Swank & Swine

Swank Restaurant and Swine Bar face each other across the lobby of the Paramount Hotel.

Their separate names indicate their difference in focus, and yet the similarities are still easy to glimpse.

Swine has a stark ruggedness. The exposed pipes and ducts could be seen as reminiscent of brewing, but there is similar exposure on the Swank side. It just feels different based on the rest of the decor.

The light fixtures are a good example. In both cases metal bands create a globe that encases the light. For Swine, those bands are more like the hoops of a barrel, encasing something like a candle. At Swank, the bands are rounded and more decorative, and the inner light has chandelier drops dangling.

Everything is wood and leather and metal on both sides, with a very masculine energy. It's not quite a hunting lodge. There are similarities, but a hunting lodge would be too stuffy. I did like the street views on both sides, and there were nice seating options for groups of various sizes at Swine.

Another distinguishing feature of Swine is the wall of lockers where patrons can store their own whiskey. I am not sure if access to them is contingent on membership in the Whole Hog Whiskey Club, but that is a thing that they have.

While I had planned on eating one meal in the hotel anyway, the weather made venturing out much less attractive. I had dinner at Swine's happy hour, and then breakfast the next morning at Swank.

This is where I feel compelled to point out that different people have different palates, and so my opinion of the food will not match everyone's opinion, and it doesn't make the chef a bad chef, but I didn't love the food. The patty on that burger was not flavorful, and that was a lot of meat to get through with it not being flavorful, so I didn't, though I liked the pretzel bun.

The texture of the French fries was great, though again the flavor was a little off. (To see if our palates match, I also do not like the fries at In N Out Burger.)

The hot wings were probably the most successful. First of all, I was kind of amused to see the two slivers of celery and the dab of bleu cheese, because I don't think those are the best accompaniments for hot wings anyway, so it was like they were acknowledging the tradition and then dismissing it.

Then there is the presentation: three whole wings - drumette, wingette, and tip - with no separation, balanced together like acrobats with some greens thrown on. This may be the best example of that masculine energy I referenced - energy that could afford to be refined and elegant but doesn't want to. (Though the large hunk of meat that needed more seasoning does fit in there too.) Oddly, there were sweet accents to the glaze on the wings.

Breakfast went better. First of all they brought me a bonus pastry, a warm and delicious doughnut that could only have been made better by the subtraction of citrus-y drizzle.

The waffle and cream was very good. My only mistake was in ordering the chicken and waffle, because the previous night should have taught me that the chicken was going to be a large hunk of meat without much flavor. I should have ordered just the waffle.

And that is a lot of criticism, but nothing was horrible; it just wasn't a good fit for me and your mileage may vary. I still have no regrets about trying something new.

http://www.swankandswine.com/