Entertainment: March 2009 Archives

***Spoiler Alert***  If you have not watched it yet and you want to, do not jump to the full entry.

I am an easy going guy.  My friends will tell you I have few places or people I openly criticize except maybe the way the Redskins are run.  But this early scene of spring we've gotten reminded me of the Georgetown Waterfront.  Unfortunately some pretty bad memories.

Cabana's may have served the worst meal I've ever had.  That's saying a bunch because my family was working poor.  Last summer, The Sports Freak and I headed over to Georgetown to see the scene.  On one night, we decided to dine at Cabana's for a change of pace.  We've walked by it in the past and thought the menu looked interesting, and this night decided to try it out.  Wow, what a mistake.

We were seated outside since it was summer.  That might have been our first clue since it was summer.  How could they have seats available at the peak of dinner service on a Friday night?  I started off with a Mojito.  It was completely watered down.  I actually wondered if they put any alcohol in it.

The entrees proved to be no saving grace.  I don't exactly recall what TSF had, but I think it was the Mexican Flag Enchiladas.  He was not happy about it and reported later that it just wasn't good.  I don't remember the details, but I remember he blasted it good.

I had ordered the Spanish Paella, "A Classic!", as they say on the menu.  The only thing classic about it might have been the age of the seafood.  Paella to me should be cooked in a pan and some of the rice should be crisp or almost burnt.  I know other places that serve it as part of tapas may not cook it to my liking, but they make up for it in quality.  Cabana's did not.  It felt like it was cooked in a pot over low heat quickly.  My family is from China so we don't turn down rice too often.  However this was a case where I had no problem doing so.  I decided to move on to just the proteins.

Not a good choice either.  The chicken was completely dry.  Forgivable if were the only mishap with the dish, but it didn't end there.  Chorizo, normally a flavorful sausage was tasteless and luke warm.  I think if they had thrown in thick slices of off the shelf pepperoni, they would have done better.  Finally the seafood.  I don't even know where to begin.  None of it seemed fresh.  I really mean that.  The mussels and scallops were extremely rubbery.  The calamari and shrimp were small, kind of like what you'd find at a grocery salad bar.  That is when it dawned on me.  Everything seemed to come out of a bag or a box.  Then they were all cooked separately, tossed into a pot for 2 minutes and doused with some chicken stock for what little flavor could be provided.

We decided to leave with both of us leaving at least half our dish.  This was very disappointing considering we had both been to Tony and Joe's in the past and Cabana's appears to be part of the same ownership.  Maybe that was their saving grace, that they could lose money since the sister restaurants were raking in the cash.  Ask me if I would go back to any restaurant and no matter how terrible it was, I would still push the good things about the place.  For Cabana's, a place I paid over $20 for a watered down drink and frozen seafood, is on the very short list of places I recommend not going to.

The restaurant, like many in the downtown area is set as the ground floor of an office building.  With modest exterior signage, we nearly passed by it.  Walking in, you could see the New York accents, as it reminded me of dining in the great Big Apple restaurants.  We were immediately seated, without menus and we found out that was intentional.  They wanted you to have a good experience before you ordered.  At the table, there was already marinated zucchini and some italian sausage slices.  The zucchini was a good starter.  I was unsure exactly what sausage was there.  It was reminiscent visually of pepperoni, but the taste was much stronger and smokier.  We were then served fresh bruschetta and a mussel.  The bread was nice and solid, and the accompanying tomato mix was excellent.  You could tell it was made that day, even maybe mere minutes before it was served.  The mussel was perfectly cooked.  All of this we were told, was complimentary and then we were provided the RW menu.