Mark Bittman on Chef Scott Carlsberg of Lampreia

Those of us in Seattle know who Scott Carlsberg is and recently, we had a chance to see how he works his magic at his Lampreia kitchen, with the release of All About Apples, his collaboration with Hillel Cooperman of tastingmenu.com.

"By tweaking just a couple of ingredients or by looking at a dish from a slightly different angle, a chef can make an established or even staid dish seem new and refreshing. It is a fine, unpretentious strategy, one that often results in food that is familiar enough to be broadly appealing but different enough to excite. This is the kind of work that the down-to-earth and eminently practical Scott Carsberg, the chef and owner of Lampreia, seems to revel in, and the creations here are perfect examples."

NYT Oct 6/04: Inspirations That Renew Old Standbys

Comments

[Blossom Chan]

Worst Experience Ever! We were rudely shoved around by the waiter when we were sitting in our chairs, had our menus snatched from us, told that we were unwelcomed because we arrived with 9 people instead of the 7 we had reservations for. The restaurant was half empty! We know that it’s a small place, but that’s no excuse for being treated so horribly! When we tried to talk calmly to the owner to resolve the situation, she yelled, “You’re rude for bringing 3 bottles of wine. GET OUT!” She shoved me out, slammed the door and locked it! Little did she know that those bottles were gifts!

This service and attitude in Seattle is embarrassing! We have been to Mistral, Canlis, and Rover’s numerous times and expected similar service, but we were very wrong! We can't believe this place is still around after all these years. Sad!

[Super unimpressed Patron]

This restaurant is horrible. We were served 2 bottles of bad wine and of the five entrees ordered, 2 (the same fish dish) were BAD. When we sent the dishes back we were asked by the server if we would like something to replace them. Yes, of course we did and opted for the Veal chops instead of the very BAD alaskan bass. The server then returned from the kitchen and said that the "chef" asked that we pay for ALL of the entrees, including the fish dishes that were not eaten, but sent back. We said that that is not ok and to cancel the veal chops. Immediately following the server brought us the check, without us asking for it. The paying party reviewed the bill and the Fish was still on it, $60 worth of BAD fish. We then asked the very unpleasant staff to take the 2 dishes off of the bill. That was refused! We then asked to speak to the manager, he also declined. After reluctantly giving the credit card to the server, they promtly returned with the reciept. No tip was left on the card and we noted that the charges were "in dispute". The manager then came over to PICK UP the check from us. Now I don't know where those unprofessional food service idiots were trained etiquette, but it is not customary or polite. We refused to give him the check reciept and told him he could have it when we left, as is normal in every other part of the fine dining world. The manager then continued to literally HOUND us for the check for approximately 3 minutes. We asked him to leave the table. We then decided to leave this Birthday celebration dinner, and as we did we were accompanied by the entire staff, excluding the cowardly "CHEF/OWNER". The Chef didn't ven have the cojones to man up once to the table himself. To boot the credit card that was charged was also charged a %20 tip on a party of FIVE, NOT the stated party of SIX gratuity inclusion!!! This was charged after we declined gratuity to the service and attitude of the unprofessional staff and uber cowardley SCOTT CARLSBERG. SHAME ON YOU MR. CARLSBERG!!! I hope he gets to read this, and if he doesn't, please pass this on. This is not over!! I am going to go out of my way to let everyone know that this place sucks! This place does not deserve a seat in the Zagat rating book for the city of Seattle or any other place for that matter. I am taking you down Scotty boy!!!!