The Oak Room at The Plaza

Ok, so hotel dining rarely has a good reputation. Got it. But with the Plaza's renovation to include luxury residences, perhaps the game has changed a touch?

The Oak Room has gotten mixed reviews, at best. However, we went for dinner on fine Sunday evening. Don't know whether it was the economy, the location or its reputation, but the restaurant was largely empty even though we were there from 6:30 to 9:30. Certainly well within in the typical dining hours for a Sunday.

My friend, a Marylander (let's call her "Mary") and as such, a crab aficionada, started with the Dungeness crab appetizer. She thought it was heavenly, and no doubt liked the fact that it came with "green goddess", whatever that might be. I started with the mixed green salad, which had beautiful tomatoes, although perhaps too much fennel. We each had the short ribs with gnocchi as our main course.

In fairness, anyone who knows me knows that I would order "short ribs with gnocchi" off of any menu on which it appeared. The short ribs were well-prepared, although the gnocchi left a bit to be desired. It's not an Italian restaurant, though, so I'm not too upset about that.

For dessert we shared a mixed berry plate that was the perfect ending to the meal. Blood orange juice drizzled around it made it almost a soup, and it was good.

And I must admit, short rib fiend that I am, I'll be back.