them - though they definitely were in evidence scattered over the dish. And contrary to lack of salt, one of my dishes was so salty it was amazing. Not to the point of sending back, but definitely remarkable. I wasn't wow-ed by what I ate, but enjoyed it. I think everyone else was more impressed than I was, in some cases by the same dish.

One dessert was an ice cream sampler, and they could have told us what the ice creams were, instead of letting us guess. Also, while they didn't do plate roulette, at a few of the times they served us they stood behind us with the notes trying to figure out who had what for so long I just wanted to call over and tell them what we each had.

With 5 people, 2 bottles of wine, 3 savory dishes each plus dessert and coffee, we were just over $90 per person. And I think we could have done less food. While the dishes were small, some of them were quite rich.


edited to add that, oddly, tip was included on our party of 5 and to correct my original bill total (I had said $100 but that was with the extra tip added. They called us to ask if we really had meant to add more tip, since it was already included - we hadn't noticed that)