Rooney's vs. Max - and the winner is . . .

Rooney's!

Well, though dinner was lovely at Max of Eastman Place, there weren't as many things that I like on the menu at Max last night as there were on the menu at Rooney's. I ended up with a Caesar salad, which was very good and just the right size for me, and scallops. The scallops were seared to perfection. They were sweet and tender, but they were served with "root vegetables" in a butternut squash puree with toasted walnuts. I would much rather have had some vegetables that I could identify. The potatoes and mixed vegetables at Rooney's were phenomenal. For the money, there wasn't a lot of food on that plate.

Now let's talk about the wine. Before dinner, I had a "glass" of Estancia pinot grigio. It was very nice, but I bet there wasn't more than three ounces in the glass. A very stingy pour, and it was just as stingy for everyone who had a glass of wine before dinner. We decided to get a bottle of wine for the table to go with dinner. There weren't many wines on the fairly large wine list that cost between $40 - $60. I'm sure I would love some of those $70, $80 and $90+ bottles very much; I just can't afford them. Hey, Max: you are lacking a middle ground. I chose a very nice Ponzi pinot noir, but I really wanted a meritage. There was nothing between the $32 bottle and $65 bottle.

Our server was nice and very attentive, but she was a "low-talker." We ended up listening to the waiter at the next table as he described the dishes because we could hear him.

For the money, mine's on Rooney's. Can't wait to go back!

yours in music,
Tracy