CHARLIE PALMER FIN FISH

Sunday afternoon we decided we'd head up to Reno for a quick over night get away. Through a driving rain storm we made our way up the hill. We had a room at the Peppermill but decided to try Charlie Palmers Fin Fish at the Grand Sierra. We had eaten at his steak house and it was excellent. I called to make reservations after we got settled in our room and was told any time was available. We made a 7:00pm reservation, but really we could have just walked in. I have to say I was a little disappointed. Now, I'm comparing this to Steak where everything was perfect. Service here was slow.. in all fairness our waiter was a little physically challenged but, still. We started with the Oysters on the half shell and the Lobster "corn dog". The oysters were nice and fresh . The "corn dog" was cute but not very flavorful. It was a bland lobster mousse in a light crisp shell with three types of mustard, but they all tasted the same. Charlie had the Lobster and Fillet. The fillet was cooked very rare like he asked and the 1/2 lobster looked good. He said it was very good. I had the Chicken and Shrimp Gumbo. I was really disappointed. The Gumbo had been thickened with a lot of cornstarch rather than a nice rich roux. It just wasn't a "Charlie Palmer" type dish. I wish the celebrity chef would actually be in the kitchen so I could ask if this was really the type of dish he would serve. Compared to Steak it was a total disappointment.

_Eileen_