Redding is supposed to have a well-known Chef. Chef Cal de Mecurio. He failed at his first restaurant, failed at his second which was housed in the most beautiful new restaurant on a bluff over looking the very scenic Sacramento River which runs through the middle of town. Now, he has opened another in an old historic building which once housed an elementary school. So I had some time today to kill in between appointments. The restaurant is lovely, well appointed and has the most amazing ceiling fan, ten huge blades and it must be 15 feet across. I wanted something quick and light. To my surprise they had turkey burgers on the menu. I asked if the burgers were made from fresh turkey burger and was assured they were. I ordered it well done (because of the recent turkey burger recall...at home we cook them to medium well) with a selection from the menu of jack cheese. The menu said it came with avocado. My burger arrives on a typical sesame seed bun, and yes the chef had formed the burger. I knew that because it was thick in some parts with uneven edges. No avocado, but some sort of green sauce. I took one bite and it tasted pretty good. Next bite I was overwhelmed with rosemary and blue cheese. Then I got a strong smoke flavor. Between the gloppy green saucy stuff falling out of the burger, the very strong blue cheese, rosemary, smoky flavor, my taste buds were on high alert and my stomach was not wanting anymore. So I ask around this afternoon who has been there and find that some comments were positive. On-line comments were OK, the few that I read.
I don't seem to have much luck with restaurants these days, especially the new local ones I want to support. How many times should one go back to a restaurant to give it a fair try? I hated paying over $11.00 for that burger for lunch. I had coleslaw with it and it was an over sauced chunked up pieces of cabbage, not the thin shreds I am used to. So a few bites of coleslaw and less than half eaten burger and I was out of there. I filled out a "how did we do" card, and came home and emailed my disappointment. Please don't tell me I should have complained right away. I won't go into the stories that came into the police department when I worked there or what our son tells us when he was a cook in Alaska, working summers to help pay for college, told us. More are set to open soon and I will be giving them a try. When Gene and I moved to Redding 48 years ago and before there were any fast food joints or chain restaurants, we had fabulous eating. All locally owned and well established. It was pure delight to go out and eat. That is all gone now. How sad for a fast growing city, with so many folks from So. CA up here, several movie stars and a very wealthy population of a myriad of folks who have made this area their home.