Good flatbreads, bad entrees.
Maybe because of my intimate love affair with Ápizz, I expected her little sister to be just as good. They look alike; both having the same fiery orange lighting, but The Orchard looks more like the bottom floor of a luxury yacht (there are no windows) than a sexy lower Manhattan hotspot. The menu screamed for their flatbreads-- so we tried the steak tartare and the mushroom one. Surpringly, the latter greatly overshadowed the prime beef filet with its mouth watering herbs and mushroomy goodness. In fact, it might have been the best thing on the menu. We also tried the crispy lobster empanadas (Maine meets Miami?). The pulled lobster meat filling was wicked tasty, but the "butter leaf wrap" belonged more to a blintz than a "crispy empanada". (I should know, I'm a Jew married to a Cuban).
For $29, I got the olive-oil poached halibut with a kind of salsa on the side. I should have asked for chips with my salsa since the fish was just plain boring. We also ventured for the grilled filet mignon wraps. The meat was served in those crunchy, grasshopper color lettuce leaves (the kind the bodega puts in your sandwiches). Though boasting chimichurri pesto and spicy mayo, my dear jersey italian friend described them as "Lackluster. Unimaginative. Unimpressive"
Couldn't have said it better myself.
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