Where should I start with this place? I should first start with stating the facts:
1. I had eaten all of one small meal in this entire 14 hour day before walking into Trade.
2. I was also very tired and did not want to try and figure out another option.
3. I know I shouldn't expect anything from a restaurant that relies so heavily on a bar.
4. I know hotel restaurant food is usually just above par at best.
So I check into my room and am starving, considering whether or not to order something to eat or just go to sleep. I take a look at the room service menu where I clearly see multiple sections of the menu that clearly delineate options for vegetarians, vegans, and gluten freers. I also see the room delivery charge and 20% auto addition to the price and decide to take the trip down the the restaurant itself.
After being seated, I am told they have 1 vegan option rather than 2 as stated in the room menu and it would be pasta with garlic, roasted tomatoes, caramelized mushrooms, and spinach. I ordered that but subbed the mushrooms for onions because I love me some onions. 15 minutes later my plate comes with all that was said in the description with some really thin olive oil "sauce." This dish had absolutely ZERO flavor. I mean if Flavortown was really a place on the map in the USA, this dish would have a home in Antarctica where no one visits because it is desolate of herbs and spices. The dish was literally just noodles and olive oil, if there was even salt, I could not tell. There was certainly no pepper, oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil, or any other herb that would make a pasta sauce remotely flavorful.
I then ask the waitress for some marinara sauce. The response, "You mean like just tomatoes, tomato sauce?" My response of course is a "yes, that without any cheese, butter, or milk added to it." Another 15 minutes later, she returns with a bowl of diced tomatoes and says, "So the chef prepared these with a little salt and pepper, is that okay?" I say, "Of course, I am glad he could come up with something, this just doesn't look like sauce." I mix the plates and stir it with a bunch of crushed red pepper in the hopes that I might be able to at least see a sign for Flavortown.
Unfortunately, Flavortown must be visited another day. Honestly, the dish was barely edible. At this point, I have about a whole tomato that was diced and then put into a pot for 15 minutes with no sort of preparation other than a "little salt and pepper," with a few roasted/pre-roasted veggies and some noodles drenched in some thin disgusting oil. Even though I like to eat reduced oil dishes, I am known to get the garlic, olive oil sauce sometimes. I like when the olive oil really stands out on its own and the garlic kicks you. Trade's was like slimy water that just got worse with the "marinara sauce," they gave me.
Now, keep in mind I asked for that marinara because the menu specifically states a create your own pasta dish with marinara as one of the sauce options. If that is what they give to their customers for that, I would be shocked.
At the end of the day, this is the second worst hotel food experience I have ever had. It certainly wasn't worth the $19 and if I wasn't so worn down, tired, and hungry from the long day, I would have returned it as soon as it hit the table. I forced myself to finish the dish after almost 40 minutes because I couldn't eat it quickly. 1 star for sure, vegans, please stay away unless you want to waste your hard earned money of watered down oil sauce with no flavor or seasoning. Maybe next time Flavortown won't be so hard to find...
