My colleague Jo picked Murieta’s for her birthday lunch. For this post, let’s play something I listen to on the way to work to pump myself up for the day – Money, Money, Money by Abba.
The restaurant is beautiful. The large skylight filters in ample natural light, setting off the stonewalls. There’s a posh wine cabinet with a ladder at the back of the restaurant.
Despite being a Monday in February, the restaurant was packed. Every single table was full, mostly of smug looking men in suits. Jo had to get back to work in an hour so we were impatient to order. Mindy saw her favourite server Vanessa and asked her if we could place our order with her instead of waiting for our designated server.
I ordered the Cobb Salad ($16.00). Points for presentation. I liked how the herb dressing was lightly drizzled over the salad so I could enjoy the flavours of the individual components. The blue cheese was sharp and melted in my mouth. The farm egg was still soft in the middle, the yolk was bright orange.
Mindy added a grilled chicken breast ($7.00) to her Cobb Salad. The salad was good enough on its own that you don’t need to add any additional protein. However, after after I saw Mindy’s salad, I wished I added a little something extra to mine as well.
Jo and Gilchrist ordered a Steak Sandwich ($18.00). They requested medium and received well done steaks. Mindi told them to tell our server Stephanie. They were reluctant to but when Stephanie asked how the food was, I piped up and said the steaks were overdone. She asked if she could replace the two steaks. Since Jo had to get back to work in 15 minutes, she declined. Gilchrist also declined a new steak.
Erika ordered the Tuna Poke Wrap ($18.00). The fries were very good. I ate Jo’s leftover fries when she had to leave.
Legal ordered what I wanted – Lamb Meatball Spaghetti. This is what Miss Foodie eats when she dines here. Legal said it was delicious.
Stephanie came over to inform Jo and Gilchrist that they would receive a complimentary dessert. Jo had to leave so Stephanie had her dessert packed up. We shared a delicious chocolate cake with cherry coulis.
On Fridays, Murrieta’s has live jazz. Stephanie suggested that we get there early in order to get a table, as it gets busy. When asked what was considered early, she said 8:30 p.m. Our table was impressed with the level of customer service at Murrieta’s. Stephanie was pleasant throughout our meal and handled our feedback like a pro. I’d be happy to revisit and try more of the food and wine.
Hitting the Sauce 