Circles Restaurant Overhaul - I Just Got Busted :-)

So, I'm walking through the 'hood just now and I see a guy in chef's whites coming out of Circles.

I ask him what's going on over there. He said the front menu has been overhauled and that the back is going to open as a steakhouse (they're hoping for Sept) - same management but totally different (upscale) menu.

I start probing more about Circles - he said they tried changing the menu right away and a bunch of old-school regulars (read: cops/firefighters, middle-class long-time PS/WT inhabitants) went ballistic.

So, he left most of the menu items there but reworked the recipes. Then he added some new stuff (fancier salads, etc.) and wants to add upscale burgers (tuna, etc.), and then continue to make gradual changes

I tell him about my bad experience eating there and say "I had a caesar salad there that tasted like iceburg lettuce, Pepperidge farm croutons and bottled dressing and I never went back".

Him: "You wrote our Citysearch review, didn't you?"

Hahahahah. Yep. Busted.

I told him that I would write a new one if I came back and found an improvement.

He said he used to work at Rosa Mexicana (which I love) and some other places that I know, so I'm hoping he's gonna make some good changes. Nice guy - introduced himself, told me to have somebody tell him if I was in the restaurant so that I'd be happy with my meal, etc.

That corner is just begging for a good place to eat before a movie.