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This was our second outing to Coco Louco Brasil, so we knew what to expect, or so we thought.
It was a Saturday night and we decided to go on a whim, and with a Groupon which stated that it required reservations. I called for a reservation, however when we arrived we were still left waiting while others were seated. Granted, it wasn't for long, and it was the Saturday before Christmas. This I could have over looked if...the next thing I saw wasn't so alarming.
I started noticing the staff while we were waiting for our table. (I am a people watcher and these people were just too good not to watch.) First I was accosted by a petite woman who seemed to think she was actually working in a club on the "east side" as her jacket was so low cut her "love pillows" were nearly hanging out. And I actually saw her put her pen between her bewbs. Yeah...classy.
Then there were the Elvis twins. Imagine Flock of Seagulls meets Elvis hair, that's what these two gentlemen were sporting. That's right, not just one but TWO. To top it off both of them were wearing jeans that were entirely two tight. I mean...just...wow. Oh yeah, and the classy pen boob chick was wearing leggings...as pants. I mean really???
So we were seated and brought glasses of water. We placed our drink orders (tea and soda) and our food orders. I had to ask for a spoon to sweeten my tea. The last time we were here they served bread and salads with the entrees. The salads were now blacked out with a marker on the menu and we never received any bread. Not sure if it was because it was so crowded or if they just aren't doing this anymore. My dining partner and I made a bet that our food would come before our silverware. And it did. Oh and we had to ask for drink refills, twice. Although while we were waiting to be seated I over heard the hostess tell one of the waitstaff that a table in the corner had been seated for 30 minutes and hadn't received water yet...so I guess we were on the good side of the restaurant.
The table to my left held approximately 8 people. Probably a holdiay gathering of sorts. The occupants appeared to be in their 50s-60s. And they were nursing their wine and beers. At one point one of the men at the table picked up the skewers and pretended he was a pirate. As if the Elvis Twins weren't enough entertainment!! To my right was a table with a young couple and a toddler. Mr Neck Tattoo was thoroughly enjoying his food. Neck Tattoo junior had made quite the mess with rice all over the place. When Mr. and Mrs. Neck Tattoo left with tattoo Jr. the rice was actually brushed onto the floor. Yep, saw that happen. Glad my purse wasn't on the floor or I would have left overs for the next day.
We both ordered the giant swords of meat, mine was lamb and his was the mix. As for the food goes...it's pretty good. I really liked mine. BP (my dining partner) likes his steaks well or medium well. I would say that is over done, but whatever. He was not pleased that the steak that was on his sword was bloody. I found it delicious.
We finished our meals and as the restaurant cleared out we noticed that a man in a creepy pony tail was making his way throughout the restaurant. Maybe the owner, maybe the manager. Boobs McGee was close on his tails though. I swear I thought she would be getting on a pole somewhere in the place at any moment and expecting dollar bills. A big tada was made at several tables, but I have no idea why or care.
We asked about desert and were told, "We have a lot of cakes." Yeah...way to go for the up sell there buddy. We declined.
Overall, I'm glad I didn't pay full price for this experience. I won't be returning because the service was so bad. It's a shame really, because the food is rather good. I'm a believer is service and this place is seriously lacking.
BTW I just checked my bank account....and I had left a minimal tip based on the crappy service we received. Well....they chose to add money to it. It's is a nominal amount, but still. If they are doing this to me....what are they doing to you? | 0negative
| 767 |
This is a unique experience in Edmonton, it's a ride down the river on a river boat. An experience that you can't get anywhere else in the city.
Now is it worth it?
Here's my review.
We went here for a friend's birthday , and it was roughly $55 each for the cruise and dinner.
The plan was boarding at 530 pm and then dinner , then a cruise down the river.
Now gentle readers, if you've been reading my reviews you know the first thing I thought when I heard " river cruise " is "What should I wear?"
Ideally I'd love to throw on a linen suit in summer colors, but knowing that I'm in Edmonton, not quite fashion capital of the world , I went to their website looking for advice.
According to their website "Most people dress casually for all cruises, however we do not allow torn or imprudent clothing onboard the riverboat and shirts and shoes are also required."
Ahhh, got it the dress code is wear shoes. Have a shirt. That really sets my bar. I went with my regular going outside summer outfit and saw what I expected on the boat.
A mix of young and old people from newborns to people waiting in God's waiting room. They wore everything from boatwear, to regular clothes, to formalish.
Here's a hint gentlemen. If you hate wearing formal clothes, you don't have to do it. One young man was wearing an undone tie, dress clothes and then black ankle sport socks. Ugg.
Atmosphere on the cruise was much like having aliens abduct 120 people from Walmarts around Edmonton and drop them on a boat.
When we got onto the Edmonton Queen Riverboat (I got there late because there address on the website takes you to donair shop in ottwell) we had a pleasant hour on the top deck. That was worth it, they had a fun vocal group on the boat called The Rhythm Group.
I grabbed a beer , $5 for a pint of Big Rock! Fantastic price. I would expect something more for a destination location like the $99 that they charge for a beer at Rexall. My friends had slushie drinks and rye and cokes. All a very reasonable price, and they even take credit cards. Nice.
After a while top side you make your way down into the bowels of the ship downstairs.
Air conditioned it's pleasant, but not really anything special. It's a big long room. They had another performance by the Rhythm Group downstairs.
Let me segue here and say, that one of the most enjoyable parts of the night was listening to The Rhythm Group. It's a mixed group of males and females all performing in a Rhythm/Blues/Jazz style. Perfect for a river cruise. My personal favorite was Ella Coyes, who reminded me much of young Joni Mitchell.
Normally when you go to these events you get tepid, boring and unoriginal music. This group was the only thing I would call atmosphere on the Edmonton Queen. I've given the Edmonton Queen 3 stars, but if I could review the Rhythm Group I'd give them 5 stars.
After getting the 120 people seated they had a buffet open. They had prime rib, chicken, fish, salad etc. One of the nice things was they had 2 prime ribs out at the same time, Medium rare and Well done.
The potatoes seemed home made and the salads (I hear) were good.
After dinner people went back up top and we took a pleasant cruise up and down the river for a bit.
It's a nice cruise and you do get to see Edmonton from a different point of view.
They also have drink service upstairs during the cruise party.
Now why did the Edmonton Queen only get 3 stars if they have a decent buffet, and fun band playing?
1. The boat doesn't move during dinner, so that's kind of goofy. If I wanted to sit inside and eat a buffet, there are much better choices. I'd recommend not eating here and eating somewhere downtown and then coming for the cruise.
2. They will not give you a water downstairs without paying for it. That's a dealbreaker for me. Tap Water is all I need , and no I don't want a bottle of water.
3. Drink service. They don't serve drinks when they are seating the 120 people for dinner, they don't serve drinks when they have people coming up, and they don't serve drinks when they are docking. So, basically for half the cruise it's drink free. That's not a big deal for some people but, it does make it duller for us over 18 and alcoholics. Believe I'm much more boring sober.
4.Smoking section: There isn't one once the cruise starts. I had a double corona cigar I had to keep putting out and then relighting making me look like some sort of crazy hobo.
5.Atmosphere, again as mentioned before the River Queen has the chance of being a classy space, it's not.
6.Booking policy. They sail Rain or Shine. No refunds. Really? That makes no sense for the customer. For the business owner it makes sense.
My final thoughts are .
Book a trip on the Edmonton Queen if you want a somewhat different experience in Edmonton with the family. Don't come for dates, or for drinking with buddies.
Family friendly and somewhat tame, the Edmonton Queen Riverboat experience gets a solid A-OK 3 Stars | 1neutral
| 918 |
Fond
1537 South 11th Street Philadelphia, PA 19147 | 215.551.5000
Tuesday through Saturday 5:30PM until 10PM
Per their website, "A contemporary American restaurant. Focusing on passionately prepared, refined and flavorful fare with warm and welcoming service."
Located in South Philly on the corner of S 11th St and Tasker, this Passyunk Square restaurant offers views of the South Philly Singing Fountain and bustling Passyunk Square nightlife. We had the good fortune to sit down for dinner around 630pm on a Friday night just before the dinner rush started. Parking tends to be a bear in this neighborhood so give yourself a good 10-15 minutes extra time to find available street parking. $8 Valet parking available Friday and Saturday nights 5pm through midnight per Fond's Website.
The restaurant adds a nice al fresco dining area decorated with potted plants and an awning in case of inclement weather. A few diners were enjoying some after work drinks when we arrived in the well kept al fresco dining section.
We sat down and received some window seats next to the door. The place-mats, menus and china were adequate, nothing special, but had a clean, modern, contemporary look. The menus were mounted on cork-board which I thought was an unusual, nice touch. One minor caveat is that being next to the door in 80+ degree weather with all glass windows around you makes for a somewhat moggy dining experience. I did not perspire through my shirt--the mark of a truly hot environment, but I could feel my face beginning to glisten throughout the meal. Either the air conditioning was not up to the task or the constant opening/closing of the door made for a typical "tropical greenhouse" experience while dining.
Lovely cork-board menus. This was certainly very original and an idea I have not seen implemented at other restaurants. Delightful. After perusing the short-ish menu, which by the way I deeply admire, I hate wading through several pages trying to decide, we decided on the chef's tasting menu of 7 courses for $67 a person. An optional wine pairing was available for $30 more per person but we chose not to add that.
My drink of the evening was: Lemon Sprig $12 absolut vodka, limoncello, thyme. It was served up, and personally I like my drinks a bit sweeter, so it was a little on the boozy side for me. Would have liked a sweeter limoncello in there, but that is personal opinion. A perfectly adequate and tasty drink, just a caveat, it is made quite strong.
Dinner began with a lovely spicy watermelon soup amuse bouche. Very tasty and completely delicious. Had a bit of a kick too, but in this case I enjoyed the sweet and spicy combination. It was served chilled.
The culinary pilgrimage began with a lovely Rock Shrimp Ceviche cucumber, long hots, avocado puree, gazpacho.
Chicken Liver Mousse pickled red onions, grilled sourdough $12. Finally, we get to a restaurant were the mousse is served at the correct temperature. Just cold enough so it can be sliced with a butter knife and spread on the sourdough. I don't know how many places I've been where its been too cold and it would literally clump together on the knife. The sourdough was good and the pickled onions in a vinaigrette of sorts was a welcome edition and accompanied the mousse quite well.
Greek Style Escargot piperade, fennel, feta sauce, garlic toast $14. Piperade is a typical Basque dish prepared with onion, green peppers, and tomatoes sautéd and flavoured with red Espelette pepper. The feta sauce was sweet and creamy and mixed well with the escargot. My friend did not care for the snails but my gullet certainly did. I polished off both courses.
Skate Wing corn risotto, pancetta, cilantro, sherry reduction $27. Pancetta is Italian bacon made of pork belly meat that is salt cured and spiced with black pepper. These are the little chunks in the corn risotto. The skate was well cooked and the sherry reduction accompanied nicely. Sweet and creamy, this dish was easy to finish.
By my calculation, it was still one more course before the two dessert courses, so when this next course came out I was wondering what had happened. Our server politely informed us this was a complimentary Grand Marnier sorbet to cleanse the palate before the next course. So delicious. It was a raspberry sorbet and the hints of Grand Marnier permeated the sorbet. Fantastic.
