We have long considered Tre to be one of our favorite restaurants, capable of nearly flawless meals in a light and airy facility (try the deck in benign weather) on the edge of Brackenridge Park. The Italian menu was inventive, the wine list well-chosen, the serving staff competent, they make their own mozzarella....In short, Tre was nines and near-tens. Then we began hearing rumbles. “We’ve been there three times in as many months and will never go again.” “The tagliatelle with wild mushrooms had no flavor….” This gets one’s attention.

And it’s true that culinary wunderkind Jason Dady has had a lot on his plate recently—the transformation of his downtown restaurant from American to an iteration of Tre, the opening of a food truck (since retired)...in short, a lot of balls in the air. Had one been dropped?

On a recent visit, we began with roasted golden beets from the verdure section, and they seemed less earthy than before but still good, even mixed with color-coordinated orange sections. The cannellini beans with gremolata, however, needed more parsley, lemon zest, a hit of black pepper—and even more cooking. The bread was sad. Then the pumpkin risotto with dried cranberries in brown butter arrived. Madonna! Zero taste, over-browned butter, almost unpleasant…That left lasagne with wild boar: taste it had, but taste more like a barbecue sandwich, hearty sauce option.

In its defense: “Our last meal there was great,” countered another panelist. Note that brunch is served only at the downtown location.