Infusion Ultra Lounge... and Bistro?

Infuzion Ultra Lounge and Bistro...more of a lounge, less of a bistro.  I know a couple of people that actually like this place so I'll be as kind as possible.

     I personally don't care much for places that name their establishment after both a "club/bar" AND restaurant, especially when they try to portray something they're obviously not.  

     First, most people know that a bistro is a small restaurant, with modest food, prices and settings.  According to Wikipedia, Bistros are defined mostly by the foods they serve. French home-style cooking, and slow-cooked foods like cassoulet, a bean stew, are typical.  Yeah, I saw none of this type of food being served up there. And regarding the setting, the place is pretty huge indoors and out as well as a huge bar...NOT a bistro.  

     The food tasted like someone just decided to open up a restaurant one day and serve what they liked.  My sister and I split a few menu items.  We started with the crab cakes. They were pretty, but the crab cakes as well as the sauce that was drizzled over them all tasted pre-packaged/pre-made.  None of it tasted fresh.  The veggies were the only fresh thing on the plate.  

     My sister ordered a steak and I ordered the crab/seafood salad. Again, a disappointment.  The supposed steak tasted nothing short of a "cube" type of steak, no flavor at all.  The seafood salad was waaay too heavy on the mayo sauce and loaded with imitation crab meat.  It was a sad looking plate. Over soupy-like seafood salad, three slices of onions, a tomato on a leaf of lettuce and a few slices of avocado. Again, FAR from being a bistro. I'm pretty sure my kids were plating better foods when they were in grade school.

     The steak looks good from far, but it was bland and flavorless, and if you know a good cut of meat, you can tell by looking at this meat that it was not good...a cheap, tough cut for sure.

     We waited too long for everything.  It took fifteen minutes for anyone to finally approach, making the first server/customer contact.  Then it took forever to get our drinks, forever to get our food ordered, forever to get our food and forever to get our ticket to get out of there.

PRESS PLAY

     The bar crowd was hopping and there was a guy dressed in a chef's coat, but he was entertaining the bar crowd and hanging out with friends, surely he wasn't THE chef...I've never seen a chef like this before if he was...they're usually in the kitchen putting out fresh ingredient dishes.  No way is this place to be taken seriously as a upscale or fine dining restaurant and it is NOT a bistro for sure.  Far from it.

     If there is something someone can recommend I'd go back, but really, if there are only a couple of items I missed that were good, then...what's the point.

     The best advice I can give the owner of this establishment is to research the restaurant industry... know what the terms mean, and know food period.  Hire a professional chef and create a menu that caters to the name of your restaurant.  Or, just stay in the bar/club business because that part of the business was a success. It looked like fun and possibly a place I'd go to just drink.  Infuzion Bar & Grill might be a more suitable name.

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Bistro at Seville...Get Your Nerdie Foodie Hind Ends There!!

     I hadn't been to the Bistro since it left the Brookside location years ago.  So glad my client suggested it!!!

     The food was amazing...but let me back up and start at the beginning.  I arrived late (sorry Katie!) but was seated immediately.  My guest was already seated.  Okay, I won't bore you with the same "chitter-chatter, food-blogger" boring stuff. Service was GREAT...Food was GREAT. Not over-priced, but rather priced right for the quality of service and flavor of the food, not to mention the presentation.

     We started with the Chokes and Cheese...only, sadly, I forgot to snap a pic. Okay, I didn't forget...this was my first time meeting with my client and it took me 15 minutes to feel comfortable enough to start the nerdy, foodie, food-snapping thing. But finally I did.

     Chokes and Cheese are rich cream cheese, artichoke hearts and Parmesan cheese served with seasoned toasted pita chips.  It's better than any artichoke dip I've had anywhere else...it wasn't too fatty, or greasy.  It's priced around $10.

     My guest Katie, ordered the Grilled Turkey and Avocado. I mean, seriously...who doesn't like avocado? That was a rhetorical question, everybody loves avocado and if you don't, I don't wanna know you, m'kay?

Grilled Turkey and Avocado  10

Shaved turkey, Swiss cheese, sweet pepper bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado spread and cilantro aioli on wheat berry bread. Served with fresh garlic potato chips

     I ordered the amazing Jumbo Scallops. Wow...that's all I can say. It's served over creamed cous cous. Can you picture it? Well, I've got a picture below, but I meant can you picture me licking the bowl afterwards? Yeah, I wanted to...so, so bad.

Jumbo Scallops  24

Pan seared jumbo scallops served with a vegetable creamed cous cous lightly drizzled with a balsamic port reduction

     I actually talked Katie into trying the Baked Fudge. We shared it but I proud of the fact that we didn't finish it!! It was tough not to because it was one of the best desserts I've had in a long time. Baked creamy fudge served per the server's suggestion, with ice cream...mmm!!

Baked Fudge  6/6.5

Not quite a brownie. Not quite a fudge. Somewhere in between lies chocolatey heaven. With whipped cream or ice cream.

     

     A special thanks to my first time lunch guest Katie...who also happens to be...wait for it...a foodie!  

     I've seen some negative posts about this place and all I can say is what I always say...some people don't have good palates and some people are smokers, which causes you to have terrible palates. So, I say to you...just try it for yourself. Don't always take a review, including mine, to heart. If you don't want to try a place and shell out money for a pricey menu, my advice is to try it out for lunch because most restaurants have lunch portions and prices that are less than their dinner menu prices.

     I liked Bistro at Seville...a  lot. I say give it whirl. It's a great place to impress a client or a date.  Bon appetit you foodie freaks and eat on!