Hemisphere, OIA

This is the last place I ate at (din din) before I left town two weeks ago. That came courtesy of a bad sensor on a Jet Blue flight that cost me my connection and forced them to put my up at the Hyatt Regency (the one in the airport). Their "premier" restaurant is on the top floor. The food isn't as humdrum as the name (isn't that an airline magazine?). It was quite good and ambitious. And I don't mean "quite good" in the British way that I have learned is akin to "bless your heart". They recently re-imagined the space and the menu. The relaunch was in November if I remember correctly. They went from steak and potatoes to this multi-cultural global effort. I had (on mostly Jet Blue's dime) a baby beet salad for $10, grilled octopus for $13 and a duck confit fry bread for $14. A soda was $4. Boo. The salad was composed of red and yellow beets around shaved fennel, orange segments, crushed nuts and mascarpone. Not bad. A less bland cheese would improve it. I still would like to see more stem on, skin on, roasted beets offered up. They said the octopus was "baby". I'm not sure about that. They also made a big deal about it being tender. That and how hard they were pushing it makes me wonder if it was tender/soft because it was prepared correctly or because it was getting old. It came with burnt tomato (purposely), micro green and grilled squash. The fry bread was too salty. Less fried than I have seen it. The inside was cakey. The duck was covered by a cabbage slaw and they "squirt bottled" two types of condiment on the plate. The bread is dry, so, it needed the lube. The decor is stark in a non-Tony type of way. It's canvas is white with some plane murals sprinkled in. They do lunch and breakfast as well. It is open to the public, Service was very engaged. They close a little early (10pm). Breakfast starts early. You shouldn't need a hotel key to get to the tenth floor. They have those self serve wine dispensers ala The Wine Room. As I said, the menu pulls from alot of different regions of the globe. They have American Indian fry bread for Christs sake. They said a few of the good old boys/customers (ie hicks from the Midwest) are disappointed in the change. Boo hoo. Order room service! Hopefully, foreigners and people of taste think differently. Being an international man of mystery, you know what side I'm on. They are on my speed dial now. Glad I didn't find out about them before the reboot. I may never have gone back if it was Dullsville. Now if I can only get them to reboot the name. The views are great too.