This was a bizarre experience all around.  It began with the waiter, who was either high while serving us, or just fried from too many LSD experiences in high school.  Either way, he was more than a bit off, and it didn’t make for a terrific experience.

California Café is located inside of the Park Meadows Mall, away from the food court, and is a full-blown restaurant.  Tastefully decorated and elegant, our first impression was that the menu was surprisingly underpriced for the ambiance.  That ended quickly though, once our entrees arrived.

The presentation was nice and the initial impression was, once again, pleasing.  Let me also add that there was nothing wrong with our food.  It was not overcooked, the order was not wrong, it did not look bad.  We’d ordered from the “choose three” menu, which allows you to choose one item from each of three categories to make up your own dish.  The first plate was ranch steak, mashed potatoes and green beans.  The second plate was Korean short ribs, sweet potato hash and asparagus.   While the steak had a surprising amount of gristle, it was ultimately fine and was cooked properly.  The short ribs were tender and easily came off the bone, with a spicy-sweet sauce that was yummy.

However, something we noticed immediately upon starting to eat was that EVERYTHING was soaked in butter.  I suppose this was to make up for lack of effort on any of the side dishes.  All we tasted was oil.  There was no salt, spice, vinegar – nothing whatsoever to invigorate the senses and make you come back for more.  Just plain, dull and boring.  The greasy mashed potatoes were like cement and the sweet potato hash was not at all sweet and simply sautéed with bacon – which does not a hash make.  The innocent veggies had not even an attempt at any flavor other than butter, which dripped down my chin every time I lifted the asparagus to my mouth.  Ultimately, I stopped eating out of guilt at all the oil I was consuming.

Note to chef: there’s more to cooking than melting down butter.  I left unhappy and feeling as though I’d wasted my time and money.  Next time I’m down at Park Meadows, I’ll just go to PF Changs.