Pork Belly fingerling potatoes, melted leeks, hericots verts, pork jus $28. Pork was cooked just right- not too rare and the fingerling potatoes and pork jus mixed well. Haricot vert is indeed French for green beans. Haricot meaning beans and vert meaning green. French green beans are longer and thinner than most.
At this point I was almost stuffed, but given we had a true pastry chef in the back, I decided to go the culinary distance so to speak. I'm glad I did. Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Cannolis seasonal local fruit and complementary garnish. Absolutely delicious dessert to finish the meal. | 2positive
| 845 |
This is the Could Be'wurst burger and...German Potato Salad?...for $130?! (Tampa Bay Burger Week Special)
Grab your popcorn, because I have a story. I ordered this burger over the phone with the intention of picking it up for late lunch. I asked for the "Tampa bay burger week special: the Could Be'wurst with crispy German potato salad, for pickup in thirty minutes." I left to pick it up (she had told me to park for a couple of minutes in the suntrust area next door), but when I got there, they said they had forgotten to put in the order and told me to come back in 15 minutes. Issue was, I was on lunch break. So I called them on the way back and told them to put the burger in the fridge (so they wouldn't have to waste a perfectly good burger).
I came back an hour or two later and when it was time to pay, it was $15. I affirmed it was for the burger week special and the girl said that she was the one who took the order, that I definitely never said it was for burger week, and that they don't do specials over the phone. I argued a bit and she seemed to believe I'd relent and pay the $15, but instead I said that I'll have to leave without the burger. She seemed personally upset about this and got her manager who argued with me for a bit as well, but then understood that I was only back to avoid them having to dump the burger and eventually gave me the burger for free to avoid having to do the discount. That was nice, I suppose.
Issue was, after all that time of arguing, my car had been towed from the Suntrust area, as it had been far longer than a couple of minutes. I came back in to ask them if they could do anything and the manager said they even tow her own employees, so there was nothing she could do.
The recovery fee was $120 and the Uber was $10, hence the $130 price tag for my free burger. As I handed the cash to the driver, I said to myself, "This burger had better take me to heaven or I'm going to be pissed."
So here I am, pissed. The burger was...okay. I could tell that the meat wasn't nearly as high quality of a mix as the Cody's burger was. It also was barely pink when I asked for medium temperature. The bratwurst was practically indistinguishable in taste from the meat, which left me a bit confused. The sauerkraut wasn't all that sour. The beer mustard aioli may as well have been mayo. It wasn't a bad burger by any means, but it was certainly the most bland one I had ordered all week, and that wasn't because of the refrigeration. I work from home and am well acquainted with the art of food storage.
The fries...wait...didn't I order German potato salad? Wasn't the website specifically stating potato salad? Instead, what I got were German potato fries. Not just any fries - tiny crispy fries, about 1/4 the length of regular fries. They were covered in what seemed to be the German potato salad toppings according to the picture, which consisted of cheese, scallions, herbs, bacon bits, and a slightly creamy very oily sauce. It tasted alright and had a nice crunch, but was overall very messy because I refused to eat crispy fries with a fork. It did leave me with an unsettled feeling in my stomach from the sheer amount of grease, though, so at least the fries gave me one last gift to remember an otherwise forgettable meal bye.
I am trying my darnedest to not let my harrowing experience color my opinion of this meal, but I found myself disappointed in it. It was nothing special, despite every ingredient being unique and unexpected, which was initially what had me excited to try it. Perhaps it would be better if I had downed a few alcoholic beverages from the bar. Perhaps that's the point of a downtown St Pete establishment. I don't know and I don't really care. This burger wasn't worth $15 to me, and certainly wasn't worth the $130 I spent to get it.
I'm going to rate this burger a solemn 2 out of 5 quacks. Thankfully, Burger Week only went up from here!
Edit: After posting this review, I got banned by a local St Pete foodie Facebook group who, according to friends of mine, is run by friends of the establishment. Perhaps that's part of why they're rated so highly in general. Just another mildly annoying bit of icing on the proverbial cake.
- Tampa Bay Food Duck | 0negative
| 800 |
After eating with my family last night we gave the waiter 3 separate debit cards for the bill. Upon leaving the restaurant about 30/35 mins later I get a phone call and text message from the fraud prevention of my bank letting me know a high amount was just charged to my card from Ruby Tuesday that looked suspicious. The bank was going to lock my card which meant i was going to have to get a new card and of course that meant changing accounts that are tied to that card as well. Super inconvenient so I asked the bank to hold off and make a note that I would contact the restaurant to see what happened first. I opened up my bank app and low and behold the amount for my share of the bill was pending authorization, but both amounts combined for the other 2 cards was also pending as an authorization...which means someone swiped my card twice! So I called the restaurant and spoke with Gabe the manager, so he said that was his name. I informed him of the issue and told him who our server was. It was ironic because I never even gave him my receipt number. He put me on hold and them said he had all 3 receipts from the cards charged and each one aas closed out properly. So I asked then why am I seeing 2 pending authorizations on my account, 1 that coincidentally was the amount the other 2 cards should have been billed...wait for this...he says "well maybe your bank is holding an amount until your charge clears." I said "what bank do you know holds almost $200 for a $60 bill???" (we had a large party and split the bill). Plus I kept telling him, and I mean KEPT HAVING TO TELL HIM, that MY BANK CONTACTED ME ABOUT THE CHARGE!! So he proceeded to keep telling me my bill was closed out correctly but couldn't tell me why I see another charge. So I said find my server and ask him because he obviously had to swipe my card twice. Gabe proceeds to tell me that unfortunately they are busy...so I had to raise my voice a tad and say I don't care, these are fraudulent charges flagged by my bank and he needs to give an account! So the server comes near the phone and proceeds to say he did not swipe my card twice...then SOMEBODY IS LYING!!! So Gabe begins to say, again, my bill was closed out with the help of another manager so I ask if I can speak to that manager and he said I couldn't because he was in the kitchen cooking. So I had to raise my voice again and tell him I don't care, and that I was coming back down there with the police because I had proof of fraud and someone down there is playn with my money! Suddenly the manager becomes available. So the manager Chris says that he did help close out the bill because the server who is also a Chris came to him for help because he made a mistake somewhere. He said he's looking at my receipt and sees it's closed out properly because he did it. So I said I am not arguing abt the closed out receipt, I said nobody is explaining to me WHY there is another charge of $188 pending on my account which is $94 x 2 coincidentally the other 2 cards should have been billed. I said why can't someone jst say we accidentally swiped your card twice and we apologize and the authorization will drop in a couple of days. Instead yall keep telling me my bill was closed out properly! So Chris explains to me that when you pay with a card the person types in the amount pre-tip, hits "credit card" and them swipes the card. He them says, if u don't type in an actual number the machine will charge the whole bill. I said well the entire bill was not charged to my card, but the card HAD to be swiped twice and he screwed up something because there are TWO SEPARATE TRANSACTIONS I'm looking at I'm my account. He says honestly he should have informed you that he made a mistake on something when he brought the receipt to your table, then I said well he's obviously lying because he claims he didn't swipe the card twice. He said well they had to let some folks go recently for making some similar mistakes so people are a little frightened. I DONT CARE, he is LYING and Chris even said that server is a manager as well. So Chris said he was going to put my receipt in a box in his office and if I don't see the authorization drop by tomorrow (Tues) to call back. So he didn't really explain what happened, he just knows he had to step in and help the server because the server said he messed up. Sounds to me like the server knew EXACTLY what he did and is not fessing up to his blunder! So based off what Chris the manager told me this is what I can deduce...the server must have put the cash first, then swiped my card for my bill for my correct amount which left the $188 balance which was $94 to be charged to the remaining 2 cards each. Instead he picked up my card again, swiped without putting in the amount which put the $188 balance on my card! So instead of saying exactly what he did he just asks for help. | 0negative
| 947 |
Taking over the spots left open by the departures of Zest! and Twist, the Pizzi Family has introduced Diavola Pizza to the SoBro area of Indy to expand upon the rich Italian dining heritage they first brought up with the praised Ambrosia.
Billing themselves as "Pizza Wickedness," Diavola serves up a retro Italian vibe with a dark, intimate interior along with booths/tables that emphasize the communal experience with most settings accommodating at least four people. The building is an older strip center that also houses Dancing Donut. It's an interesting building in that several of the shops in the strip have a step going into them, though Diavola isn't one of them. The building also has several curb cuts, though it actually offers no identified accessible parking despite having 3-4 spots that do have a small aisle next to them that would prove ideal for someone in a wheelchair. As you enter Diavola's single glass door, you arrive at a hosting area. They do accept reservations, though my decision was spontaneous and I arrived shortly after 5pm with no problem getting immediate seating. The dining area is decently sized - I was immediately surprised remembering how small I considered both Zest! and Twist.
Diavola has the only Marra Forni Oven in Indiana, an Italian-made beast of an oven that can "char a perfect crust in 90 seconds." Diavola also utilizes Antimo Caputo flour, an additive-free option that is all natural along with Sinatra brand tomatoes. They keep their menu fairly simple - appetizers (or antipasti), salads, pizzas, and a create-your-own option that starts off at $10. The pizzas offer up several options and should have something to please just about anyone with prices in the $11-15 range.
I didn't have any appetizers, though they range from Polpo (charred marinated octopus) to Polpette (meatballs, etc.) and much more. I did notice they don't have prices on their website menu. They also have a beer & wine menu, though they clearly emphasize wine with only a few local craft brew options.
I was seated at a sizable table near the front of the restaurant where I quickly noticed that the signs on a building across the street sort of muted the Diavola intimacy and ambience. It didn't ruin it, though it did prove to be a tad distracting given the 60's Italian-American style music playing and the restaurant's warm, unique color scheme.
My server, Rachel, was prompt and helpful. I ordered my usual unsweetened iced tea and was also provided a small glass of water. The iced tea was eventually refilled, while the water was not. I ordered the $15 Macellaio that comes with homemade tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, capicola, pancetta, pepperoni, and sweet Italian sausage. It was a decent sized pie, they all come in one size, and would likely easily accommodate two individuals but I also didn't have much trouble finishing that sucker myself. The pizza, as has been noted, is somewhat reminiscent of Napolese. If you require cookie-cutter consistency in your pizza, you may not embrace the more unpredictable, experimental nature of this type of pizza dining. I found the pizza to be good, but shy of greatness. I had two slices, in particular, that were a tad chewier in texture than I'd have liked but overall I was satisfied and certainly wouldn't have sent it back.
I didn't feel rushed, though I didn't necessarily feel encouraged to relax. At the Diavola price point, which is definitely a notch above some of Indy's favorite pies, I'd prefer to feel a little more welcome and a little more relaxed. My bill came in at just over $19 - a tad higher than I'd usually go on a weeknight, but a nice and reasonable splurge after a long work day.
I did notice as I left that the sidewalk is in a bit of disrepair and one of my wheelchair wheels actually hit a crack in the sidewalk and I nearly tumbled. I'd recommend this be addressed as soon as possible as it certainly poses a potential risk.
