etc steakhouse — Restaurant in Teaneck Township

We visited the restaurant for the 13 course tasting menu. Having experienced chef's / tasting menus in other restaurants, and looking at the reviews, our expectations were high. Unfortunately, we were disappointed. It isn't to say that the food or service were bad, they just weren't good, nothing more than mediocre. The overall menu was not imaginative with many courses repeating themselves, literally, as an example we were served two salads, separated by a couple of courses, but it was actually the same salad, the first with duck, the second with chicken. Same greens, same dressing really, just different single ingredient. They served four different stake courses, which sounds great, but it became boring, it was meat that was well prepared, different cut, but it was served over in essence the same vegetable / garnish. We would have been perfectly happy with a single or maybe two exceptionally executed steak courses, and the other courses demonstrating more creativity and imagination with fish, vegetables, soup, or fowl. The single fish course, in the beginning, was probably the worst part of the meal, it was just a salmon pate that was too watery and too salty. Interestingly enough the two dishes that stood out for us were a small bite fried broccoli dish that had just the right size, i.e., small bite size, and right flavor. The other dish which was somewhat entertaining was the amuse-bouche, which was a variation / interpretation on fruity pebbles. The reason it stood out was because on the one hand it was actually quite good, somewhat on the too sweet side, but good, it was better than the two dessert courses and could have acted as one. The other reason it stood out is because an amuse-bouche it was not; it had too much flavor, was too thick, too sweet, and didn't fulfill the requirement of cleansing the pallet. We could still taste the amuse-bouche two courses after we had it. This finally leads us to dessert. It became apparent very quickly that Etc does not have a pastry chef or anyone in the kitchen that has any pastry training. The desserts were probably the worst executed part of the meal (not the worst tasting), it was some kind of cakes, served in a cup, with something on top. Really sad for a dessert. My wife commented that they seemed to have been poor interpretations of Momofuku Milk Bar ideas. One thing that did disappoint us was that my wife did not want to finish all of her courses, in part due to pacing, and in part due to the fact (really mainly) that the courses really weren't that great. When the waiters would come by to pick up the plates they showed a visible disappointment at us, the patrons, and not at the dish. That was one thing that really bothered both of us. One final note regarding service, is that in past experiences with tasting menus, no matter where we had them around the world, the Chef would come out, introduce themselves, and engage with us the patrons, regardless of how busy the overall service is. Those interactions have actually been some of the most interesting ones because you get an insight into the chef's thinking, and you get to ask them questions and engage with them and their craft. Sadly, at Etc, the Chef never came out, not even at the beginning when the restaurant wasn't really all that busy. In the end the 3 star rating is because there wasn't anything special, there wasn't anything outstanding, there wasn't anything to wow. It was a rather boring meal with very little imagination and rather mediocre execution. This is also part of the reason why there are no photos attached, there wasn't anything that stood out or anything...

I went to this restaurant on July 30, 2019. Each item I ordered was profoundly misdescribed on the menu. I first ordered the duck empanada. However, what I got bore no resemblance to an empanada. I got 3 fried wontons, with a minuscule amount of what I assume was duck inside. Empanadas are supposed to be a pastry filled with meat. These were greasy wontons - and at $17, a ripoff.

Next, I ordered the chicken breast with peanut salsa, white bean and black sesame hummus and avocado water. What I expected for $32 was boneless chicken with peanut salsa on top, with the hummus on the side. What I actually got was one chicken breast on the bone, in a puddle of so-called "avocado water", with the tiniest dot of peanut salsa and a little grey stain in the avocado water that was supposed to be the hummus. Honestly, it was ridiculous, and a supreme insult to customers.

But I'll save the best for last. For dessert, I ordered the "key lime pie." described as "meringue, key lime ice cream, curd, graham." I expected a frozen wedge of key lime ice cream on a graham cracker crust, with meringue on top. What I got was a scoop of lime sorbet sitting on a flat round graham cookie, with 3 dime-sized dots of meringue on the plate. This did not even remotely resemble key lime pie, and for $14, I basically got a scoop of sorbet.

Even the wine is absurd. They have a short wine list, for items to be purchased next door in the Doghouse restaurant. A bottle of Barkan Pinot Noir was $35. I understand a markup, but the same bottle can be purchased in a retail store for about $12.

The bottom line - this restaurant insults the intelligence of its patrons, and does so at ridiculous prices ($32 for 1 chicken breast on the bone???).

I recommend you go elsewhere for your meal. Perhaps Nobo, directly across the street is better, I've never been there, but I heard that it is. I certainly cannot recommend ETC, not when their menu has one misrepresentation...

We have just gotten home from our Purim meal at Etc. and we all cannot stop talking about what a fantastic meal it was. We had made a reservation for 6:30, but when we showed up a half hour early, we did not have to wait and were seated immediately. We began with the soup of the day, a black bean chorizo soup, duck mini taco thingies and mini rolled rib steak. Delicious, although none of us were overly enthusiastic about the duck appetizer. Next the main course: my husband got the 3 pepper steak, perfectly medium melt in your mouth with a lovely and subtle sauce and a side of a sweet potato dish which was lovely and the perfect compliment to the meat. My son got the spare ribs, which were tender and juicy; they came with tasty mashed potatoes. I had the rib steak, perfectly medium done and so juicy I had to keep blotting my mouth. Everything was served very quickly, at the perfect temperature. For dessert we had the Snickers dish (very rich peanut butter and chocolate mousse with peanuts galore on top.). My son had the hot chocolate, which came with churros for dipping and was outstandingly rich. My daughter had a chocolate chip cookie/brownie/mousse confection which was also out of this world. My husband was slightly disappointed that they had no cappuccino, but it was nothing that would change our minds about going there again. Our server, Michelle, was very sweet, didn't hover, and was responsive when we asked for more drinks and what have you. We thought she was wonderful and we will be returning to Etc. very soon, as well as recommending it to our friends. I'm posting this review on my FB page to let everyone know what a worthwhile establishment this...