This small restaurant really jumps, and on a weekend night you'd have to get there very early for a table. People have been seen lining up outside waiting to get in. The atmosphere is lively, and the decor is just done enough to be cooly attractive without any sense of fuss. To me there is a mildly Californian look to Dave's Grill and the healthy looking, casually dressed diners complete the picture.
Our waiter looked like a master's degree candidate from Columbia University and paid just enough attention to us to make us feel comfortable. The hostess standing nearby was very chatty and friendly.
The extremely interesting menu took quite a while to peruse; we felt like ordering one of everything but settled for an order of honey and herb-marinated hickory-smoked jumbo shrimp with an accompanying sour cream mustard sauce, and an order of yellowfin tuna with arugula in a lemon vinaigrette. Both were outstanding and very generous, although I have to say the shrimp were so unusual that it would be my first choice next time, if I can resist some of the other mouthwatering choices.
We had a basket of very good bread and peeled open several pats of wrapped butter. Almost full, we focused on the main courses. We had ordered crispy onion and potato cod, and fresh spinach linguine with chorizo sausage, The cod was a moist boneless filet, breaded in crisply fried onions and potatoes {that's right} and then lightly fried and served with homemade tartar sauce. The linguine was sauteed in olive oil and shallots with sun-dried tomatoes, sausage and smoked mozzarella cheese. And if you don't think that was rich! But delicious. The two dishes were complete opposites in almost every way - the fish was light and crispy, the linguine rich and luscious, thick with meat and cheese. But they were both fabulous.
We noticed a couple nearby eating a very fanciful dessert. It was a chocolate bag filled with scoops of ice cream and topped with fresh whipped cream. It was completed by a puddle of tangy raspberry sauce. These two spoke not one word while they demolished the lunch-bag size dessert. It looked like true togetherness to us! But we were too full, so we chose the New Orleans bread pudding with walnuts, raisins and orange zest -- served hot, topped with a sweet butter and bourbon sauce and whipped cream. It s true, we waddled out, reliving every delicious mouthful. The food here is outrageously good, the music is terrific, and the staff helpful. Dave's Grill is one of our favorite places to eat.
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