So we finally got to try out Leon’s Full Service in Decatur last night (congrats on getting a .com domain!). My overall grade is 2.5 stars out of 4. We enjoyed the company far, far more than the restaurant, which is a good thing, right? :-) Charles, thank you for introducing us to E and M. ::muwah::
So, the buzz about Leon’s has been crazy and the wait on weekends has been fierce, which is why we’ve not tried it yet. Even on a Monday, it was full with a small wait. The pub Frites have been rhapsodized all over the local papers, so we started with those. They are fine. Nothing special at all, just good ole fries. The sauces are the big deal, but even those could use some work, IMO. We had Horseradish Mayo, Masaman Curry and Peppercorn Gravy. The mayo had little/no horseradish in it (we found out later that they were out of horseradish – then WHY serve it? 86 it fer cryin’ out loud!). The peppercorn “gravy” that everyone raves about was very underwhelming. It’s more of a broth than a gravy and it’s far too thin to work for a dipping sauce. The flavor was ok, but the thinness ruined it. The Masaman curry was by far the best sauce we had with the fries. We later tried the Black Pepper Mayo and the Smoked Tomato Mayo which were excellent. Too bad we didn’t get those with the fries.
We had an Argentinian chardonnay (Astica) with the apps then I switched to Siskiou Terrace from Foris in Oregon. The manager was kind enough to comp this for me due to the service error (below). The wine was excellent, but they did not decant it, so I got a nice mouthful of sediment at the bottom. Epic fail!! Also, the server didn’t know SQUAT about the wines or how to serve them.
The menu is limited – which is fine, I’m of the opinion that tight and good is better than loose and mediocre. The dishes they offer do vary widely and seem solid for the most part. Nick had the Slow Roasted Beef Brisket sandwich and I had the Beef Bistro Steak sandwich and we both had the Sauteed Spinach side. The first error was that the server did not put my order in with the rest of the table for some reason and so everyone was served but me. Oopsie. My sandwich showed up quickly once the error was discovered. Getting the temp med rare helped with that.
My Bistro Steak was fair. The steak was cooked right, but the sandwich just didn’t have any punch to it. I subbed the pepper mayo for the horseradish because I knew they did not have the horseradish but it didn’t really help. It was supposed to have gruyère on it and if it did, it was VERY bland gruyère – tasted like plain ole Swiss to me. The sauteed spinach side was also very bland – all the food needed seasoning. The chef is apparently one of those arrogant ones who thinks his dishes don’t need additional salt/pepper since they are noticeably absent from the table. Once the food was seasoned it was a bit better, but honestly, you have to do that when you’re cooking it. The spinach was supposed to be dressed with egg, smoked pecans and sherry vinegar – all I saw/tasted was the boiled eggs that had no salt on them. BLAND.
Nick’s brisket was better than my steak but that’s mostly due to the brisket having the peppercorn gravy on it. In this use, the peppercorn gravy, although thin, is very tasty and works well. The thick bread under the brisket soaks up the sauce and is nom nom nom. He also agreed that the spinach was bland and needed seasoning.
I also had a bite of the Supah Secret Peanut Butter Bacon Burger. It was good – but even this off menu specialty item was not prepared with the right bun or condiments. I saw the Trout dish (crispy pan fried trout with endive & radicchio) and it looked very nice but I can’t attest to the taste.
The ambiance of Leon’s is really good and I hope that the staff hits their stride soon. There was a constant stream of wait staff circling like sharks (borderline ANNOYING) yet the service was still just ok. They could probably cut the circling shark staff by half and be fine. The kitchen seemed to be firing on all cylinders, it’s the recipes that need tweaking. They also need to not be afraid to 86 something if it’s not up to snuff. Serving horseradish mayo with no horseradish is just dumb.
If you want awesome fries, get thee to The Porter in L5P. The Porter also has a tight menu but they have weekly specials to round it out and a huhYOOGE beer selection. Granted, The Porter has been open about a year, but from the get-go their menu has been outstanding. The kitchen is really good and pretty adventurous (sweetbreads anyone?).
I’ll definitely return to Leon’s for a second try. I think it’s just trying to get its footing amidst being slammed every single day. The potential is DEFINITELY there. I look forward to its maturing into yet another excellent Decatur hang out.