We capped the fourth quarter get-together of Vicky's classmates at Dean & Deluca, a coffee and dessert hub at the Rockwell area. I had heard of some bad reviews for the place, but I guess some of those comments could be made for every restaurant in soft opening. I'm not much of critic, and I'm prone to giving chances, especially for young and promising franchises.
I guess that's a given during the Christmas season. We tend to find delight in even the smallest of things. That is why the dessert array and presentation came as a wonderful surprise, and we gladly shelled out something like P250 per person to try a bit of everything. The service wasn't as bad as I had thought it would be; we were a big group and the staff made the extra effort in patching together a long table at the foyer.
I didn't encounter the chain in New York; of course that was almost 20 years ago and I don't really remember much of the non-touristy places that I visited. When I first googled the store, the slogan "Purveyors of Fine Food" made my eyes shine in glee, and I thought I'd find a wide variety of deli items to choose from. That is what I think is lacking at the store; while they have a few items on display, I thought this was more of a temporary Christmas stand, rather than a real deli rack.
