Revolution

We thought it was appropriate to start things off with our impression of Durham’s newest dining experience: Revolution

Revolution

Revolution – light fixture

Revolution – Ivan

After perusing their menu online to make sure there were adequate vegetarian selections, I made reservations. I was able to do so through Revolution’s website using Open Table, which was very convenient. We arrived a few min. early and Augustus, being the gentleman that he is, dropped me off at the door. We were immediately approached by the valet. After declining his services, Augustus went to park the car while I went inside. As soon as I walked in the hostess asked if I had a reservation. Earlier I was wondering if a reservation was really necessary; I guess so. While waiting on the rest of my party to arrive, I surveyed the scenery. Clean and white. The stark whiteness was broken up with organic touches like the light fixtures and a full floral wall mosaic that looked kind of like cross stitch. The bar takes up the majority of the interior. It was very bright and open, which is a bit disconcerting for a bar. The back of the bar has several screens that have a live feed of what is going on in the kitchen. I thought of it as insurance against unsightly things happening to my food. After a drink and the bar, our party was seated in the much smaller dining room. The hostesses graciously took our jackets for us as we were seated. The dining room was considerably more intimate that the expansive bar area. Despite the enormous menus, there was a fairly limited selection. 4 red and 4 white wines, around 10 beers, and a hand full of entrees. Augustus and I split the Winter White Salad, which was excellent. Our friends had some meaty thing……Spanish ham I believe. Drinks and appetizers came out in a timely manner but I believe there must have been trouble in the kitchen because our entrees took a considerable amount of time to arrive. Eventually they did, and they did not disappoint. I had the Sweet Potato Curry, which was amazing. I usually don’t enjoy fine dining establishments because they always have a token vegetarian dish which is usually not worth the price tag. This curry was an exception, it was great. Augustus had the suckling pig, which made me sad but seemed to tantalize his taste buds. Our friends had the ribs, which received rave reviews and the scallops, which received only a “good”. We passed on dessert and wrapped up our dining experience so that we could sample the bar scene. Upon returning home (and after a considerable amount of beer) Augustus decided to write down our thoughts on the restaurant. I’ve edited the drunken ramblings below.

Lilith’s notes on Revolution: I enjoyed the décor, the food was delicious but the atmosphere was a bit pretentious. Pretentious how? Because of the valet (which I can see being useful years in the future when parking downtown is not as readily available as it is today), reservation requirement, tables set upon arrival, coat check… just a little too “full service” for my taste. Maybe the restaurant wanted to make you feel like you were getting your money’s worth with all of the extras but the food was good enough on its own.

Augustus’ notes on Revolution: I thought the food was very good and skillfully cooked. Unfortunately, I think there were some problems with the kitchen and our order took way too long to get to us. The atmosphere was a nice divergence from the everyday Durham, but it was difficult to stomach because I enjoy Durham for what it is: working class. The food was awesome, the service great, the Durham feel not so much…