Loading ...In Rhythm With James
Posted by Foobooz on June 11th, 2007
PhilaFoodie adds to praise heaped upon James, the upscale new-American restaurant at 8th and Christian.
If there’s anything about James that could strike a challenging chord for some, it would be the portion size and price. The portions are not large; they’re elegantly sized, probably more in line with the amount of food we should be eating and not what we’ve been conditioned to believe is necessary. So, those looking for never-ending pasta bowls should eat elsewhere. That said, the meals I’ve had at James have been satisfying and I’ve never left hungry or wanting more. The prices at James are in line with what you’d expect to pay at other fine restaurants in Center City. And the stylish food and professional and attentive service at James are definitely worth the money. But the prices mirror the grace and sophistication of the couple’s creation, making James more of a special occasion destination than an everyday hangout.
James [PhilaFoodie]
Related Tags: Bella-Vista, James, New-American, Reviewed, South-Philadelphia
June 20th, 2007 at 7:14 am
Destroying the rhythm……
OK, we first went to James back in February and loved it. Last night, on Tuesday, we decided it was time to go back. Before I go on, let me say that the food was fantastic, our server Megan could not have been more accomodating and welcoming, and all this BS about portion size needs to be gotten over. We left very comfortably sated.
Our happy ending actually started out with a horrendous beginning. No, we didn’t have a reservation, but come on, it was Tuesday night. We were met by Cecile the hostess who informed us that we’d have about a 15 minute wait. Reasonable, so we had a drink at the bar. A good 20 minutes later, we noticed that there were still open tables since the moment we walked in and asked her why we couldn’t be seated at one of them. That’s where the nightmare began. She fired back with the rudest attitude I’ve ever experienced. She told us that if we didn’t want to wait for the table, we didn’t have to. Translation = if you don’t like it, leave. She was argumentative, and just plain inappropriate. The manager Christina, tried to mitigate the damage that the hostess had done, and eventually got our mealback on track. Thanks to Christina and most of all Megan,(and of course the kitchen!) we ended up leaving on a positive note. We will be back, but will be expecting far better reception. The management needs to reel in the hostess. It creates the first impression, which in our case was very very poor.