Eat Drink Americano: Decent Soft-Shell Crab Sammich but Absurd Portions, Bland Oxtail Sliders

I had heard good things about Eat Drink Americano that took over the old Cafe Metropol space next to R23 in the Arts District. The single most lasting impression of the place wasn't the flavor of its food or gastropub-y ambiance but its ridiculously minuscule portions. Tiny as it was, however, the soft-shell crab sandwich with wakame and aioli was just the right combination of sweetness from the crab with the crispy soft-shell and softness of the English muffin (although I would have liked a brioche mini bun better) and creaminess of the spread. The wakame, or seaweed, balanced out the heaviness of the dish. It was a genius pairing, if not a bit overpowered by the big blob of aioli, which was good but could have been more sparingly added. The fact that this tiny thing was $14 was preposterous.

Then we got the salad after we had our entrees. Odd timing. The salad of cherry tomatoes and burrata drizzled with balsamic vinegar and topped with fresh basil was decidedly consistent in its tiny portion. We got one small piece of cheese in a ramekin-size bowl. Too skimpy. The three slices of bread didn't make up for the deficiency. 

We were elated when we got not one but two oxtail sliders. The shredded oxtail meat was actually too dense and I found the oxtail to be outright bland. The sliders came topped with fresh arugula but I needed to douse them with Sriracha sauce that I asked for to taste anything remotely interesting. I love oxtail and was expecting moist and fatty oxtail meat but the meat was far too dry. Thumbs down.

A minor table set up issue: as much as I like the food being brought out in sturdy wooden boards that have a rustic look, the tables also happen to be tiny and once we had three dishes, there was no way those massive boards would fit onto one table. Besides, they made the small portions look even smaller due to their large wooden canvas. 

Given there are so many better options around there including Lazy Ox Canteen, Church and State, Little Bear and Bestia, I probably won't be returning.