TriscuitGate: Eatery Denies Crackers, Diner Confirms

Nob Hill: Yesterday, as part of our Black Saturday post-mortem coverage, we ran a photo of a sad-looking plate of salmon and Triscuits that were said to have been served at Hyde Street Seafood House as part of its Valentine's Day $70 prix-fixe menu. Hyde Street later responded to the post, pretty much categorically denying that said crackers were ever served. We got back in touch with the original tipster, who once again confirmed everything—the Triscuits, the night, the venue—that was relayed in the original post, even reaching out to the restaurant in the comments.

In the interest of telling both sides of the story, we'll share both statements so you can judge for yourself. First up, an excerpt of what Hyde Street had to say on the matter:

The picture was not taken from our establishment or any of our dishes ... We do not and have not served triscuits in our dishes, we wouldn't dream of such an act ... We pride ourselves in giving high quality service and food, and it truly does sadden us that someone would go out of their way to make us look bad.

Well, other than scanning the receipt from the dinner to prove I ordered and paid for it, I'm not sure what else I can do. We had a 9pm reservation, which could be corroborated by OpenTable, and I took a picture of something that was definitely on their Prix Fix menu ... not sure why anyone would go to those great lengths to make that up.

As for the rest of the experience - the service was slow and the food was mediocre. The lobster had to be cracked by me and was dry and tough. I will say the oysters my girlfriend had as her first course (as I munched triscuits) were very good - they do those well.