Superlinda - not so super

I made it to Superlinda the other night. This is the new Latin restaurant from the owner of the Beatrice Inn. Walking in I felt like I had been transported back to 1990- something, and a late night trek down to the (then) happening hot spot Odeon. ( a Mc Nally institution - still around today)



There is nothing fancy about the decor; Booths, basic tables,  and flea market finds that can be found in any one of a million suburban chain restaurants across the country.   It's small - maybe about 30 tables? The food tries to be interesting, but falls flat on flavor, save for a few exceptions. The attitude is straight out of the aforementioned 1990's when small "in" restaurants were all the range, and one would hang out for hours at a nondescript bar inside, just to be part of the scene. If you were lucky you could score a table after 6 and  before 11 PM - if not, you would just linger at the bar and watch the lucky ones at tables, pretending you only came for a couple of drinks anyway.

Superlinda brings back the unwritten rules of  the "how to be a hot restaurant - or at least pretend you are" tutorial - Enter - be surprised that it is nothing fancy, tell the maître d’ that you have an 8PM reservation, only to be told that you have to wait "because your table is not ready" as you stare in disbelief at the 6 empty tables in front of you. Then, after you are finally seated ( a half an hour late) - put up with the blase attitude of your server, who can't remember to bring a drink that you ordered, but doesn't really care, because she is "too cool for school" and there just to earn a little cash between auditioning for some cheesy reality show concept. When the food finally does arrive, it is nothing special. You want to like it, especially since you just paid a good amount for a little appetizer, and because you REALLY do want to like the food - since you have a feeling Manhattan cool kid code dictates that you will probably be back a few times anyway. But, you just can't get excited over anything - and instead you wind up very disappointed in your main course- so much in fact, that you are regretting you choice, one bite in. By the time it is all over- you have been ogled by the increasing loud crowd squeezing in 6 deep at the bar a few feet away, and tasted a boring dessert . ugh.

The sad part. This formula works. Sort of like - the "fake it till you make it" motto. A restaurant with the right pedigree - that follows the formula and acts like it is as hot as hell - usually is - at least for a little while. But, hopefully these days, the rules have changed enough that unless this place actually eventually learns to  put good food and good service first - I won't have to go back too many times.