R & L Restaurant

Never a fan of the old Florent, too much of a scene with mediocre food. Florent had to close at the end of June because of rising rent. The die-hard fans of Florent and it's owner were so upset that he had to close that, when Florent's landlord reopened the restaurant as R&L, the restaurant remained empty for weeks. Well, it is slowly coming back, though some changes are in order. For one, the restaurant needs a new chef, the same chef stayed on from the Florent days and his food is outdated and dull. We had lunch there today and there were about 14 diners including us. What I like about the space is it's red banguettes and vintagey look. I ordered a chef salad with grilled marinated chicken over greens with hearts of palm, black forest ham, tomatoes, cheddar and swiss with creamy balsamic. The only redeeming part of the salad for $13.50 was the dressing. The chicken was dry and tasteless and the cheeses tasted like something I ate at the Sheepsead Bay diner in 1995, very old school. My friend's vegetable cous cous was soupy, but actually tasted made to order. The bread was possibly fresh, though inedible. The bathrooms smell and need renovation, but mostly the menu needs some updating.
Slow Go!