Not So Smooth Sailing at De Rodriguez Ocean

Douglas Rodriguez's latest offering, De Rodriguez Ocean, "doesn't impress as much as OLA, but still reflects the chef's culinary chops," says Lee Klein. Those chops aside, the rest of the review's pretty rocky, with decor comparisons to a "1970s New England Marriot." Lovely ceviches aside, De Rodriguez Ocean, Klein surmises, "seems more like a business plan than a place to dine: a big-name chef on the marquee, an emphasis on seafood (which the Beach lacks), and a means of snatching some lucrative tourist trade from the real estate south of Fifth Street that belongs to Prime 112 and Prime Italian."

Neither impressed by entrees nor waiters, Klein continues, saying "Perhaps most importantly, the menu of raw bar items, ceviches, and ten straightforward entrées was apparently composed so that it could be prepared without needing Mr. Rodriguez on deck. If the restaurant had paid attention to food, service, and ambiance as much as scheming to cash in, it might have worked." [MNT]