Ask the concierge first

September 16, 2008 · Filed Under Ranting, mo30dc2008 · Comments 

I’m currently on a business trip in Santa Barbara. It’s my first time in Santa Barbara and finding a place to have a nice dinner was one of the first things I had to do once I arrived. I had spent some time walking around the pier and I found what looked to be a decent restaurant called Moby Dick Restaurant. After I was finished exploring, I returned to my hotel, changed clothes and headed back to the pier for dinner. The view from the restaurant was amazing. It overlooked the harbor, and at sunset, the it was absolutely gorgeous. Unfortunately, that’s the best thing I can say about my dinner. My meal was overpriced ($40 for a steak, 4 shrimp, chowder and a soda) and not very good.

Tonight I went out to dinner with my coworker and his family. Since they had their small child with them, I figured letting them choose the place to eat was the wise thing to do. As we drove up State Street, we passed a place called The Original Enterprise Fish Company. After a little navigational fun trying to find their parking lot, we went inside. I had a very good swordfish dinner that was under $30 including chowder, a salad and soda. As we were finishing up dinner, I was telling the waitress my meal was so much better than the previous night. She asked us if we had ever eaten at Brophy’s. We said we hadn’t and she went on to tell us that most people choose Brophy’s over Enterprise stating that their clam chowder is excellent.

As I returned to the hotel and walked through the lobby, I stopped by the concierge and without giving him any other details I simply asked, “If you are going out to dinner, would you rather go to Brophy’s or Enterprise?” He takes no time at all to explain, “Definitely Brophy’s.” Duly noted, I know where I’m eating tomorrow night.

Had I asked the concierge prior to dinner on the first night, I’d have skipped the tourist trap meal on the first night. Thankfully I wised up and asked before it’s too late. I expect my final dinner in Santa Barbara to be much better than my first. If it’s not, believe me, I’ll let you know.

I wrote a review of Moby Dick Restaurant on Yelp.com. You can read it here.

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