Square 17
A cool place that had formerly been Main Street Cafe (right next door to the Hunan House on the square in Medina). Unfortunately, the very BEST thing (and possibly the only redeeming quality) about Square 17 was our server, Kristen (and possibly the menu SELECTIONS themselves).
Because Kristen was so sweet and attentive, and tried so hard to accommodate, we decided not to voice our disappointment with just about (?) everything we ordered. While our cheeseboard appetizer was very tasty, we felt that $14 was a little pricey for what we got. If we understood correctly, there were 3 different varieties of cheese and while 2 of them were very good, the third was almost inedible. It was so salty and dry that even the yummy fig jam didn’t help offset it’s bitter taste. Definitely one of those that should have been crumbled and used on a salad – SPARINGLY!
I ordered the Arugula, Bacon and Fig salad with chicken and again, while it was very good and the nice-sized grilled chicken breast that came on top was good, there was no way that was a $17 salad. The other ingredients listed were scant and they only have 4 dressings to choose from. Rather than the honey vinaigrette that was listed with this salad, I opted for the white balsamic which was pretty bland and didn’t have much balsamic flavor to it. The other 2 dressings are Caesar and Ranch – neither of which would have enhanced this salad. Don’t misunderstand – my salad was ‘good’ but I can actually get a better salad many places for a lot less than $17. I have no problem at all spending a few extra $ if I feel that I’m getting something a little extra special.
The biggest disappointment was Mr. Z’s salmon entrée. The ‘first’ plate that Kristen brought out had a beautiful piece of salmon on it, but was so OVERLY-SEASONED that it was impossible to eat (we both tasted it and could barely swallow it). The description said honey glaze, but honestly…..it was 100% soy sauce (which is basically liquid sodium) – I tasted nothing remotely resembling honey. He very nicely mentioned this to Kristen, who was happy to return it to the kitchen and ask for another that was UNSEASONED. This took about 10 minutes during which time his fries (rosemary and garlic) got cold. The other side dish his meal came with was an interesting cold green bean salad with peach vinaigrette and slivered almonds (it was basically a bowl of cold, very crispy green beans with almonds on top – I tasted very little if any ‘peach’ flavor). The fries were tasty though. When Kristen brought the new piece of salmon, it was considerably smaller and thinner than the first and though it didn’t have as much seasoning, it wasn’t devoid of that saltiness. He took a couple of bites, pushed the rest around his plate and didn’t eat anything except his fries. As I said, a huge disappointment. The plate was cleared by another server who, if she noticed he didn’t eat his salmon, never said anything. When Kristen asked how the second piece was, he was honest and just said it wasn’t very good. She asked “if he wanted her to take it off the bill” (not something that a server should have to ask). He told her not to, BUT…..had he checked the price of that entrée when he ordered it; he might have felt differently about it – $22.00 for a piece of overly seasoned, almost inedible salmon, fries and cold green beans. Sorry, but I think that is totally over-priced. There was absolutely nothing about this dish that was worth $22.00 and we have both had better, more flavorful salmon at Red Lobster.
Again, Kristen was such a pleasure and so attentive, that we just didn’t want to complain, but as I’ve said so many times before, there are way too many really good restaurants that there would be no reason at all to overpay at one that is mediocre at best.
Square 17 is located at:
17 Public Square
Medina, OH
(330) 952-2330
http://www.17publicsquare.com/