If you know me you know that I have a wide variety of friends--black, white, Hispanic, small, big, average, affluent, bankrupt, gay, straight, intelligent, and I hate to say... below par. Interestingly though, food, like friends, comes in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and origins. I can't stick to one group of friends the way I can't stick to one food group or one type of cuisine.
I am fascinated by the variety and uniqueness of, say, an heirloom tomato, deep purple, kelly green, and terracotta orange painted on a bumpy ball of juicy flesh. Or even something as simple as a bunch of grapes.... Green, Purple, Red, White and Black are the most familiar but did you know that there are over 600 varieties red grapes alone!? And then there are the uses for this precious fruit... a beautiful glass of wine, the crunch to creamy Waldorf salad, or something as simple as grape juice! There is such bounty!
Okay, so my point is... this restaurant experience was shared with a quite colorful group of friends. The tale is as follows...
My friend Emily picked me up around 8. Our dear friend and former roommate Dominique had just turned 21 and her friends had planned a surprise party for her. D, Em, and I are still inseparable as we were when we were freshman roommates in ***** Hall. Em has ADD which I love. It is so funny to watch someone with a mild case of this. All of there thoughts and actions are literally unconnected and irreverent. The funny thing is though that Em is so intelligent and bright... not to mention blond and beautiful--an essential friend to have. Dominque is someone you can just be yourself around. She is huggable, voluptuous, and sweet like a big bowl of brown sugar! And all her friends are the same. I knew this party was gonna be a gas. I also knew that me and Em would be the only white people there. I was so excited.
The restaurant is beautiful from the outside in. It is right on the corner of College Ave. and Duval St. in the middle of downtown. A large scale staircase leads you up to the restaurant. Funky low lights, modern paintings, brass artwork, and red walls make this restaurant very romantic. Candles light black tables surrounded by cherry wood chairs and a stained cement floor.
Me and Emily were early so we sat at the bar. I ordered a don pellegrino with lime. She got water. We were a bartender's best friend... not. We caught up for a while until we were interrupted by Curtis, the manager... "So are you guys gonna order food or what?" "No," I said. "We are waiting for a group, can I answer any more questions for you, Curtis?" I played on his sarcastic rapport... who does he think he's dealing with? The rest of the party began to arrive so I paid for my drink and we all sat down to anticipate the arrival of the birthday girl.
Lots of laughter later we began to order dinner. The menu is sort blase. Tapas include stuffed mushrooms, Italian eggplant stack, spinach dip, and risotto balls. Not so appetizing. There are also burgers, salads, and sandwiches, with a few dull chicken and fish entrees. It's not that there is anything wrong with these items but when they are set in such an upscale atmosphere on oriental style, white square dinnerware I expect a little more creativity and umph! Emily and I ordered the stuffed mushrooms for an appetizer and the Black and Blue Salad for dinner. The rest of the table ordered burgers.
Our unenthusiastic waitress brought out our food a while later. You know when you can just sense someone doesn't want to serve your table? This was her. Not only that, but you could just sense her elitist attitude toward us. When she sat the plates down I had long lost my appetite. Our mushrooms were slightly cold and thrown over dressed arugula... and by the way I had no idea what the mushrooms were stuffed with. I couldn't taste any one dominant flavor. The steak lacked a pink center even though we ordered it rare and two guests burgers had to be sent back because they were raw. Need I say more?
After dinner it was time for cake. Dominique's friends don't play around, so, when they brought out a Vanilla Butter cream cake that served 30 people I wasn't surprised. I was in charge of cutting this Publix masterpiece. And, I'm sorry, when it comes to cake, my etiquette goes out the door. I couldn't resist tasting the frosting and picking up the crumbs that fell after each slice! Is that so bad? I just had a terrible meal... cut me some slack! After everyone received their piece I cut myself a corner... you can never have too much icing! If you've never had a Publix cake do yourself a favor and grab one for your next party.
At One0One, the atmosphere is great, the drinks are great, the social scene is also great-- late twenties crowd, very refreshing and good looking too. Unfortunately, the food nor the service lived up to the atmospshere.
Here is the website but don't be fooled by there fancy pictures. They clearly hired a great photographer.
http://101mint.com/
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