What's not to like???

I've now completed the Jason Jones trifecta having dined at Porgie and Mr Jones, Snow Pony and now Friends of Mine. And there is indeed lots to like at each of  these establishments, top of the list is the quality produce featured on the menus. It is in this selection of ingredients that these business's stand out from many others. A simple salad at lunch time will always be better if the 'greens' are selected to match the flavours of the dish, peppery rocket with cheese, sweet butter lettuce with delicate seafood, tatsoi with pungent Asian dressings etc.  And no matter how talented one is at poaching, frying or scrambling the eggs they have to be good eggs!  My Salad of  Robs smoked eel, grannies pearls (tiny balls of granny smith apple), watercress, hazelnut, gypsy pear cider dressing was an excellent example of well chosen ingredients combined with well executed culinary skills. As were the other dishes shared by our table.

I've enjoyed an array of dishes from these enterprises including some of the favourites, each displaying solid skills and well balanced flavours.  The toasted banana bread with maple syrup, mascarpone and berry compote is delicious, Tom Coopers smoked salmon, corn pikelet, avocado, herbed creme fraiche & poached egg is an institution and the Smashed avocado with thyme buttered mushrooms & marinated feta a hit. 

And I particularly love the quaint nuances each offers like the hand felted, heart inlayed bill wallets, menu descriptions like' grannies pearls, and the reserved signs made up of scrabble pieces at Friends of Mine.

But I have to say there is one feature that this trio also share that I don't like and that's an inconsistency in the quality of the service. There is always elements of hospitality know-how on display and many of the staff are both efficient and 'hospitable', unfortunately delightful dining experiences are often marred by poor or inappropriate skills of one of the front of house members. At my most recent lunch the majority of the service was casual yet professional however my salad arrived in 'champion Frisbee thrower style' - I swear the server was already on her way back to the kitchen before the plate came to rest!  Perhaps it's my industry experience working at the more formal end of dining or maybe I'm just turning into a cranky old ... but poor service has become an all too oft conversation topic amongst my dining compatriots and we don't appear to be alone in this gripe if the number of comments on the net are testimonial. Is it ineffective hiring, limited pool to select from, poor training or merely a reflection of more modern ways of interacting; perhaps it's much more complex Sociologists may describe this behaviour as emotional dissonance. I'm curious...

Friends of mine - 506 Swan St, Richmond