52nd City

A Starry Night at Acero

Shared a late night dinner with friends at Acero in Maplewood on Saturday night. We arrived to a packed and noisy house and the hostess attempted to seat us in the back room, which was much to my delight, quieter. She was quickly rebuffed by a waiter. “Don’t seat ANYONE back here the rest of the night—they can’t sit here,” he warned. Ouch! Were my shoes not pointy enough? I was getting a bad feeling.

We were moved to the main dining area and after much discussion over the menu were ready to order. It was nearly 10pm—the hour that the kitchen normally closes. Our waiter assured us this would not be a problem on this night. “We have a big party of 20 coming in at 10:15. Tim Robbins is in town shooting a movie.”

Giggles all around by the girls. Bewilderment from my husband.

Our dinner was wonderful. I had the morel mushroom pasta special. The best pasta I’ve ever had a restaurant, no question. The waiter came and reached over me to replenish Lindsey’s water glass—right when Tim walked in. All I got to see where his sexy shoes walk by as I sneaked a peek underneath the waiter’s sleeve. The restaurant was nearly silent for a suspended 15 seconds or so. Then everything was buzzing with excitement again. By the time we left, nearly all the guests in the main dining room were gone but every single staff person was still in uniform ready to serve the star.

Acero should do well. I have heard complaints about the service. While our waiter did a good job and the owner took a minute to stop at our table, the waiter who got onto the hostess about seating us in the back room also came over and tried to correct the way our waiter was serving our polenta. That guy needs to take a hike. We enjoyed the evening and our pasta dishes were fabulous. It was a great experience all the way around.

I did notice on the way out that Elizabeth House next door was closing up shop. If anyone has news on this—I’d appreciate the skinny.