What's going on, Albuquerque?

Dawn Sanchez Creations, The Cube, Cosmos?

Checking in on some of our downtown and nob hill newbies - has anyone been at all or recently and have on the ground reports?

I just saw the shimmering OPEN sign at the Cube minutes ago, and have been to Cosmos once with a return trip ASAP. Food was very promising the first time, if pricey. Kind of like Graze but maybe not *as* good? I know that's a pretty damning thing to say, since Graze couldn't make money.

Any other new places ya'll have found? I feel like my target list is short lately.

Tags: cosmos, cube, downtown, graze, hill, nob, restaurant, tapas, the

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by meeko on November 8, 2009 at 2:57pm

We went to the Cube last week. LOVE the decor, very comfortable yet very nice. I was also impressed with the beer list. The brisket was disappointing. It was lean, which is nice, but there was no smoke ring, no smokey flavor, and it was really dry and tough. I guess that may be what Memphis brisket is like....I'm an Oklahoma girl and my fiance is an East Texas guy and we're used to low, slow, smokey and tender BBQ. (I know BBQ is a very PERSONAL thing). I was happy with the pulled pork sandwich (my fiance thought the pork was dry, but I think he was just sulking about the brisket). The BBQ sauce they served with the meal was thick and sweet and complemented the pork well. (It didn't help the brisket). We tried the sweet potatoes which are very citrusy (I think I would have liked a little spice in them to balance the citrus), and the mac and cheese. It's nice to have options besides fries or potato salad. The BBQ sandwich with coleslaw filled me up nicely for about 6 dollars.

Definitely worth a stop if you haven't tried them yet.

Permalink Reply by Kyle Zimmerman on November 8, 2009 at 7:59pm

We took another couple to Cosmos for a birthday celebration. It was a quiet evening, I cannot remember for sure , but perhaps a weekday. The server was attentive and gracious , the tapas, (and we tried almost all of them!) were good to VERY good.
The only kink came when the owner/ manager? came to the table to greet us and see if we were satisfied, (one of those "I see that you are spending hundreds of dollars, how are YOU?" ) moments...
We were having a nice time and he introduced himself, I reached my hand and said, Hello, I'm Kyle, etc...... He refused my handshake. Said something about a cold.... didn't feel real.
I felt dissed, and it even made me think worse things that I won't go into here.
Of course, we are all being careful these days, but PLEASE, shake a hand and go wash em up... I was offended, my husband was offended, and now we probably won't go back over bad manners.....
too bad, pretty darn good tapas and the drinks were good too!

Permalink Reply by hettie on December 5, 2009 at 10:35pm

every time we've been to cosmo, we've been chatted up by the owner and seen him greeting all the tables. I think that's his style, not something he does just for a table of big spenders. it's weird about the handshaking, but maybe he really did have a cold? my sweetie has known the owner since he was younger and he's a nice guy. I'd say give the place another chance. the food is amazing!

Permalink Reply by Amy on September 16, 2011 at 9:37am

I absolutely agree about the owner, Hettie. He has been super, super nice to us every time. Even if we only go in to have a happy hour drink - doesn't matter. When one of his regular musicians left recently to move out of state, we were there for his last night. The owner (and I think his wife) came out with a cake and offered some to everyone there. The owner gave a short speech that had everyone teary-eyed; even the owner himself teared up. I can't think of another place in town where the owner has been there every time I was there and always interacting with everyone. We saw him working on something himself on the exterior of the building one evening and he stopped what he was doing to greet us and thank us for coming. To me it seems very genuine.

Permalink Reply by Dull John on August 17, 2011 at 7:10pm

Tried The Cube last weekend was disappointed. Service was very slow, the meat was dry and not fresh the slaw was just so so, nothing to write about. I thought the interior rather unspectacular . Would NOT recommend it and won't be back.

Permalink Reply by Andrea Lin on September 15, 2011 at 9:03am

Sorry to hear that, John. I find the FOOD at the Cube absolutely delicious - you cannot miss the sweet potato pie - but the service is off & on (counter service only).

And the NOISE! Sheesh. I have hated the acoustics in there since day one. Get some carpet! Get some dividers!

Permalink Reply by meeko on October 16, 2011 at 7:41am

Is Cosmo still open? We've moved up north and I'm feeling out of touch.