If I could, I'd likely lean toward 3 1/2 stars. The recently opened Diavola still seems to be working some bugs out, but it was nice to visit the place before news starts to spread. My overall feeling was that the pizza was a slightly above average value made better by its fresh, authentic ingredients. However, it's slightly higher priced than some area indie pizza joints and will need to improve somewhat in consistency and hospitality if it wants to become a stand-out. It didn't strike me as kid-friendly, though a handful of kids were in Diavola's by the time I left and it seemed just fine. I did have one incident that I thought would turn into a major faux pas when another server moved a chair from a table and blocked my way out, but after a couple minutes she moved it and cleared the aisle. The restaurant's interior is pretty darn wheelchair friendly with plenty of space between tables and multiple options available. | 1neutral
| 843 |
You guys really need to check out your security people closer at hiring and the properly train them. Bouncers should be able to diffuse 90% of situations verbally and when any type of force is required it should be the absolute minimal amount of force required to remove a patron from the establishment. Under no circumstances should bouncers fight or throw punches. I watched 3 bouncers literally beat the shit out of a young man last night. I witnessed the entire despicable episode from the beginning until the end. There was a young guy (early 20s) and he had obviously been drinking all night and questionable they should have been serving him to begin with but the bartenders continued to pour alcohol down his throat. I could clearly see he was intoxicated when he arrived at around 2AM. In the next 30 minutes I watched the staff serve him at the very least 3 large shots and 2 mixed drinks and he also shotgunned a beer during this time frame. He was being a bit mouthy but that is no excuse for what was about to happen. As he was walking to the bathroom (it appeared) I saw a guy behind him bump into him fairly hard and kind of gave him a shove. As this happened a bouncer was walking by him in the opposite direction. The bump and shove caused the drunk kid to collide a bit with the bouncer. Bumping into people happens in crowded bars. The bouncer seemed to think it was intentional or something and in the beginning the drunk guy apologized and told the bouncer he was pushed from behind. The bouncer started berating the drunk guy and was really verbally abusing him and claiming he bumped into him intentionally. The kid tried to apologize again and the bouncer continued cursing him and being a total jerk. After a bit more of this ridiculous behavior from the so called "security" the drunk kid said something to the effect of "go fuck yourself pussy". This set the bouncer off even worse and he grabbed him and said "get the fuck out of here and started to drag him toward the door. At this point 2 other so called "security" clowns had observed the situation and they came rushing in and putting their hands on the drunk kid. As they got close to the door the drunk kid kind of pulled away from them and said "get your fucking hands off me". At that point, and the drunk young man who was being roughly escorted out, never threw a punch or did anything other than like pull away from the guys. He was running his mouth calling the bouncers a "bunch of pussies" and stuff like that but he never touched them or threatened them or attacked them. At any rate as he jerked away from them at the door these 3 so called bouncers began to throw punches at the young guy and all 3 of them beat him repeatedly with several vicious blows to the face. The kid didn't have a chance and didn't even get a punch off it happened so fast. He was close to being unconscious when they continued to beat him and then throw him down on the sidewalk as hard as they could and fortunately he barely missed rolling off the sidewalk and into the street as a car came by way to fast. If it had not been for a few bystanders who tried to catch him as he was thrown to the sidewalk he might have been hit by the vehicle. He was badly injured with much facial damage. To top it off (and this obviously isn't the Tin Roofs issue but just a lousy worthless cop) one of the bystanders flagged a cop down as he was driving by.
The bystander told the cop "this kid is really hurt bad and that he had been jumped by 3 bouncers and may need medical attention or an ambulance". The cop replied and I shit you not... "We got bigger things to deal with than shit like this" and then he kind of chuckled and got back in his patrol car and took off. I heard and saw all this because I had walked outside while this was all happening to try to tell the original bouncer that I had witnessed the entire thing and the kid was shoved/bumped into and that's what caused him to bump into bouncer. I never got the chance to say a word it all escalated so quickly. I was floored though by the cops response and lack of concern. Any one could see this kid was hurt and required assistance. That is the type of cop who gives cops a bad rap. At any rate, the violence and aggression displayed by these 3 bouncers was insane. The second 2 bouncers to get in on the beating didn't even have a clue to what started the whole thing but they were willing to savagely beat this kid. People like these clowns have zero business being in the security/bouncer business. I don't care what the kid said or did no one deserves to be beat like that....but having seen the whole incident I know he didn't do anything threatening or aggressive toward the bouncers but after being verbally assaulted by the first one he did begin to verbally fight back and attempt | 0negative
| 908 |
I visited with great anticipation because this place had NOLA in the name. I am Southern, and no one loves seafood more than me! Upon entering, we were greeted by an amiable and enthusiastic host! The decor is very beautiful; there's plenty of tables and just a very nice ambiance. I only wished the food had been on par with the environment.
Disappointing is NOT the word that could even begin to capture my feelings about my visit. I was extremely dismayed and displeased with the food. We started with an appetizer, 10 wings - Half Cajun/Half Lemon Pepper. I want to forewarn you that the wings are party wings. I asked the waitress before ordering and was told they were "regular wings." Split wings or party wings, as some call them, are not regular, but maybe they are for the young teens working in the food industry of today. The wings tasted like they had been fried in fish grease and lacked seasoning and flavor. I'm accustomed to places toning down seasonings in this day and time due to health concerns, but they were extremely unappetizing for an appetizer.
The flavors available for the wings are the same as the seafood, and that somewhat curbed my desire to have it with their sauce, but still, I felt I would give it a try until I heard the prices. Yes, listened to the priced because the trick is that they're not listed on the menu...just says MP(Market Price). Somehow their MP is a lot higher than other restaurants serving the same cuisine in this area, so I'm unsure where their market is. I decided I wasn't going to take a chance at those prices on the seafood and sauce being just as bland but still wanted to patronize this restaurant since we were already there. We looked over the menu and had some questions. I asked about the catfish and was told it was "strips" well after being told the wings were "regular wings," I didn't trust that and had to request confirmation from management regarding if that meant it was a fillet. It was confirmed, but when I asked how many with the meal, I was advised 1 or 2 depending upon their size. Huh? You would've had to have been there to see the look on my face. When I order a catfish basket, I am accustomed to being told how many fillets I'm paying for, not that it's their discretion. What is that? However, I ordered it and some fried oysters anyway. I'm also accustomed to a fillet being boneless but was unpleasantly surprised by several bones in my catfish and threw the rest away after I grew tired of "fishing' them out...pun intended. The oysters were tiny and tasted fishy, not like fresh oysters. Everything was fishy!
My dinner companion for the evening ordered the fried shrimp basket. Now, that should've been a simple order, but was not. They cooked her shrimp with the shell on, who does that? All the flavor and breading go away with the shell when the patron peels it off. So, again, we asked our waitress if this is the way they cooked them on purpose. Again....she didn't have a clue! She asked a couple of co-workers and the owner; we couldn't get a straight answer until she asked for a refund. We'll talk about that too in just a minute. I didn't want a refund as it's always the chance you take when dining somewhere new that you will not like the food. My dinner companion was courteous and didn't want me to have to pay for something she was not going to eat.
Although the staff is uneducated about the dishes they are serving, deceive customers about portion size, and the food is nasty, they do not give refunds!
No one that I spoke to identified themselves but were all very courteous, so I don't know if they were management or the owners. I have to say that they do care about customer service, are open to the feedback but were unable to resolve the above issues. The servers were courteous and trying but clueless. They seem to care genuinely; I hope that they will provide additional training to their staff, research the dishes they are serving for the expected taste and flavor, research competitive pricing, and get it right. We need more options here in the Lawrence/Oaklandon /Geist area, but I cannot in good conscience recommend this restaurant as it is now and have no plans to return. | 0negative
| 760 |
This is a tough review for me, because things were so all over the board at Franco last night. When my friend and I first pulled up, we were both a little put off by the fact that there was no valet. I get that parking is fairly easy, and that's nice, but it would have been a nicer experience had we had the option of being able to walk in together, instead of me waiting five minutes for him at the beginning and end of the evening.
When we were seated, we waited longer than we should have to be talked to. Our waitress walked by a few times before she actually came to our table to have a chat. When I asked her if they had a moscato, she stammered "uh...ah....um....well maybe not by the glass....um..." and stomped her foot a few times. It was a bit bizarre, and as it turns out, there wasn't even moscato by the bottle on the menu. She recommended something else, and when I asked "But is that sweet?" she said "Oh no." Ok...obviously I wanted something sweet. So I just took the matter into my own hands and ordered a Riesling. Then I asked, while my friend decided what wine to order, if they still had the vegetarian entree available from the previous months past (a zucchini and squash pasta with a cauliflower sauce), because there were no veggie options printed on the menu. She said that they had a pumpkin orzo, but I HATE pumpkin with a passion, so she left to find out what else they could do. Without taking his drink order. Um, ok. When she returned, it turns out that it wasn't a pumpkin orzo but a squash and root vegetable orzo, so she was wrong there too.
We ordered the pommes frites to share, he ordered the mixed greens salad and the cassoulet, and I ordered the french onion soup and the vegetarian orzo. The pommes frites were good for french fries, and we didn't even make a dent in them because there were SO many. They were pretty basic for my taste though, and let me tell you, they were no scape truffle fries. I almost wished we had chosen scape right then and there, because man was I craving those fries. They came with a ketchup that was very unoriginal, and some type of aioli, that was pungent and frankly, pretty disgusting. I had to try it a few times just to pick through the flavors of lemon and anchovy and who knows what else. Really unappetizing.
The mixed greens salad and the soup came out next. The salad was very underdressed and underwhelming, with a few pecans, apples, and raw fennel. And while my soup was ok, the presentation was lacking, and definitely could've used more cheese on top, and less crouton. The crouton seemed to be the same as the bread that they served, this tiny little baguette that had an impenetrable, chewy crust, and wasn't worth more than one taste.
When our entrees arrived, this was the upturn of the evening. Mine was gorgeous looking, and was incredible. The puff pastry that it came in was hardly a puff pastry at all, as it was light and airy, and I think was more about presentation than anything else. And boy did it do its job. It overflowed with orzo, butternut squash, celery, carrots, and fennel, and didn't last very long! My friend loved his cassoulet too. He said that the sausage was fantastic, and he had A LOT left to take home. We also ordered dessert, a scoop of salted caramel ice cream, and a scoop of chocolate ice cream, both made my Serendipity, which is close to my house. It was firm and creamy, and well done on their part, though Franco's cookies accompanying it were hard and not worth the tummy room.
