One of the best perks of no longer having to work for a living?...eating out mid-afternoon...when there are no crowds...when eating is more relaxed...when your server's attention is not shared with other patrons...
It is an especially good time to try a new restaurant...a time where there is nothing to get in the way of greatness...this was why we headed to the latest Paragary Restaurant Group's creation yesterday...Hock Farm Craft & Provisions...named after the John Sutter's farm...and located on the former site of the group's now-defunct Spataro...it retains none of that restaurant's upscale feel...or spare, modern decor...or intimacy...
Instead you encounter a huge, open space...the expected polished concrete floor...a bar that commands a third of the room...a plain dining room...
A bright, white neon sign above the kitchen shouts "patriarch, priest, father, and judge"...while a single shot glass on each dining table, containing one short twig of rosemary, whispers "what you see is what you get"...
And what you get is Spataro's chef and Spataro's menu...with some subtle substitution of ingredients...
The restaurant aspires to "farm-to-fork"...seasonal produce and ingredients from the Sacramento region...it turns out this means that instead of Italian prosciutto, the carbonara contains house-cured ham...instead of water service, a bottle of water is placed on your table and you serve yourself...instead of bread service, you are offered the the opportunity to pay for house-made focaccia that is bland and served toasted but barely warm...after inquiring and learning that your Bloody Mary is so salty it's undrinkable, instead of offering you a new drink your waiter leaves the glass on the table and the charge on the bill...
Not an auspicious start for a restaurant looking to be everything...as in the quote above the kitchen, there's a lot missing here...