Etta at the Shay

After seeing several posts about Etta, I was excited to taste and experience the place for myself. The dining room and patio are both beautiful spaces, very open, light, and appointed with classic clean comfortable furniture. There are plenty of heat lamps on the dog friendly patio, and service was impeccable. 

The menu is varied enough for vegetarians and vegans, with plenty of options for meat lovers. Prices are a bit high but not unreasonable. We chose 2 glasses of the French Chardonnay from Bourgogne for $18 each as we anticipated the vegetarian meal we ordered.

I went with a friend with a dog, so we sat on the patio and started with the eggplant appetizer for $16. Served with tahini ricotta, buttered hazelnuts, calabrian chili and herb salad, this was a pleasant appetizer, but I was surprised that it was not served warm. The crunch of the hazelnuts added a nice crunch to the overly fussy combination of flavors.

I was hopeful that the little gem salad for $17 would be better. Served with avocado, cucumbers, and a Creme Fraiche vinaigrette, this was blandly unremarkable.

Hoping for a knockout vegetable dish, this green bean, mushroom, and corn medley could have been much better if it did not have a refrigerator chill on all the vegetables (for around $16). I don't know why they chose to serve the vegetable sides at room temperature or chilled, but it definitely diminished the flavor of dishes. 

Thankfully the pasta was served warm with fresh basil and tomatoes (around $25) and was done with a light hand in both the preparation and flavors.

It was interesting to eat as a vegetarian and find out if a restaurant does a good job solely based on vegetarian dishes, but I was not impressed by any of the vegetarian food. I think a return visit for some pizza or brunch might sway my opinion to be more favorable. Since I did not taste any of the meat or fish options from the hearth, I might return to see if those options might be better as well.