I am always happy when new ventures--restaurants and the like--appear in the neighborhood and city. The arrival of The Ace Hotel in the old East Liberty YMCA was especially exciting. They have become a tech camp follower, opening in new and bustling areas of technological expansion, an its appearance here was complementary and promising. I have been through the hotel itself and eaten there several times and, I am embarrassed to say, I just do not get it.
I can understand the quirky, spare rooms. There is a clubby quality like an old style Harvard Club. But the restaurant is a complete mystery to me. To be fair, there are some limits here; after all, it is an old YMCA and protecting the old building was a real achievement. That said, the first floor is purposely informal, encompassing a rough dining area next to a rough bar with a number of mismatched seating areas and a camouflaged front desk. In the back there is an old YMCA basketball court that yesterday was a Ping-Pong area but has been other things on previous visits. This area is cleverly separated from the restaurant-bar area with large cardboard boxes and some trash cans. The less random furniture in the dining room is hard wood and metal, the seats functional and uncomfortable--as are the employees. Everything about the experience is like an old speakeasy might have been except for the lack of conspiratorial camaraderie. The food and service is surprising and consistently bad. Yesterday I had simple bacon and eggs, got half of what I ordered; the bacon was incinerated and hard to chew without shard injury.
There is a strange, dytopic element to this place, as if the customers were having a last family meal out just before the governmental crackdown. The décor, food and service is reminiscent of a Catholic Church Lenten fish fry where some space is shanghaied into being a serving area, seats are taken from uncomplaining children and food served with the understanding that judgment should be withheld because there is a larger purpose involved. The success of the place--and it does seem to be a success--hinges on its buzz, the undeniable concentration of young people who crowd in and out. It is hard to imagine that will last unless there is a subtle generational lowering of expectations and dulling of taste.
I can understand the quirky, spare rooms. There is a clubby quality like an old style Harvard Club. But the restaurant is a complete mystery to me. To be fair, there are some limits here; after all, it is an old YMCA and protecting the old building was a real achievement. That said, the first floor is purposely informal, encompassing a rough dining area next to a rough bar with a number of mismatched seating areas and a camouflaged front desk. In the back there is an old YMCA basketball court that yesterday was a Ping-Pong area but has been other things on previous visits. This area is cleverly separated from the restaurant-bar area with large cardboard boxes and some trash cans. The less random furniture in the dining room is hard wood and metal, the seats functional and uncomfortable--as are the employees. Everything about the experience is like an old speakeasy might have been except for the lack of conspiratorial camaraderie. The food and service is surprising and consistently bad. Yesterday I had simple bacon and eggs, got half of what I ordered; the bacon was incinerated and hard to chew without shard injury.
There is a strange, dytopic element to this place, as if the customers were having a last family meal out just before the governmental crackdown. The décor, food and service is reminiscent of a Catholic Church Lenten fish fry where some space is shanghaied into being a serving area, seats are taken from uncomplaining children and food served with the understanding that judgment should be withheld because there is a larger purpose involved. The success of the place--and it does seem to be a success--hinges on its buzz, the undeniable concentration of young people who crowd in and out. It is hard to imagine that will last unless there is a subtle generational lowering of expectations and dulling of taste.
No comments:
Post a Comment