Dinner at the Union Hotel in Occidental, CA

backroadblues:

“You can never go back…”  Oliver Wendell Holmes was right when he said, ”a mind that is stretched by experience can never go back”. We tried to do just that, when on a rainy day we ventured into the small town of Occidental to eat at the Union Hotel.  Elisa and I both had fond memories of the family dinners we enjoyed here with members of Elisa’s family some 30+ years ago.  What made the Union Hotel family dining experience special was the multi-course meal that was served, family style.  What we mostly remember is that the food was prepared fresh and just like it was cooked at home.  Elisa was especially recollecting the delicious zucchini fritters that they served as one of the appetizers.  So we went there with high expectations.   We were the first to arrive at the smallish dining room.  It was a lot smaller than I remembered.  There was a large table that was being reserved for a group of 24 people that would be coming in a bit later.  Just as our server greeted us, the 24 guests began to stroll in.  It was a group of seniors from the town of Windsor.  With the influx of guests coming in and getting situated, our server was not to be seen again for 15 minutes.   When our server finally came back, Elisa’s first question was about the beloved zucchini fritters and guess what? They don’t serve those anymore.  Elisa was already a bit miffed by the earlier disappearance of our server – strike 1 and now we had strike 2 – no fritters.  Nevertheless, we got our orders in – Elisa ordered the roasted chicken and I the rib eye steak.  So in spite of the poor start, we hoped the food would be as good as we remembered it.  The meal was preceded with a very large salad, but we both found the vinegrette dressing to be a little too sweet.  Then came the minestrone soup – it was a little watery.  Then came the bruschetta – these were actually great – except Elisa couldn’t enjoy them because of her gluten intolerance.  The bruschetta were made with very fresh french bread that had been coated in olive oil, garlic, parsley, and parmesan cheese and then covered liberally with red and green tomatoes marinated in olive oil and then baked – crisp but not too crunchy. So now we are ready for our main course – but we notice that the party of 24 is all getting their food served before us.  “Hey, we were here first”, Elisa mused.  Some 20 minutes later we receives our entrees.  By now, we really weren’t hungry anymore.  Elisa’s chicken was good but not great and my steak was a bit too seared on the outside, but still medium rare on the inside.  So ate a bit and then we packed up a bunch of to-go boxes.  Our server did feel bad about all the delays and she also gave us a huge slice of carrot cake for our trouble.   So what’s the final verdict?  I’m glad we went back to try to re-experience our memories from the past, but unfortunately the reality did not measure up to the memory.  So, I ask myself, did my perception of great food and dining experience change over the many years, or did the quality of the food decline.  Probably a little of both.  In the end, I don’t think I would drive out of my way to visit the Union Hotel again – perhaps, I’ll be happy to come back if its after another 30+ years later.  God willing. P.S.  I had a small slice of the carrot cake after dinner tonight…and it was the best part of the meal. Rex

Some of you didn’t see the entire post.