Skip to main content

PGH: Bar Symon

I was disappointed by my visit to Bar Symon. Airport restaurants have an opportunity to be a haven in the midst of commotion. Iron Chef Symon's restaurant failed in that mission.

My salad was billed as the Simple Salad but I think that the restaurant veered a little too far in the simple direction. As you can see, it is mostly iceberg lettuce; the other vegetables are placed unartfully around the edge. Worst was the dressing, which veered much too strongly in favor of olive oil at the expense of vinegar, leaving an oily film.

My crispy chicken sandwich was quite good. It came on lightly toasted sourdough with great flavor. The crispy chicken's crust was nice and crunchy. The avocado gave the sandwich some moisture without messing up the chicken.

But the restaurant's biggest failure was service, which should be the hallmark of any airport food operation, whether it be fast food or fine dining. I was seated at the most remote table in the restaurant. The waiter came by, I gave my order, and he then disappeared for a long time. After a long drive to the airport and a stint in the security line, I was in the mood for water, which was not forthcoming after I drained my first glass. Finally my food arrived and I was able to ask for water, but my waiter disappeared again. I finally found him and asked for the check after I had finished my sandwich. He disappeared again for several more minutes. An airport restaurant shouldn't add to a patron's stress level. Unfortunately, Bar Symon failed that test.

Bar Symon on Urbanspoon

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Eating Around Georgia Tech: Ecco

Our Texas Instruments colleague Cathy Wicks was gracious enough to host several of us at Ecco tonight. This is one of those restaurants that has been on my list for a long time. Even though it is within easy walking distance of Georgia Tech, I hadn't made it there until tonight. The menu is a combination of Italian, Spanish, and French that make use of some local Georgia ingredients. The combination of those three countries is sometimes a little forced, although the georgia ingredients (fruit, cheese) were all great and perfectly appropriate. We started out with a meat and cheese board. This actually reverses the French tradition, where cheese usually follows the main course. Everything was excellent. The Georgia cheese was a big hit, as was the French cow/goat cheese. I thought the sauscisson was very subtle and very good. The waitress said that the roast pork pasta was their signature dish, so I had to try it. It had traditional broad pasta (fresh, of course) ...
Post a Comment
Read more

DCA: Cava Mezze Grill

Cava is a DC area chain with light Mediterranean food. Saibal encouraged me to try lunch at their airport location and I was very happy with the experience. I ordered falafel on SuperSalad with assorted other toppings. The falafel was tasty. The SuperSalad was light, flavorful, and very easy to eat. Overall, a healthy and enjoyable lunch, something you can't always say about airport eating.
Post a Comment
Read more

Pressure Cooker Candied Ginger

I made candied ginger a few years ago. It's not something I would do every day but I had a lot of fun doing it. I recently acquired a pressure cooker and it inspired an interesting idea to me: why not make candied ginger in the pressure cooker? It should be very soft and flavorful. Here is the result. I peeled two large ginger roots, cut them into small cubes, and put them in the pressure cooker with heavily sugared water. The traditional method first boils the ginger in plain water to soften it and then again in sugar water to candy it. The resulting candy was very tender but still with the characteristic ginger texture. It was also sweet without being overpowering. The traditional method leaves a lot of sugar crystallized around the ginger. The pressure cooker gives a much more subtle result. The ginger stays moist even after it cools but you can dry it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. That inspired me to dip it in chocolate. While I was in the b...
2 comments
Read more