Tweet
My wife and I checked out Communal about a week ago and I figured I'd do my part to continue trying to convince MarkGrace and DDD that while no Seattle or LA, little Provo's food scene is growing up. Or, more seriously, do my part to help my fellow Utah County Dwellers to find and enjoy good dining.
Communal is a new place opened up by the Pizzeria 712 guys and seems a great way to capitalize on the success of 712. It's on University avenue in an old brick building right between the Wells Fargo tower--where Spark is housed--and the other new building going up. As with 712, the dining room is smallish and the setting intimate, so we were lucky to get right in without a reservation on a Friday night. The atmosphere is great--see below links for pictures--and the chefs/cooks are working right in the same room. Great decor, lots of local art, nice but not stuffy. A few small tables, and one big long table where my wife and I were seated opposite each other next to some other parties.
The dinner menu includes starters, greens, meats, starches, veggies, and desserts. The sides are big enough to share between 2 people and are served to share. The theme reminds me of sunday dinner done restaurant style. Meats included a pot roast (which my wife had and that comes in its own piping hot little dutch oven), flat-iron steak w/ gremolata butter (which I had), chicken breast prepared sous vide, and seared scallops w/ shallot and bacon vinaigrette. A couple others as well from the meats, but can't recall right now.
Starches included mashed potatoes (our choice, came swimming in butter), polenta w/ caramelized onions, leek and potato gratin, and others. Veggies included mushrooms/shallots, brussels sprouts, and a beautiful roasted squash w/ apples and thyme. Next time I'm having this squash, and one of the starters--an heirloom tomato bread pudding with green olive tapenade and poached tuna. As well as dessert, which included a pear pan dowdy (our table neighbors had this and it looked great), a butterscotch pot de creme, and a chocolate dish made with locally-produced Amano chocolate.
Having only been once, I would review Communal favorably. My steak was not seasoned enough nor executed as well as I'd like, though overall it was still enjoyable. My wife's pot roast was very good, especially with the jus from the pot spooned over it. The mashed potatoes were smooth and buttery, where my vision of homestyle would be somewhat chunky...but again, the taste was there. The salad we had I loved and my wife thought was over-dressed with vinaigrette. I also liked the 'communal' theme more than did my wife, who couldn't get over sitting next to someone for the whole night that she didn't know and talked barely above a whisper the whole time.
I'd recommend getting a reservation just in case, and especially on a weekend evening. Looks like they're serving lunch now, too. Still, this is now yet another relatively new restaurant that is hitting the mark and offering something to Provo/UT County of value. Certainly better than other places that have been around awhile (eg Chef's Table). Check it out!
http://blackeiffel.blogspot.com/2009...estaurant.html
http://communalrestaurant.blogspot.com/
Communal is a new place opened up by the Pizzeria 712 guys and seems a great way to capitalize on the success of 712. It's on University avenue in an old brick building right between the Wells Fargo tower--where Spark is housed--and the other new building going up. As with 712, the dining room is smallish and the setting intimate, so we were lucky to get right in without a reservation on a Friday night. The atmosphere is great--see below links for pictures--and the chefs/cooks are working right in the same room. Great decor, lots of local art, nice but not stuffy. A few small tables, and one big long table where my wife and I were seated opposite each other next to some other parties.
The dinner menu includes starters, greens, meats, starches, veggies, and desserts. The sides are big enough to share between 2 people and are served to share. The theme reminds me of sunday dinner done restaurant style. Meats included a pot roast (which my wife had and that comes in its own piping hot little dutch oven), flat-iron steak w/ gremolata butter (which I had), chicken breast prepared sous vide, and seared scallops w/ shallot and bacon vinaigrette. A couple others as well from the meats, but can't recall right now.
Starches included mashed potatoes (our choice, came swimming in butter), polenta w/ caramelized onions, leek and potato gratin, and others. Veggies included mushrooms/shallots, brussels sprouts, and a beautiful roasted squash w/ apples and thyme. Next time I'm having this squash, and one of the starters--an heirloom tomato bread pudding with green olive tapenade and poached tuna. As well as dessert, which included a pear pan dowdy (our table neighbors had this and it looked great), a butterscotch pot de creme, and a chocolate dish made with locally-produced Amano chocolate.
Having only been once, I would review Communal favorably. My steak was not seasoned enough nor executed as well as I'd like, though overall it was still enjoyable. My wife's pot roast was very good, especially with the jus from the pot spooned over it. The mashed potatoes were smooth and buttery, where my vision of homestyle would be somewhat chunky...but again, the taste was there. The salad we had I loved and my wife thought was over-dressed with vinaigrette. I also liked the 'communal' theme more than did my wife, who couldn't get over sitting next to someone for the whole night that she didn't know and talked barely above a whisper the whole time.
I'd recommend getting a reservation just in case, and especially on a weekend evening. Looks like they're serving lunch now, too. Still, this is now yet another relatively new restaurant that is hitting the mark and offering something to Provo/UT County of value. Certainly better than other places that have been around awhile (eg Chef's Table). Check it out!
http://blackeiffel.blogspot.com/2009...estaurant.html
http://communalrestaurant.blogspot.com/
Comment