Overall, it was a so so experience. Our waitress hardly spoke two words to us, even when delivering our food, and seemed like a hot mess that evening. We realized later that we never even heard the specials! Our entrees were delish, but the rest of the food we could've done without. And at the end of the evening, I again had to wait by the window anxiously for several min while my friend pulled the car around. No one was there to put me in the car, and I could've used an arm in my friend as I had to walk down all of those stairs in very high heels. 4 stars for the entrees, 1 for the service, 2 to 3 for the rest of the food, means that I may or may not be back. I probably will, but only because Michael Schaerer and Amy Miller play Springsteen, Grateful Dead, Paul Simon, Sugarland, and way more, on Wednesday nights, and they easily get 5 stars for actually making dinner music enjoyable for us. However, while I'd like a reason to dine on my return, you may just find me singing along in the bar. | 1neutral
| 850 |
If you haven't been to the Blind Owl, make a point to go at least once. The Brewery sits on the corner of Binford and 62nd in Binford Plaza on the south end. As you enter the hostess desk is directly ahead. To the right is the large family dining area with 4-top tables and to the left is the FCFS bar area (over 21) with all tall-top tables and 2 small step up booths. The family dining area and patio is seated by the hostess so check in with the host/hostess. Due to Covid-19 they have reduced the number of tables for social distancing so you'll find the wait time has increased. The servers wear masks, patrons must wear masks while walking around, menus and tables are sanitized, condiments have been removed from the tables and hand sanitizer is located by the entrance. They also encourage no more than 6 people to a table.
The reason I say go is the great food and a wide variety of house or seasonal beers and several unique, tasty cocktails (Spiced Orange Creamsicle Martini $8) with terrific servers all in a fun, lively atmosphere. The large patio is the perfect spot to enjoy a meal while watching folks play bocce ball, weather permitting. The two large bocce ball courts are fun to play and watch.
You'll find a wide variety of appetizers from their two huge Pretzels, my fav, the very flavorful Chipotle Wings and Fries, Beer Cheese Queso, Nachos, Quesadillas to Pork Filled Egg Rolls. Don't overlook the 6 types of Street Tacos with Blackened Salmon, Spicy Rose Pork, Chicken Tinga, Chipotle Shrimp or Tomatillo Steak. I'm a pork person and enjoy their Spicy Rose Pork Tacos with Kimchee Slaw and Sweet and Spicy sauce served on Wonton Shells.
The Soups and Salads don't disappoint either. I always get a cup or bowl of the delicious Elote Corn Chowder which they say was inspired by Mexican Street Corn. I've asked if they'd share the recipe but no luck. They have several salads (Cobb, Caesar, Cajasain) but honestly I always go for the House Salad (small $3 or large $6). It is a very fresh salad with crisp mixed greens, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, shredded carrots and croutons. They have the standard dressings and 4 types of Vinaigrettes. Their chunky Blue Cheese is my go-to dressing.
My husband's two favorites are the Grilled Tenderloin or the 8 oz. Smash Burger (Two 4 oz burgers) with their scrumptious hand cut fries. I always grab a few to dip in blue cheese dressing. The Chipotle Chicken Sandwich has a spicy breaded chicken breast topped with Fresno Chiles, Chipotle Jack Cheese, Pickles and Chipotle Mayo. Or try the Buffalo Chicken Wrap which is very tasty with the breaded chicken tossed in Buffalo sauce with all the yummy toppings. The Peppered Bacon BLT on Sourdough Toast is one of my favorites but I ask for non-crispy bacon and I usually pass on the garlic aioli mayo.
The Artisan Pizzas looked amazing tonight but we've never ordered. They offer 3 Pizza Sauces (House Tomato, BBQ or Garlic Cream) and many toppings. My husband doesn't eat cheese so it makes it hard to share a pizza. He orders a cheese-less pizza with extra sauce and heavy on the meats and veggies. Regardless, I'm thinking of ordering sometime and just taking home the leftovers.
A few of the entrees include an 8 oz Salmon Filet served with roasted red potatoes, broccoli and a lemon dill cream sauce. Another fish option is the Pretzel Breaded Cod served with cole slaw and Fries. My friend loves the Breaded Chicken Tenders served with the Fries and one of the 5 dipping sauces. Be sure to check out the nice selection of side dishes. A few nice surprises were the roasted red potatoes, broccoli, cottage cheese and roasted carrots. Tarter tots, sweet potato fries and hand cut fries round out the sides.
Tonight my husband tried one of the Seasonal Beers, the Mexican Lager Nosotros Tomamos, which he thought was overly fruity and light for a Mexican Larger. He had two but probably not something he'll order again with the large selection Blind Owl offers.
Tonight we had the 2 large Pretzels with the excellent beer cheese dip and ranch dressing, a small house salad w/blue cheese dressing, a fabulous bowl of Elote Chowder, the crispy Rose Pork Egg Rolls stuffed with a generous amount of pork and served with Sweet & Spicy Sauce plus the Grilled Tenderloin and Fries. We enjoyed everything but still came home with a to-go box.
Hopefully you can visit when the weather is nice to enjoy the terrific patio and activities but anytime is a good time for good food, excellent service and a fun time. | 2positive
| 798 |
I had been to Gigi's for a work-lunch a few years ago and had a great experience, so I was pumped when I received a gift for $80 to use towards dinner. The voucher specified that had to be used in 1 meal, no drinks included, for a max of 2 people. We took a look at the menu online, and even though I'm a vegetarian (thus I tend to be a cheap date), we thought we could make it happen.
We arrived on Friday night and stood awkwardly by the hostess stand for a few minutes while bartenders and waitresses all told us to sit tight, the hostess would be right with us. About 10 minutes later, we were asked if we wanted to sit inside, or outside. I said outside and instantly regretted it. We were first seated in high-table in front of Colonial Penn... the corporate building next door. I have a friend who works there... and it just felt awkward, so I asked if we could move to the deck. I'd never been on the deck before, and therefore I was unaware that it was like sitting in a back ally/hallway, so finally we moved inside. By this point, i was embarrassed, and my boyfriend was clearly ready to kill me. I don't blame him. I was being annoying.
We settled into a high-table inside. OK... step 1 complete.
We opened our menus and instantly noticed that a solid 50% of the menu available online wasn't listed? Reaching our $80 goal was going to be tough since the food being offered was a) cheaper, and b) not vegetarian friendly at all. We ordered drinks and mentioned to our waitress of our predicament, and she basically told us 'good luck' and that we'd be able to accomplish our $ goal with 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, and a desert. Close... but not quite.
The menu did make reference of 'vegetarian options available... just ask', so i did. I was hoping to hear that the seasonal pasta dish, or the awesome appetizers i saw online were actually not a myth, but i was redirected back to the pizzas and told that's about all they got. Well ok then...
My boyfriend started of with the french onion soup, and i got the hummus and pita. He said the soup was decent... not amazing, not awful. I'd say the same for the hummus. There was, however, lots of it. I had to stop myself as i knew i was in for the long haul. I took the rest to-go
My boyfriend got the Angus sliders next... and i was out of options aside from pizza... so i ate his french fries that came as a side. That was a bit confusing... as i wouldn't think that 'tapas' would come with a side... but the fries were pretty good... so i didn't give it a second thought. He said his sliders were decent... not awful, not amazing. We took 2 of the 3 of them to-go.
Our waitress came back and we ordered our entrees. I, of course, got the margarita pizza, and my boyfriend got some ahi tuna mixed veggie entree. When it came out, we were blown away. My pizza easily could have fed 3-4 people. It was massive. I think of a margarita pizza as lighter too... but this was oozing with cheese. I love cheese, so I'm not complaining... but it was certainly unexpected. Taste wise, it was comparable to pizza hut. It had the greasy crust. Again, I enjoy a good Pizza Hut pie from time to time... so it wasn't bad... but just not what I'd expect from a 'Mediterranean' restaurant in olde city. I took the remaining 6 slices to go. My boyfriend said that his tuna dish tasted like it was a 'steamer sensations' from healthy choice or something... yet it was $25! One of the more expensive items on the menu. He wasn't hungry enough to eat the whole thing... and it clearly wasn't worth finding extra space. We didn't even bother asking for this one to go.
We needed to get desert to take us over the $80 mark, so we just got a cake to go. Our first 2 drinks were supposed to be 1/2 price... so either beers are $8, or our waitress messed up the bill. Regardless, we just wanted to get out of there... so we didn't even bother to correct it. We owed about $30 for tax/tip/drinks... and we agreed that the $30 we spent on the meal wasn't worth it... let alone the $110 it should have been (without the voucher). We walked to the car having pretty much grocery shopped for the week- hummus, 2 sliders, 6 slices of pizza and a piece of chocolate cake...
The vibe at gigi's is that of a restaurant that isn't doing so hot. The portion control is off, the prices are way too high for the quality of food being served, etc. I must say our waitress was pleasant... and aside from not taking a single one of our plates such that we were stacking stuff to try to make room for more stuff... she was pleasant, attentive, and quick. I hope this place gets it together... | 0negative
| 879 |
When I last reviewed Lou (back in September 2019), it was new and I had been once. I've now been several more times (for one brunch and maybe 3 or 4 dinners). I love it more each time I go.
Lou really excels at small plates (especially veg-forward plates) and natural wine. But they also have some great meat and fish dishes for a good mix of options for everyone in your party! For two people for dinner, we usually do 3 smaller veg dishes and 1 large meat dish and then hope we have room for a dessert because we also definitely have to have a bottle of wine.
Their menu changes a lot (yay for seasonality, surprises, and new things to try), but here are some dishes I've had and loved: roasted kabocha with funnel stalk, mole cream, and shaved botarga (this is one that still makes me salivate when I think about it a year later); lump crab and marinated beets with sorrel creme fraiche and pea tendril salad; lamb ribs with fermented chili yogurt and za'atar oil (YES); local mushrooms and farro with salsa negra, mezcal, pecorino, and chili threads; dark chocolate semifreddo with miso peanut caramel and candied cacao nibs (dessert); crispy rice with saffron, pickled currants, and walnuts (a variation of this dish is often - or maybe always? - on the menu; it's a take on a small, single serving of the Persian crispy rice tahdig, and you can add things to it - egg yolk, chorizo, etc.); Peruvian lima beans with Brussels sprouts, pine oil, and hazelnuts; skirt steak with pineapple and calabrian chile agrodolce; dry aged beef short rib with tomatillo butter and lime; crispy potatoes with cumin butter and pickled mustard seeds; Brunost custard with passion fruit and speculous funnel cake (dessert obvi); and tons more. (They also have the most creative charcuterie options I've seen in Nashville!)
All of the above were dinner dishes (I've been several times for dinner and just once for brunch). I had an amazing brunch at Lou too, and they might be better known for brunch since they offer breakfast wine (what is leftover from dinner service from the night before) and breakfast cake! Their pastry chef is amazing and their brunch dishes are as delicious and creative as their dinner menu (I had a great dish of poached eggs with broccolini), so definitely check it out for brunch, too!
I don't think I've ever had a dish at Lou that I wasn't into. But better than that? A lot of Lou's dishes surprise me! I love food and eating and restaurants. Lou is one of those restaurants where the a server will come to the table to ask how a dish is/how the meal is, and I become this person: "I mean this beet is the best beet ever. How DID the chef do this? Oh, they roasted it and THEN marinated it? That's so smart. I'm going to try that at home." I love vegetables, and I think that a sign of a really great chef is the vegetables on their menu. At Lou, vegetables are as much the star as the meat (although the meat is AMAZING, too). No Brussels sprouts roasted to death with pork here. The vegetable dishes are creative and smart and yet still 100% tasty (Lou also doesn't sacrifice flavor in an effort to be cool - no food gimmicks).
