Two Chefs Seafood Oyster Bar, Downtown - Closed

My luck on Friday ran out at this new Southern/Seafood/Cajun spot on North Magnolia (past the 7-11 on 50 on the right). What part of "Seafood Oyster bar" denotes southern/cajun? The Sentinel has been pimping it for months though it just opened a month ago. Its allure was supposed to be the two accredited chefs (Emeril's and some other hotel restaurant near a theme park). This is just another instances of two heads NOT being better than one. Or CF chefs being vastly over rated. The smallish menu might as well be split into different pages - his and mine. It has no synergy. There are Southern/Cajun dishes and then New Englandy dishes. And then some dross like hamburgers. I had a BBQ Shrimp app for $12 and a Fried Chicken entree for $12. Plus one raw oyster. The oyster ($2 per) was fresh. However, that's just purchased excellence. The plating was nice. The shrimp (4) were huge (good purchasing), but, they weren't all cooked evenly and some were raw in the middle and mushy at the edges. And don't start with the pink in the middle meat justification. We can't be applying that to shrimp now. It's bad enough some are trying to apply this to white fish. The sauce tasted like balsamic vinegar and warm piss. If you must use vinegar, don't use balsamic with bbq sauce. They also plated it with some fresh rosemary that leeched into the sauce and made it even more inharmonious. The plating was nice. The chicken was four pieces of the upper thigh for $12. It was beyond bland. Just fried skin. A piece from this area is hard to perfect because the meat is so exposed and minimal that the skin won't crisp to an eatable condition without drying out the meat. And the skin would supply some flavor if you are going for au naturel. And four pieces is too much. Keep two pieces and grant me a (what looked interesting selection) side. I know your business model relies on that extra purchase, but, it's a bad model. I can get three pieces (including) a breast cooked the same way at Dixie Fried Chicken. for $3 and change. The plating was mediocre. I think they source well. They just don't season or develop a menu well. And some of the price discrepancies were alarming. Nearly $30 for a turbot (bottom feeder) with a Parmesan crust. Parmesan?! Are we at Applebee's? Hello. Y2K called and said you were a relic. And people aren't going to come for the central location or ambiance or $8 a bottle (retail) wine list. The place is a retrofitted professionals' office. It only seats around forty. They have also accented the mostly white walls with another unfortunate color choice. The "open kitchen" looks like a Subway sandwich queue with clutter all over it. It's just not an attractive composition. It looks like two middle aged men decorated it. It does have the world's most extensive collection of AC ducts if that is a draw. Count 'em all if you can. Service was good and the food came out quickly. They seemed to care what their clientele thought. It was full and the attached bar room (looks hipper/better) was too. I just hope that the fat lady at the Sentinel (seems like a friend) doesn't blow smoke up our asses in today's review and give them the impression that everything is as good as it could or should be. The clientele didn't seem that discerning and if that is who they want to work for then maybe this is enough. However, I can't believe two professionals would want this to be their legacy. It's all fixable. But, I can't see (actually I can) how they opened so poorly with all the "experience" they espouse. They all mischarged (only by a dollar) for a glass of wine. Just a sign of sloppiness. Lower expectations if you go.