Changing the Rating at Colborne Lane

I was chatting with one of my loyal readers the other day about my review of Colborne Lane. He raised some concerns that maybe I cut them a bit of break. After having dinner at Pastis I think he was right.

Basically the issue with Colborne Lane is the wine list. I think the markups are on the wine are pretty steep and you really don't get much in return. For example, on the high end of the list to pay something like $200-$300 for a Barolo that is only about 5 years old and will probably not get to its peak for another 10-15 years is pretty stiff. If you really want to spend a lot on wine, you're better off going somewhere else (like Splendido or Le Select Bistro) because here there doesn't seem to be a really deep set of selections on the list. Worse, spending $90 for wine that is just OK and is not noticeable better than Pastis's house wine ($20 per half-litre) is not OK. There should be more options that deliver more value for the dollar and better quality.

By comparison, Splendido (2 Bunnies) has many options that can give you an OK wine for the $45-$60 range. Jamie Kennedy restaurant (3 Bunnies) and wine bar (2 Bunnies) also has a great selection and they a much lower markup than either place and have some really good wines available at the $90 or less range.

I'm re-rating them as a 2 Bunny spot, which is still really good. It just doesn't meet the bar for 3 Bunnies. Here are the edited links to the previous two posts on the place:

http://big-bunny-bigbunny.blogspot.com/2007/05/second-visit-to-colborne-lane.html

http://big-bunny-bigbunny.blogspot.com/2007/05/drinks-at-colbourn-lane.html

Rating: 2 Bunnies

Notes on the Bunny Rating System:

• 0 or no Bunnies, it's a waste of time; don't go.
• 1 Bunny, the place is worth checking out.
• 2 Bunnies, you should go out of your way to check out the place; the food is really good and the place is cool.
• 3 Bunnies, you absolutely have to go there; the food is exceptional and the place is really cool