Lou is also a wine bar. And since Nashville doesn't have many wine bars, Lou immediately became one of my favorite places to drink wine in this city. They always have a great wine list: white, reds, roses, and sparkling wines, and then skin contact wines as well. I never leave Lou without a few glasses of wine or a bottle or two (depending on what everyone else in my party is doing). The servers are incredibly well versed on the wines, so if you're not very familiar with wines (esp when it comes to natural/skin contact/orange varieties), ask! They'll point you in the right direction! If you're not as excited about wine or have a non-wine drinker in your party, they also have spirits, spritzes, beers, aperitifs, and digestifs.
The non-food things: It's woman-owned, and it definitely has a pretty and delicate decor/style (if you're looking for some interior decorating inspiration for your home, for instance, another reason to check Lou out - that wall paper, those chairs, the mirror behind the bar!). New during COVID times was the addition of their COVERED patio. The restaurant is beautiful, but it's tight and it can get a little loud inside for that reason. So when we went recently, we opted for a table outside (you can specify patio table when you make the reservation), and I loved the experience. Their patio is covered above but still gets gorgeous light. A lush, green, romantic patio for sure. We lucked out and ate on the patio on the most beautiful night, and it made me love Lou even more! AND THE SERVICE IS GREAT (I'm running out of room or I'd say more).
Lou is just one of my favorite restaurants in Nashville. If you're looking for great food, a beautiful setting, delicious wine, and great service, look no further. But make reservations, come hungry, and sit on that patio if the weather looks promising! | 2positive
| 896 |
We eat have eaten at Empress Palace approximately 20 times per year and more...for over 10 years.Sushi.Chinese. Dine In. Take Out and Delivery. TODAY I ordered Delivery and received a call that our order would NOT be made or delivered because I had complained about an order back in August. Out of 20 or so orders per year a couple of DELIVERY orders have been wrong...warm sushi...missing items and the like. The always made amends...UNTIL today...December 28 2016.This was Caroline's reason...she was translating for the Cook whose name she did not know...or would not tell me. I asked for the Owners to call me and/or theSushi Chef...who is awesome...Anyhow- Back in August there had been an issue with an order. Side orders were not delivered...the sushi had been placed on top of something hot and had slid around and was just a piled up mess in the box.For $15 sushi-I feel the complaint was needed and useful. Little things like when we ask for NO green peppers are some times ignored. Rice is not delivered or extras. In April we got sick after eating the delivery-there was a lot of oil in this order. But we ate some of every dish-so I could not say what was wrong. We were offered a refund. And the following week we ordered twice the amount in take out and even more at the sushi bar. Today a poor soul...or rather "puppet" named Caroline made the call and said the "kitchen is refusing to make the order because I had asked about the dish offered back in August to make up for the Sushi.. Since August we have only done dine in or take out...about 6 times.So when she said we had complained EVERY TIME...I had to correct her. I then asked how long she had worked there-not long was her response...so how would she know about an experience 9 months ago. I have been in an and written about the restaurant business for over 30 years. Telling a restaurant what they could improve is to me-a good thing. *****By cutting me off as a customer-you lose not only me and my family but my clients custom.******** Recently I suggested Empress for a friends Wedding Dinner. 40 people who order a lot of alcohol and extras. Now that trade will probably go to Madam Lu...who I love...so no hardship there.Initially I suggested EP because I have been a loyal customer for years...written POSITIVE Reviews about the place for years. I never mention the mistakes in my writing...only how great the food and service was. Well NO more. You did not just lose me as a customer...you lost the 100 people that look for me to suggest where to eat when they are in town...or from in town. What can I say-I am beyond disappointed. Not only was Caroline and the Kitchen staff rude and insulting...the kitchen staff Whose names Caroline said she did not know...(How can she not know the name of the staff?)....Caroline also mentioned there is NO Management?? WTH?? What of there was a fire or medical emergency? That is a liability. saying she did not know anyones name (????) and that no one is in charge. I asked when the owners would be in...again...."I do not know-not for awhile"...and when I asked to speak to the sushi Chef...she said he is too busy...I asked for her to give him a message...again...NO!!!!. This is a part of the Service.and It makes your business seem unorganized and unprofessional not to have management...or at least a process.And then when I in fact heard the Chef say "do not tell her my name"...(I worked in a Chinese restaurant long ago and know a little)...that was it...it was horrible. PREJUDICE is not something I will tolerate...NO matter how good the food is. To be honest my son and his friends had a HORRIBLE experience there in the Fall. We have spent from $80 upward .every time we order...and often. So refusing to serve my family is not good business. I feel I am being prejudiced because I let them know when something was not delivered in the order that I have paid for...or if the food is not the best quality.....or has an ingredient I have specifically asked to be left out. We have been in the Restaurant since the last delivery....sushi and dine in...and take out...NONE of those orders were refused...and yet Caroline says that the Chef has been told not to serve us. This is confusing. I will not be ordering from the place for delivery and I will advise my clients of this incident. Prejudice is a BIG thing to many of us. The strangest thing is that in the last 12 years they have ALWAYS worked out whatever issues have occurred-kindly. There are not always issues. The last 4 visits were without issue. Yet the Chef tells Caroline we "complain every time" I come to the Empress. So he is lying just because he does not want to deal with special orders or any complaints. Sad way to run a restaurant. Empress is not cheap-it is by comparison expensive-we came there because of the quality & their willingness to make things right. Sorry to lose your wonderful food.Maybe you need a new chef? Arrogance KILLS. Happy Holidays EMPRESS PALACE-Back to MADAM LU! | 0negative
| 890 |
Great option to satisfy that hankering for some Mexican food! At first, we were the only people in the whole place around 2pm on a Saturday. By 2:30pm the restaurant was filling up quickly. They had large TVs and a nice sized bar to sit at (full disclosure: they do not serve alcohol YET).
Upon noticing the lack of alcohol on the menu, you may ask yourself, "Why go here when you can get it Mexican/Latino food AND alcohol right down the street?" Well, that's a hard sell, because this is New Orleans and it is, after all, for Livers. Just let me entertain you with some key points that may help you to overlook that major hole in the bar... First, they have applied for their liquor license, so hopefully, we won't have this problem for much longer. Second, I saw a sign that said BYOB, so, for now, you can bring your own margarita, or buy one from Juan's and come here. I love Juan's, though, so I would probably just stay at Juan's unless it was uber crowded... but I am just saying, pick up a beverage from another place "to go"/"to geaux", and the folks at Rosa Mezcal will not be insulted. Third, the food is really darn good. The atmosphere is authentic, the taste is authentic, the menu was authentic, the waiter was authentic-- I never learned Spanish, so I couldn't figure out most of the menu (I got "salsa", "queso", "taco"), and I've not been to Mexico, but the décor reminded me of that animated movie "The Book of Life". So in all, I feel that the place was authentic.
Another little known fact about me, my sister-in-law is from Mexico (I am a terrible person for knowing zero Spanish). Anyway, when you taste real Mexican cooking, it is on another level. Rosa Mezcal is on point with the flavor and spice!
We started off with a basket of chips and salsa (first one is on the house, but they didn't charge us for the second one either). We also ordered the queso, because i love cheese. The salsa had a sneaky heat, where you scoop heaps of salsa and chips into your mouth, and when you finally take a second to breathe, your mouth catches fire. That's where the queso comes along and saves the day, putting out the salsa embers and soothing those tastebuds. In addition, I ordered the Chicken and Avocado Wrap from the Daily Specials (you could have gotten steak over chicken), which came with a side of tortilla soup, which also contained chicken. I don't think I have ever had tortilla soup, so its difficult to base it on anything, so when I say it was "soup-erb", it is because it was so cheesy (I really love cheese, and I would marry it), the shredded chicken was perfectly marinated in the broth, and it wasn't spicy like the salsa. Moving on to the wrap, I bit right into it, and it was hot! Temperature hot! How dare they serve me something fresh off the burner! Just kidding, I knew it was made fresh just for me! The chicken was so tender and juicy. The greatest attribute of this wrap, however, was not the chicken; it was not the avocado; it was the jalapeno ranch, and it blew me away. Its a subtle heat because the cool ranch attempts to counteract the jalapeno, and its a match made in heaven. I don't like the really spicy hot kind of food, the highest on that gauge that I will go is medium, and still 90% of the time I stick to mild. My meal was right in between mild and medium, so as Goldilocks might say "it was juuussst right". My fiancé ordered the Tinga Flautas off the Daily Specials menu based on the recommendation of the waiter (who also said everything was good--give that man a raise, boss/chef). I tried to pay attention to how he felt about the flautas, but I was a little too involved with my own food. He cleared his plate, including the side of rice: must have been good!
I really enjoyed myself here, and I know once they start serving margaritas, this will be the new joint for TACO Tuesday (sorry Rum House).
The only thing I disproved of was the can's of soda. I like fountain soda because the rest of the restaurant patrons can't judge you for having three to five refills; its between you and the waiter, and your tablemates. With canned sodas, everyone hears when you pop the top each can...Its just something I am a little self-conscious about... | 2positive
| 779 |
""Mezze mezze." The term used by my Italian in laws meant "some good, some not so good". They would say it accompanied by a shoulder shrug. I'm doing the same for our two dining experiences at Fork. Maybe our expectations were too high given the buzz about this place. We'll return to give Fork another at bat to see what we missed the first two times. If our third experience is like the first two, then three strikes and Fork is out.
AMBIANCE: Interesting but not the 'all that' we anticipated. The light lined patio in the front is part of what makes one want to go in to this converted old bank building. The main dining room has the benefit of being lined with big windows but seating is oddly arranged with some banquettes and too tight tables. There are also sardine can tight tables in a secondary smaller room. (Tip: Avoid that one.) The bar has counter stools and a couple of high perch tables on the periphery with not a single spot of standard height seating. High ceilings and lots of hard surfaces makes the acoustics poor.
SERVICE: Friendly on both visits.
The first time we sat at the bar since all restaurant tables were full at 7:30 on a weeknight and we didn't want to wait 40 minutes for a table. As evidence that not everyone has had "mezze mezze" experiences at Fork, I offer up in fairness that these kinds of crowds typically come in due to good things.
Applause for Jess, the bartender, who knew the menu well and could describe dishes to the people ordering from the dinner or dessert menus at the bar. She was adept at mixing great cocktails while taking orders for and delivering food from the kitchen all with smiles for her customers. She could teach a master class in how to get this right.
Our second visit was at brunch on a Saturday late morning and the restaurant was nearly empty. The server was very friendly but food coming out of the kitchen had long delays and one of our two dishes arrived lukewarm while the other was hot. This suggests one dish waited on the other in the kitchen with coordination problems on the line or between the kitchen and server.
FOOD: This was the big disappointment; both flavors and presentation. Most dishes were just OK for flavors and some were off for temperature at service. Food looked as if just plopped on the plate, presentation that suggests lack of attention in the kitchen. Were this Denny's, we'd say that would be consistent with low expectations. But to have that happen at Fork was not what we expected. On the plus side, the cinnamon donut holes with chocolate and peanut butter dipping sauces were as good as we heard. We enjoyed them at the bar for dessert where they arrived piping hot out of the kitchen with interesting presentation. (And at $9 in a size to easily serve 2 or 3, a good value too.)
