Downtown Friday Night

There are things you need to know in advance:

• This blog is dedicated to the Watertown, SD habitues!  If that's not you, come visit!
• I love the Goss Opera House.  The whole concept of the building appeals to me.  We worked the Bodies when they were here.  We worked King Tut when he visited.  We love to listen to the symphony in the theatre.  It’s just a special place for us. 
• I love to eat (surprise!).  The concept of fine dining with ambience appeals to me.

That being said, I had been disappointed of late with the direction the Goss had gone.  We celebrated St. Patrick’s day with the Celtic music concert and dinner before.  The music was delightful.  The dinner?  Not so much!  Service was SLOOOOOOOOOOW.  And when the food came, it was less than stellar. 

I used to cook in a place similar to this.  I know neither of these problems is unavoidable.  I also know that unless one explains one’s lack of contentment, things will not change.  I wrote to the new management.  I let them know they had problems.  The next day, I got a phone call.  They were changing the menu.  They were hiring a chef.  They were hiring new wait staff.  Would we come back as their guests and see if they could do better?

We did!

They did!!!! 

We started with the crab cakes.  I highly recommend them.  Share  them—there are three and they could be a meal.

Cath had the Jambalaya (Okay, she skipped the pasta and had it on Romaine!  God bless Emily, our waitress.  She didn’t even flinch!) I had the rib-eye with the smoked Gouda scalloped potatoes.  Cath suggested they make her “salad” a menu item.  She was impressed.  My steak was cooked perfectly.  It could have used a touch of butter on top, but was tasty.  But the potatoes?  Amazing!  And of course, we had to have dessert.  For Cath, bananas Foster, (as directed!) flamed at the table.  For me, the turtle cheesecake.  When we waddled out, we were happy!

As we ate, there was live music playing in the bar—far enough away to not be intrusive, but loud enough to enjoy an amazing rendition of Alleluia and sing along under my breath.  The bar has a new menu as well, and it looked appealing.  Next time, we’ll give that a try!

It is so exciting to us to see downtown coming alive!!  We’ve tried the new brewing company and were impressed.  We’ve tried Harry’s and were impressed.  And now the Goss as a GREAT option?  Wow!  Now, if there were only a positive correlation between my belt size increasing and my wallet decreasing!  Give downtown a try, and as Julia would say, Bon Appétit!