Synergy Restaurant (@ the CR Clarion Hotel)
Synergy
525 33rd Avenue S.W.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404
Reservations: 877-949-2992
Cedar Rapids dining has reached an all time low with Synergy in the Cedar Rapids Clarion Hotel.
I had never heard of Synergy until Jeff was thumbing through the phone book a few weeks ago looking for a new restaurant for us to try out. We were excited by the menu in the yellow pages that listed many interesting dishes with an international flair. In fact, the phone book menu breaks down the dishes by country with tantilizing dishes like (USA) Lousiana Bacon Wrapped Scallops, (France) Escargot al 'All, (Japan) Nagoya Style Meat Ball, (Italy) Linguine al Pesto, and (Spain) Fried Blue Cheese Stuffed Green Olives. The funny thing is, that NONE of these items were on the actual dinner menu!
Jeff called Synergy to make a reservation and was told none would be necessary, this was Red Flag #1. We arrived at 6:00pm on a Saturday night to find we were the ONLY guests in the restaurant, Red Flag #2. My first instinct was to get the hell out of there but curiosity and my need to soldier on and solve this culinary mystery was too strong. The dated and tacky dining room was huge and empty and frankly a little creepy, much like in the movie The Shining, Red Flag #3. We were seated and handed menus where we immediatly noticed that none of the items that peaked our curiosity were on the menu. We ordered an appetizer of Shrimp Cocktail and I had a glass wine. Jeff ordered the Prime Rib which comes with the salad bar and I had the crab stuffed mushrooms and a side salad.
The salad bar was small but nice and well filled, not hard to do since we were the only dinner guests. The Shrimp Cocktail was a joke. 5 medium side shrimp, two lemon slices, a dab of cocktail sauce and 2 celephane packages of Club Crackers for almost $9! The Mushrooms were equally dismal and flavorless. The filling had very little crab and contained at least a teaspoon of water per deep fried nugget, disgusting.
Jeff's Prime Rib was the biggest disappointment of the meal. The meat was tough and lacking in any meat flavor. How the hell was the chef able to remove the beef taste from the beef? The appearance of every plate of food was dismal and depressing, tacky and dated.
We paid the $60 check and got the hell out of there. I must award Synergy the grand distinction of being the lowest rated restaurant I have ever reviewed. 1/2 Addy
525 33rd Avenue S.W.
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52404
Reservations: 877-949-2992
Cedar Rapids dining has reached an all time low with Synergy in the Cedar Rapids Clarion Hotel.
I had never heard of Synergy until Jeff was thumbing through the phone book a few weeks ago looking for a new restaurant for us to try out. We were excited by the menu in the yellow pages that listed many interesting dishes with an international flair. In fact, the phone book menu breaks down the dishes by country with tantilizing dishes like (USA) Lousiana Bacon Wrapped Scallops, (France) Escargot al 'All, (Japan) Nagoya Style Meat Ball, (Italy) Linguine al Pesto, and (Spain) Fried Blue Cheese Stuffed Green Olives. The funny thing is, that NONE of these items were on the actual dinner menu!
Jeff called Synergy to make a reservation and was told none would be necessary, this was Red Flag #1. We arrived at 6:00pm on a Saturday night to find we were the ONLY guests in the restaurant, Red Flag #2. My first instinct was to get the hell out of there but curiosity and my need to soldier on and solve this culinary mystery was too strong. The dated and tacky dining room was huge and empty and frankly a little creepy, much like in the movie The Shining, Red Flag #3. We were seated and handed menus where we immediatly noticed that none of the items that peaked our curiosity were on the menu. We ordered an appetizer of Shrimp Cocktail and I had a glass wine. Jeff ordered the Prime Rib which comes with the salad bar and I had the crab stuffed mushrooms and a side salad.
The salad bar was small but nice and well filled, not hard to do since we were the only dinner guests. The Shrimp Cocktail was a joke. 5 medium side shrimp, two lemon slices, a dab of cocktail sauce and 2 celephane packages of Club Crackers for almost $9! The Mushrooms were equally dismal and flavorless. The filling had very little crab and contained at least a teaspoon of water per deep fried nugget, disgusting.
Jeff's Prime Rib was the biggest disappointment of the meal. The meat was tough and lacking in any meat flavor. How the hell was the chef able to remove the beef taste from the beef? The appearance of every plate of food was dismal and depressing, tacky and dated.
We paid the $60 check and got the hell out of there. I must award Synergy the grand distinction of being the lowest rated restaurant I have ever reviewed. 1/2 Addy
OUCH! What a disappointment. Better luck next time.
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