MENU / VALUE: Broad number of options and across price points. Choices range from $2 for a biscuit to $9 for a unique Caesar salad to $11 for a club sandwich to $14 for mushroom ravioli or trout to $25 for a flat iron steak. Given the range of prices and options, seems that two could dine well at Fork without libations in the mix for as little as $40 before tax and tip.
LIBATIONS: Full bar with great cocktails at on par prices. Also have a decent number of wines by the glass and an extensive by bottle offering with an appropriate focus on NW wines. Bottle prices seemed too high for lower end offerings, like King Estate Acrobat Pinot Gris for $40. Higher end wines, like $127 for Leonetti Merlot, seemed on par. Nearly four dozen bottled and canned beer options.
THIS N THAT
1) GETTING IN THE DOOR: Patio is on street level and entry to check in at the restaurant or dine inside is up a flight of stairs. For those who can't climb that many stairs, includes me as I have MS, Fork built a ramp along the side of the building with entry through a side room door. From the strollers parked in that side dining room during brunch, we'd say a number of folks use this access. It is the law (ADA) to provide a ramp like this, of course, but not all places do it.
2) COFFEE: Worth singling out the coffee service as it is unusual. Good dark roast, served in a huge mug is brewed as pour over. At $3, you are allowed only one refill. When we sat at the bar coffee was served piping hot. At the brunch service, the first mug was served lukewarm.
3) ALAVITA NEXT DOOR: Not big fans of Fork but we're smitten with sibling, Alavita, located next door. Same owners. Italian themed. http://www.yelp.com/biz/%C3%A0lavita-an-italian-joint-boise | 1neutral
| 828 |
So you noticed the new seafood spot that just opened and wanted to know if it is safe to eat at and worth spending your money there, eh? Well read on!
I'm not a seafood expert but I know enough to be able to give a solid review. This place opened up on the corner of Penn Street and E Baltimore Ave in Lansdowne with new bright signs and a clean look. It is not located in the best parts of the area, so I was a little concerned on what the food and service would be like when I got there. It's not like I'm walking into a 4 star seafood restaurant. Should I be scared? Will I die if I eat the food? Will it taste horrible? Easy answer: I was happy I decided to give them a try and have been back several times since. According to my receipts, I have spent over $175 on their food so far. I think I like it ;)
They have a very large menu with all types of seafood and other stuff. Visit their website to see it all. I have tried a lot from the menu and for the most part everything was good.
From the "Appetizers" section of the menu:
Broiled Scallops ($8.99) 5 Scallops wrapped in bacon with brown sugar on a stick: This was absolutely delicious. They were cooked perfectly and the bacon was awesome. This was probably my favorite thing from the menu. Give it a try! (see pic)
New Zealand Green Shell Mussels ($7.39) 10 mussels: These were very good too. The size of the mussels were impressive. The meat wasn't too chewy and the sauce and other ingredients made me want to order these again. Yumm! (see pic)
Oysters Casino ($9.39) 5 Oysters with bacon, shrimp, cheddar cheese & Roasted Red Peppers: I will not be ordering these again. It seemed as though they were trying too hard to make something special with these. The cheese was overpowering. As weird as this sounds, 2 words came to my mind as I ate these. "Toy Clams". I don't know why lol, but they seemed like something a child would make in a toy kitchen set. Haha, maybe I'm losing it. I was not a fan of these. (see pic)
Broiled Clam Casino ($6.99) 8 Clams with butter & lemon: These were just ok. Not a lot of stuffing in them. Very little meat. Not much flavor. Probably would skip these again. (see pic)
From the "Sautéed Selections" section of the menu:
Sautéed Scallops ($11.99) 1/2 pound in butter garlic sauce: These were pretty good. Decent size and the sauce went well with it. I would probably order them again. (see pic)
Mussel Combo ($14.99) 20 Wild Caught Black Mussels and 15 Farm Raised Green Shelled Beauties From New Zealand: The reason I ordered these was because I loved the New Zealand mussels I had the first time and wanted to see what the rest was all about. Unfortunately for me, they gave me the wrong order. Well, it was a good mistake because they gave me a credit on my next order and I got to try a few things. I think they maybe gave me the "Steamed Sample Appetizer by accident. It was a mix of Black Mussels, Top Necks, New Zealand Mussels, and Little Necks. It was pretty good. I'd probably order this again if I was in the mood.
From the "Broiled Platters" section of the menu:
Off the Hook Broiled Seafood Combo ($20.99) Stuffed Flounder with crab meat, 3 jumbo shrimp from Gulf of Mexico & 3 scallops: This is my favorite big meal here. It is good! The first time I got it I ordered it on a bed of pasta with my 2 sides being Macaroni & Cheese and Collard Greens. The second time I ordered it was with brown rice and the sides were Fresh Steamed Broccoli and Macaroni & Cheese. I prefer the second way and I will be ordering this again many times in the future. It was very good. Very filling. Lots of flavor. The temp was perfect. The shrimp and scallops were AWESOME! Well worth the money spent. (see pic)
Broiled Stuffed Trio ($22.99) Stuffed Shrimp with crab meat, Stuffed Flounder & Stuffed Salmon: This was also pretty good. I was a bigger fan of the other combo though. Everything was cooked nicely. You get a good amount of food for your money. (see pic)
From the "Pork Ribs" section of the menu:
Pork Ribs ($13.79) 1/2 Rack of Ribs (7 ribs): I will not be ordering these again. I did not like the meat. The flavor was meh. The bbq sauce was cold. They gave me a side of bbq sauce that was also cold. I was not a fan, but you might like them. (see pic)
From the "Ocean Sandwiches" section of the menu:
Whiting Sandwich ($5.99) on your choice of Potato Bread, Whole Wheat or White bread: This comes with a huge amount of fish, but beware! It was just fish in between bread. When I ordered it I assumed that it would come with the things that were in the picture like lettuce and tomato. When I opened mine up it had none. I called back to see if they made a mistake and the girl told me that I have to request those items. I got pissed off at that. They should ASK if you want them when ordering. The fish was good, but the lack of ingredients made the sandwich not so good.
From the "Off The Hook Exclusives" section of the menu:
Hot Sampler Appetizer ($14.99) 4 Coconut | 2positive
| 952 |
I am still in shock by the way our group was treated at the Stirling wine bar in Dunedin. A group of 12 of us ventured out in downtown Dunedin to celebrate a birthday. As we left our dinner at The Livingroom we decided to check out Stirling for our next stop. The place was hopping with great live music, and a good atmosphere. We all noticed right away that the bartenders were both extremely grumpy. As we ordered our drinks from the woman and man behind the bar they both seemed as though it was extremely inconvenient that we were even there. Neither the young woman with the accent or the guy with the ear plugs and man bun were kind to any of us, and even forgot to pour two of the glasses of wine that we had ordered. In any case we had our first round ordered and continued our celebration. As I sent my drink down on one of the ledges lining the wall, it tipped right over. There was a lip on the ledge that was hard to see in the dark bar. My drink spilled everywhere. I went right to the bar and asked the woman with the accent if I could please have a bar rag. I explained that i had spilled my drink and wanted to clean it up. She looked at me very confused and told me i would have to wait that she was helping other people. I waited a couple of minutes, and at this point the drink has spilled all over the floor and people were stepping int he mess. She eventually threw me a towel. I cleaned up the spill and brought the rag and my empty glass up to the bar. I asked the young woman to please refill my drink as I hadn't even had a sip out of it yet. She rolled her eyes and filled it and said to me "That will be $9.63." Shocked a bit, I explained to her AGAIN that i had just set my full drink down and it tipped over because it is too dark in the bar to see the lips on ledges. I had had my drink for 30 seconds before it split. She turned and walked away from me. A few moments later Man Bun walked up behind me and literally threw a receipt at me. I once again explained to him what had happened, and he looked at me and said "How do i know you didn't get your drink and chug it and say you split it" I then explained to him that he could look at the rag I used to clean up the drink. Before I could say another word a friend threw a $20 down on the bar. The Man Bun scooped the money up and made change. Still in shock to how I was being treated I began to tell both of them that their customer service was shocking and that I would be calling the next day to discuss it with the owners. The man bun then told me "Ha! The owners are here and they would charge your ass too! Would you like to talk to the owners??" I promptly said "Yes I would!" Knowing right away, as a business owner myself, that he would not appreciate his staff treating his customers like this. Man Bun laughed and walked outside to a gentleman arranging tables. He began whispering in his ear, and I walked up to him and asked if he was the owner and if I could please speak with him. Him and I went the side and I explained all that had happened. His eyes widened and he said right away "They should not have charged you for that drink. I am so sorry." He then brought me back to the bar and refunded my friend his money for the drink and apologized again. I commend the owner for being so understanding and quick to fix the situation. He was absolutely wonderful. On the other hand I think he should definitely take a closer look at who he lets behind the bar. Our group was made up of a doctor, 3 business owners including a restaurant owner and a member from the chamber of commerce. Our first round of drinks totaled nearly $110 and while we would have had a couple of more rounds before leaving, we promptly left as a result of the treatment by the staff behind the bar. We all agreed it was the worst service experience we have seen in Dunedin and won't be back as a result. Thank you again to the kind owner who tried to fix the issue, but once an experience is ruined it is hard to fix. I think his bartenders need additional training. | 0negative
| 808 |
This hotel is located in the Oro Valley just outside northern Tucson AZ.
The grounds are small and beautiful. Strictly a four-star. If you decide to stay, ask for an east-facing room with a view of the Catalina Mtns.
The problem with hotels such as the El Conquistador and Loew's Ventana Canyon Resort is that you are going to run into the "wannabes" such as we have had the misfortune of doing. This will also happen in places such as Scottsdale like the Scottsdale Resort. You're going to have to either stay at a "road warrier" hotel or at a resort in Paradise Valley.
Recent example at the El Conquistador: we stayed there over the Thanksgiving 2009 weekend and although many of the guests are polite and considerate, the wannabes (aka "$30k millionaires") are also out in force acting loudly arrogant, inconsiderate, and resorting to bully tactics on very short notice. I'm not sure how they can afford to stay at a four-star, but apparently they do.
In our case, we had to use the Business Center computers (2) there because we had to conduct several transactions online using a secure server. This included banking transactions and other transactions involving use of our cc number. To use our laptop (we bring it with us) would not have been advisable since wireless keystrokes can be picked up by anyone in the vicinity, thus risking hackers. Note: there is a $10.00 fee for wireless connection in your room - not a problem unless you need to use passcodes or cc numbers.
Anyway, 2 very rude and inconsiderate women looking like Dollar Store shoppers showed up about 4 minutes after we entered the Business Center, and stood directly behind me - which to a reasonable person, would put them in plain view of my screen since the screens there do not have a privacy shield.
I turned around in my seat and politely let them know we had just arrived and would need time to be able to finish up.
The younger of the two rudely commented that "we're going to stay here" or words to that effect, as though she was concerned about keeping her place in line where no one else was waiting.
I got the distinct impression that she was angry that they found us there first.
Her behavior was out of place and digitally ignorant of a user's need for cyber privacy.
An older couple entered in about 10 mins later, and were rudely told by one woman (late-twenties) that they were "still waiting since these people were supposed to be gone by now." The older couple did the upper-class thing and left, stating they would return later.
