The Restaurant Curse

Ever bring a friend to a restaurant you’ve raved about only to have a terrible experience? Of course you have, we all have. A friend of mine calls this the “restaurant curse”. He usually blames me, as though the mere act of my walking through the restaurant’s door caused the karma in the place to shift and the chef to suddenly lose his chops. I’ve stopped sending people I know to restaurants I like because I can’t bear to hear stories like this.

If you’ve ever read this blog before then you’re probably tired of hearing me talk about the burger at Copeland. Hell, I’m tired of hearing me talk about the burger at Copeland. I thought that the burger was “restaurant curse” proof, I figured that if it could pass the Tommy:Eats test then it was safe, above bad mojo and all that. That was before last Friday night.

I had friends coming up from Philadelphia. Friends to whom I’d raved about that burger. We agreed to meet at the bar at Copeland at 7:15 last Friday. The place was packed. I saw burgers coming out of the kitchen. I drank weiss beers and waited for my friends to arrive. Then disaster: the kitchen ran out of burgers. Ran out of burgers! How does a restaurant run out of hamburgers? It was the “restaurant curse” in all its glory.

Where do you go to eat on a Friday night in Morristown at 8 PM when Copeland has no burgers? You certainly don’t want to stay at Copeland and eat their other overpriced and underwhelming offerings. We set out for Origin, 6-14 South St. (973)971-9933, a Thai-French fusion place near the Green but got there to find a half hour wait. I’ve eaten at Origin before and while the food is good its not half hour wait good.

Desperate, on foot and hungry we settled at Provesi at 50 South St, a casual Italian BYO. Sorry to say that I can’t recommend Provesi. A cold antipasto appetizer wasn’t bad but my margherita pizza was mediocre as were my friends’ chicken dishes. Great service could have made a big difference. The terrible service that we received buried this place for me: long waits for drinks and bread brought out long after it was asked for are just two examples. Next time we’ll look elsewhere.