Elephant Walk

Liz and I have been to the Elephant Walk in Cambridge several times.  The Elephant Walk was one of the first places in the area to boast a Gluten-free menu.  The first time we went, we had a great experience with delicious food.  The second time we went, the food was really lousy and it kept us away for over a year.  This January, we decided to give it a try again, in the hopes that we would enjoy ourselves.  Here is the story of that trip.

The Elephant Walk is a French-Cambodian fusion restaurant with several locations in the greater Boston area.  We walked in and were seated at a table near the window.  The décor of the restaurant echoes its namesake; many elephant sculptures and pieces of safari-style art were on the walls and in the nooks.  The warm coloring of the walls was inviting.  Liz and I ordered our drinks and did a bit of people watching while we waited for them to arrive.  We watched as one of the waitresses dumped a beer on a child, glad that it was not us.  Our drinks came and we ordered our appetizers and meals.  We sipped our beverages while we waited. 

Liz had a mojito, which she enjoyed, and I had an old fashioned, which was really harsh. 

I like an old fashioned, but this one was bitter and hard to enjoy.  Our appetizers came out soon, and we dug in.  I had a duck crepe, while Liz had a Cambodian dish of ground pork in coconut milk and crispy jasmine rice squares. 

Liz enjoyed her dish, called Nataing, but said it was not very hot.  I tried it and agreed.  It was luke warm.  My crepe suffered from the same malady.  It was only warm, and that was weird. 

The duck tasted good, but the crepe itself was almost as thick as a pancake and had cracked along the rolled edge, spilling out its contents.  Our entrees followed the appetizer course. 

We both had Steak Grille et Gratin Dauphinois, which is a French steak and potato dish.  The flank steak was roughly cut into small strips and fanned on the plate, and the potatoes were prepared like lasagna, with layers of thinly sliced potato and creamy cheese sauce.  This came with a side of asparagus, cut into little bite-sized pieces.  Again, the food was not hot, and it did not really look appetizing.  We had both ordered the steak medium-rare, but the meat was unevenly cooked, ranging from raw to medium-well.  The asparagus was unappetizing in its cold pile, and the potatoes were undercooked and cold.  Even the port wine reduction could not save this dish from its temperature.  We ate what we could, but ended up leaving the restaurant unsatisfied with our food in what would be our last trip to the Elephant Walk.  We had arrived right at the beginning of the evening, and the restaurant had just opened.  There is never an excuse to serve cold food to guests, especially if you charge the prices that The Elephant Walk charges.  Though they can do a nice job, I have not had good luck here and will definitely warn my friends against risking their evenings on this crap shoot.