Which if these two females had done, we would have been out of there by then since we would not have had to delay performing our necessary tasks having to wait for them to leave, since politely informing them of our situation did no good.
This situation is the 2nd & last bad experience I have had at this hotel.
The first was earlier in Spring 2009 where a couple in the room next to us began fighting verbally which devolved into a series of physical attacks upon each other.
I guess other guests called the front desk since I received a call from staff inquiring about noise or other disturbance I may be hearing. (Are you shocked? There's more....)
I let the staffperson know that I was hearing sounds of a physical fight going on in the room next door and I was embarrassed to state this since I have never encountered anything like this in a hotel or anywhere else.
Anyway, she notified hotel security and two officers came up to the room in question, and conducted a room search. I could even hear them opening the drapes all the way and going out on the balcony to search for additional participants.
The fighting couple left a couple of hours later or were asked to leave, not sure which, but they left.
So, I have had two bad experiences at this place and will not be returning.
Loew's Ventana Canyon (not to be confused with the Ventana Inn in Big Sur) is worse since they feature "Girls Night Out" events which encourages the wannabes to stay there.
This is what the wannabes do: gang together in small groups and split the cost of a room four ways in order to afford it. They then party loudly all night long and goof off in the pool area. Their low-rent conduct is derived from the TV shows "Sex and the City," "Dallas Divas & Daughters" and "Real Housewives of Wherever" which are the Mother Ships of behavior standards for the wannabes.
The five stars such as the Arizona Biltmore do not participate in this sort of thing. Neither does Canyon Ranch in Tucson. These resorts/spas are fully aware of the wannabes and know what to do to keep them out.
I'm sorry, but I cannot rec this place to anyone seeking a pleasant resort experience. | 0negative
| 844 |
Quote of the night: "Is it gluttonous if we order one of everything on the menu?" "Absolutely not."
According to the website, Fifty First is a "seasonally focused neighborhood restaurant with technique rooted in rustic Italian cuisine." There's ample parking, though I will warn against wearing heels as the lots are gravel/uneven. There's a large porch, and the inside feels very much like a dark, hip bar set in an old house. It's intimate and comfortable at the same time, so you'll see people wearing anything from street clothes/jeans to dressy attire. Very Nashville, I'd say!
The menu at Fifty First is printed daily, though I noticed a lot of the items reflect the ones on their website; that said, it wasn't identical, so I applaud the chef for basing the day's menu on what is in season and what's inspired for the day. We started with charcuterie, selecting the chicken liver pate (served with warm rye bread and an apple-vanilla delicious jam), galantina (spricy pork shoulder), coppa (dry cured pork shoulder), salami finocchiona (dry cured salami with fennel), with the meats served with some green beans and accoutrements. For cheese, we had the cave aged gouda (raw cow) and mona extra-aged (sheep and cow), served with flatbread and honey.
The charcuterie was amazing. We had to try every combo... bread + cheese and bread + pate and bread + jam and cheese + jam and cheese + honey and on and on... YUM. We had to ask for more rye bread, as there wasn't enough for the pate, and PATE WAS THE BEST. All caps. Seriously, we were bowing down to the excellent pate in its superior flavor and smooth texture. It was amazing. I want to feed it to my future babies.
We consulted our server before making our next move. We'd initially decided to order one of everything on the menu, but then the charcuterie menu came and we knew we had to make some cuts. With her help, we cut the number in half and ordered six of the day's twelve menu items.
To assist with our feast, the server/kitchen staff paced us with a few courses at a time. We started with the buckwheat sourdough focaccia, served with olio verde and marigold ricotta. I'm a big bread fan, so I LOVED the pure simplicity of this. I would eat it every day if I could.
After the focaccia, the grilled octopus arrived, served with romano beans, arugula, and preserved lemon. We also had the tomato panzanella, with goat feta, watermelon, and moscatel vinaigrette. Everything was tasty. Octopus was something new for me, and the taste was mild but good. The way it was plated, I don't think most people would have realized what it was. The panzanella was yummy too.
But honestly, these were not the rock stars of the evening, because of what came next...
One of my favorite dishes of the night was the radiatore nero, with rock shrimp, chiles, guanciale, and charred tomato. The pasta was soooo fresh, and a beautiful black color from the squid ink. The shrimp were delicious and cute (can I say that and keep my wannabe foodie card?) and the spicy kick to the sauce was on point. This arrived with the octopus and panzanella, and I honestly couldn't focus on the others because I was obsessed with the radiatore. Good pick, dear server. We salute you!
And then there was MEAT. We ordered the lamb & pork sausage served with field peas, roasted peppers, and vin cotto. We also had the grilled PRB steak, served with AMAZING lamb fat potatoes, lobster mushrooms, and balsamic.
Um, delicious. I think the sausage was a clear favorite for the table. We actually had to wait a little for these courses, because our ticket was misplaced in the kitchen; our server topped off our wine gratis, and the chef brought the food out with apologies. But the thing is, we didn't even notice the delay! We were so blissfully enjoying a break in our gluttony, knowing we had more ahead... but I'll take any excuse to pay our compliments to the chef, because he was really fantastic! (You're awesome, Tony Galzin. Bravo.) In fact, our service was pretty amazing the entire time. We never wanted for anything, the servers cleared the many courses quickly and even brought us lots of fresh silverware throughout the evening, all swiftly and adeptly and without complaint or looks of "are these people still eating... MORE?!"
For dessert, we had peach semifreddo with pecan crumble and white peach-thyme compote. So this dessert didn't knock my socks off like a few of the other dishes, but it was still tasty. Peaches are about gone for the year so I had to take advantage; the peach and pecan combo was soooo yummy. I think I would have eaten a bowl of the crumble and compote and then skip the semifreddo itself. But it was good... I mean, we ate the whole thing if that tells you anything.
The moral of this story? Eat at Fifty First Kitchen & Bar, before it's impossible to get a reservation. You don't have to share dishes like we did, as the portions are ample. | 2positive
| 873 |
Omg, this place was horrible. Let me start with the pros, very nice, friendly crew. My company has different food trucks come out every day, most of which get recycled, so we have the opportunity to try them on multiple occasions. So today, Heavy's food truck was parked out front and because this wasn't their first time serving the company, their was a long line in front of the truck. Now, with me being a picky eater, I had never tried the food here and was pressed for time so because I did see the long line out front, I figured, "why not". They had a variety of meals, all of which came with two sides. So I wanted to keep it simple and get fried chicken for my meat but wasn't too sure about the sides. Now some of the people in line were talking about the mac n cheese, there was even a girl on the side bragging about how good it was, so I figured again, "why not". Now I LOVE mac n cheese, but like I mentioned, I'm picky (BECAUSE I CAN COOK, AND I KNOW WHAT BAD FOOD TASTE LIKE AND I RATHER EAT MY OWN FOOD OR FROM A PLACE IN WHICH OF FAMILIAR WITH THE TASTE OF THEIR FOOD), so I know I didn't want to get double mac, because mac n cheese is one of those meals, where you REALLY have to know what your doing in order for it to come out RIGHT. Now, when I got to the window, the cashier (tom boyish girl with dreads and braces), with a not so friendly attitude told me baked beans, which other than the mac n cheese was the only other side I would consider eating, were out.
I told her this was my first time at the truck and didn't know what other side, without saying anything else she said, "so double mac n cheese" and because there were others behind me and I didn't want to take up the time I didn't have, I figured again, "what the heck, I can always heat up what I don't finish. Whew, boy don't I wish I never walked my tail to that truck because me and everyone else standing in line was, WRONG! Wrong for thinking they were worth the wait. To start, the mac n cheese noodles were way too thick, the cheese sauce is disgusting with chucks of thicker cheese cut up and mixed in, the cheese itself has this unpleasant taste mixed with the taste of pepper (which the cook added way too much of). I'm a huge fan of macaroni n cheese, especially baked and one thing, their mac n cheese, isn't, is BAKED. Lets just say, If you have an aunt that can bake but can't cook and swear's she can make some bomb mac n cheese, all because the rest of the family was too afraid to tell her it taste like crap, than I can guarantee you, you've tasted their mac n cheese before. Now lets get to the chicken. I think what also drew me to the truck (other than starvation and desperation) was the smell of the fried chicken, which is lovely, I mean who doesn't love the smell of fried chicken, pork chops, other meats. Now the problem wasn't that the chicken wasn't fresh because they had me and a few other people waiting while the chicken finished frying. Problem was the grease. It's like they took the chicken straight from the fryer and placed it in my container. The skin on the bottom of my chicken was swimming in grease. I literally had to take a handful of napkins and squeeze the grease out the chicken to even eat it . And yes with the combination of the oddly tasting mac n cheese,and greasy chicken, your stomach will be upset and your boss will be even more upset your spending most of the remainder of your shift making back and forth trips to the bathroom. In conclusion, I'm not one to leave reviews, but my only regret with this purchase was that I didn't use my debt card to pay, so now I can't dispute the transaction and get my money back, but if I'm able to help someone save money by not ordering food here, that's good enough for me! And one thing to always keep in mind, everyone's taste buds are different, but after talking with a few people around the office, a lot of us have the opinion when it comes to the food not tasting so great and the items that are fried, are being served too greasy. | 0negative
| 781 |
Leaving 2 reviews in the interest of being fair .. a 5-star that I gave yesterday for the personal dining experience my wife and I had at Henley, and this 2-star for the private dining disaster that took place on 3/26/2019 with a group of business guests. Moral of this story - If you're thinking about planning a business dinner at Henley, buyer beware.
After a 5-star 1st time personal experience at Henley on 3/12/2019, I booked their private dining room for an executive business dinner on 3/26/2019. The restaurant general manager had graciously waived the room fee, explaining that Tuesday nights are generally low demand for private dining, so he was happy to provide the space for our group of 10 guests. For context, and this becomes important, I did not demand or even request that the room fee be waived, this was openly offered as an incentive for me to book the event with Henley on a night when they expected to be slow.
On 3/22, I called Henley and spoke to their hostess to confirm the reservation and ensure everything was in order... 'all good and the private room is booked for you' according to the hostess.
Fast forward to 3pm on 3/26/2019, hours before the scheduled dinner. I receive a call from Henley's assistant GM, Jenelle, who informs me that the private dining room has been given to another group and that we've been moved to the restaurant floor. She proceeds to explain that this other group has paid the room fee and I have not, so they have now been given the room. She apologizes and continues that there was a communication error between her and the restaurant manager who booked the room for me (remember, I called just a few days ahead to confirm and even the HOSTESS knew that I had this room booked). She then offers to reschedule our party for 8:20pm (rather than our current time of 6:30pm) or to have us reschedule the date completely, and she'll waive the room fee for the future date and provide a 15% discount. My points back to her are: 1) This is a business dinner scheduled weeks in advance with business execs, rescheduling is not an option, 2) If the room fee was ever an issue I should have been contacted and provided the option to pay the fee, which I would have done, even though basic business practice dictates that once a reservation is made and terms are locked in those terms should be honored, 3) 3-hour notice to reschedule or adjust a business dinner is unacceptable and provides me with no options to seek another venue that accommodates our needs, and 4) I specifically booked with Henley to use their private room, and a non-private setting has never been acceptable.
