Little Gem Saloon* (#279, 11/5/13) – 68
I almost like I’m cheating by adding The Little Gem to my list after just having a few appetizers, but I’m giving it a go anyway. The Little Gem is a historic building/club that started its jazz music in the early 1900s. It just recently re-opened after a long layoff; and it’s really an upscale place. I’m looking forward to getting there to listen to some music because of its history, and because they get a lot of good musicians in here.
I tried the crab fritters, which are basically crab balls with a tasty tabasco-based sauce. They were outstanding, as they should have been at three for $11. I also tried the frites with aioli which I have heard are excellent – and they are. The salads also looked pretty good. They also had half-price beer and wine for happy hour which was a pretty good deal. I’m thinking I need to get back there for a real meal, but in general, everything was very good, just expensive. I’ll give the food a 36 out of 50.
The atmosphere was quite bad, but let me clarify quickly. We were there for a little food before a Pelicans game, so there was some sort of live podcast being done and it was pretty awful, just some guys fooling around. In some ways, the ridiculousness of it made it a little funny, but almost painful as well. On a normal night, I would expect the atmosphere is very good – a fancy, old-time feel place. I’ll give it a 22 out of 30.
The service was fine, except we were charged full price for our drinks at first. When I asked about it, it seemed like we had done something wrong. The waitress begrudgingly agreed to check on it and came back with the bill adjusted, like she did us a big favor. This despite the big sign in front of the doors advertising the half-price drinks. I won’t knock it too much because it was taken care of, but a little weird. Service is a 10 out of 20.
Final score = 68.
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