Jenelle then checked with the Aerston hotel banquet manager to see if they had a space in the hotel we could use, which they did not. And ultimately, they put up some fold-able paper room dividers in the front area of the restaurant by the bar to provide a 'semi-private' space. Several problems persisted: 1) With a long table set for 10 guests set directly next to the bar, the noise level was too loud for group discussion.. which was the entire purpose of the dinner and the reason we needed a private space, 2) Our service was mediocre at best. Several of my guests 'joked' about our server forgetting we were back there since they had up the paper dividers. The chief offenses being we were frequently refilling our own wine glasses and the glasses of our guests throughout the night, and after at least 15 minutes of waiting we finally got up to track down another server so we could be provided with dinner menus.
Ultimately, there were some comps applied to the dinner and Jenelle continued to be apologetic, but the night that had been so carefully scheduled and scripted in advance was no where near what was expected. I can only speculate what really happened to our private dining reservation - but the way this played out leads me to theorize that my reservation was knowingly and intentionally given away to this other group on the day of our dinner. I called the restaurant just a few days prior and confirmed with the hostess we were on the books and all set to go. I know for a fact we were booked and in the Henley system, and when you only have 1 private room it shouldn't be too tough to see that.
I would make an educated guess that this switch was done last-minute because the other group agreed to pay the room fee and perhaps agreed to a minimum spend. I have a very hard time believing that this was an accident or the result of some generic 'miscommunication'. Maybe my assumptions are wrong, I'll never know for sure, but I do know that Henley's assistant manager dropped the ball in a big way by alienating a group of local Nashville business professionals who frequent the city's restaurant scene on a regular basis, both for work and leisure. I'll repeat the moral of this story - If you're thinking about planning a business dinner at Henley, buyer beware. | 0negative
| 883 |
Ah, the infamous taqueria that doesn't even have a front door. You have to enter through a side door of the adjacent liquor store. It isn't even a restaurant space per se, it's like the separate room where La Tejana would keep its classy alcohol, if it sold any classy alcohol.
La Tejana is so authentic it doesn't even have a menu. I went in there, and the lady (in sweatpants, natch) asked me what I wanted. I replied that as far as food is concerned, I'd have to take a look at the menu. She said they didn't have a menu - and the way she said it was as if some restaurants don't have menus, and this just happens to be one of those restaurants. Meanwhile, I'm pretty sure this is the only restaurant that doesn't have a menu. I'm 30 years old, and I've never been to another restaurant that doesn't have a menu. Even the lowliest of suspect, organ meat-serving taquerias at least have that Office Depot whiteboard.
The lady said they had tacos (shocker), burritos, some other shit along those lines, or these dishes they had set out on a table, covered with saran wrap (there was a bit of a fly problem), like that one funnel cake they set out at a carnival to show you what a funnel cake looks like. There were these two young Mexican guys there getting their grub on, and one of them may have been the only person there who spoke a lick of English (he was shockingly proficient, actually). He pointed to this plate the other guy had and said it was very good, and I should try it. It did seem kinda weird to me that he was recommending it, and he wasn't eating it himself. But at that point it kinda felt like a challenge to me, like he was suggesting that I was too much of a gringo to eat something so bizarre-looking, or that I didn't have the $12 it cost in my pack.
I had $20, for the record.
It was that weird fish dish you see on the menu at Mexican restaurants that looks like someone took a rather large but not particularly nice-looking fish, force-fed it a steady diet of kitchen garbage, foie gras-stylee, then shoved an M-80 up its ass, so that the kitchen garbage exploded out and onto the side of it. Essentially, it was a whole fish, of some undetermined, bottom-feeding variety, deep fried whole and stuffed with some ultra-spicy onion and green pepper concoction, served with the requisite not enough tortillas wrapped in foil paper + rice and beans. The rice was nothing to write home about. I felt like I could have made something better from a kit I've seen in the Mexican food aisle of Schnucks at Page and the Interbelt. I did appreciate the bit of "queso fresco" atop of the refried beans, which otherwise tasted like all of the other refried beans you've ever tasted, i.e. delicious.
But never mind the side dishes. The bulk of that $12 (which I'll admit is not easy for me to come by) went towards the fish. So, how was it? It was fucking delicious. After all, it was deep fried. There's no such thing as bad food that's deep fried. And you know how black people are about their/our fried fish. Biting into my Pescado, or whatever it was called, it occurred to me that the actual fish part of it wasn't altogether different from the fried fish you get in a happy box with the requisite white bread and a few slices of raw onion down in the, erm, less fortunate part of town. The difference here being that Mexicans, gully as they are, don't bother pulling the scales off, or the bones out, or anything like that. If it was cleaned at all, that probably took place at the grocery. Honestly, my concern was more with how difficult it was to eat. It tasted great, but it took a lot of work to pull out all of the tiny bones and various bits of fish anatomy (including - no bullshit - its eyballs).
Finally, and most importantly, I tried to order a beer with my meal, even though it was mad early (hey, it was a Saturday!), but I was informed that the beer was to-go only. I didn't get why I couldn't just buy it and enjoy it with my piranha tacos, if that's what I wanted to do with my beer. I guess they've had some problems with 5-0 trying to bust them for trying to serve alcohol when technically they're not supposed to. They may have thought I was 5-0. If one of their cousins came in their and ordered a beer, it probably wouldn't be an issue. Before I left, I took a look at their cooler to see if they had any 40s (which you don't see as often in the county), and wouldn't you know they did. I copped a 40 of Bud Light and seriously considered drinking it in the car on the way home, like the brothers used to do back in the day, but then I totally pussed. But then I saw a cop car perched on that grassy knoll approaching the Page Ave interchange, looking to eff someone in the a, and I felt at least semi-justified in my decision. | 2positive
| 907 |
This is a warning to anyone considering using this Honey Baked Ham location for cartering!
My apologies for the lengthy story I am about to write but I believe every bit of information is pertinent for someone in similar shoes. I am a pharmaceutical sales rep who has used other Honey Baked Ham locations in the past and have had positive experiences. However, the management at this location is so unprofessional that I will never give my business to any Honey Baked Ham location again.
It started when I called and spoke to Diana, the store manager, about catering a lunch at a doctor's office for 10 people the following afternoon. We confirmed but the next day, about an hour before the lunch, the doctor's office called me and said the doctor had an emergency and needed to cancel. I called Diana immediately and explained the situation. She informed me that the food was prepared and the delivery driver was on her way to pick it up so they would still need to charge me (despite the fact that the food never even left the facility). She said that she would honor a store credit for the amount I was charged and to call her next time I had a lunch to redeem the credit. I felt bad about the situation despite it being out of my control and thought that seemed fair, but explained that I needed the receipt before the end of the day so that I could get reimbursed by my company (rather than being forced to carry the charge until I was able to redeem the store credit). She said of course, and asked if she could fax it. I explained that "my office is my car" and I don't have access to a fax machine but gave her my email address. She promised to email the receipt the same day. By the end of the day I still had not heard back, so I called the store again. They said Diana had already left for the day but that they would call her and have her email it to me by the end of the night. The following morning I still had no receipt for the charge on my credit card, so I called the store again. Diana answered and said she was too busy yesterday and was currently in the middle of helping customers and that she'd get to it when she has time. I pleaded that I do not feel comfortable having a large amount charged on my card without proof of purchase and she proceeded to hang up the phone on me! The entire afternoon went by and still no email with the receipt. I called at about 2pm and a staff member answered and said that Diana had already left for the day. I decided to drive 30 minutes out of my way to the store and go in and demand my receipt. The staff told me the receipt was locked in the safe and only Diana could access it. I asked to speak to her manager, Phillip, the store owner. They put me on the phone with him, and although he was apologetic, he tried to make up for the rudeness and incompetence of the store manager by simply offering me a "complimentary cheesecake." I told him a cheesecake would not fix this and that I wanted the receipt and the store credit Diana had promised me. Instead of agreeing to honor Diana's promise, Phillip seemed apprehensive and instead said to call him next time I need a lunch catered and "they'll see what they can do."
The next day I received the email with the receipt that I had been chasing down for two days, along with a message from Diana saying that she had been trying to fax me the receipt even though she wrote down my email and knew all along that I had no access to fax! She also apologized that I thought she hung up the phone and that we "must have been disconnected." Well, if I personally ever accidentally hung up on a customer I would call them back immediately so that they wouldn't confuse it for hanging up on them.
Two weeks later I had a lunch I needed catered so I called the store multiple times throughout the day with no answer, which leads me to believe my call was being screened and ignored. (There is simply no way that a Honey Baked Ham store in a town like Spring Hill is too busy to answer the phone all afternoon.) So I decided to call Phillip on his cell phone directly. He did not sound pleased to hear that I wanted to redeem my store credit. This particular lunch I needed catered was only 8 people, as opposed to 10 people at the previous cancelled lunch, yet Phillip quoted me more money despite there being fewer mouths to feed. I gave him the opportunity to match the same price and he said they will not do it. So, I hung up the phone, called my credit card company and disputed the charge.
In closing, I am writing off Honey Baked Ham stores all together, and unless you want to deal with an incompetent management team who disrespects and does not appreciate their customers, I recommend staying away from this location! | 0negative
| 898 |
Having been born and raised in Edmonton, I have seen Von's Steak House and Oyster Bar sign every time when over by whyte ave. So when we were invited to a bday party for a friend we thought, yey we get to try this place!
When we arrived we were pleased to see that there is parking right next door that the sign says just to register your plate when you arrive into Von's. I was surprised to see that the way the hostess "registered" it was writing it down on a pad of paper. (i did find out others had their plates entered into computer, not sure if ours ever was)
First of all our friend who made the reservation explained his disappointment in that he called to make reservations the week previous for 12 people and called to confirm the day of, along with adding 4 more people, which shouldn't have been a big deal. That is until the hostess who answered the phone stated there was no reservation, and who did he speak to. He found it irrelevant who he spoke to,just wanted to ensure there would be a table for now 16. This was for 7:30 on a Tuesday evening.
My partner and I were the first to arrive (7;15), once we were taken to the table, which was in the lounge literally across from the bar the first question asked was if the party was going to be all on one tab or separate, we stated we didn't know about the others but that we would have our bill together. She asked for our drink order and I ordered an old fashioned, which I have been having a hard time finding a good old fashioned in Edmonton. I was let down once again, as I observed the bar tender, winging it, and asking the waitress if he did it right, to which I heard her say, I am sure it is fine. As others started to arrive it seemed to take longer and longer for them to have their drink order be taken. Those that arrived were taking upwards of 20 minutes just to be asked for their drink order. Please keep in mind, in the lounge there were only 3 other tables, parties of 4 or less, and in the dining room it was similar only 3 tables with 4 or less. Yes, we looked.
At around 815 the birthday girl and the rest of the table were starving, and we asked the bartender to find our waitress so we could order. I heard him when he found her mention we would like to order, and she said that that was too bad, as she had other tables to tend to. Probably another 10 minutes went by and they then asked another server to find our waitress as we would like to order. That server then tracked her down and she started complaining about how hard it is to take orders for that many separate bills.
I would say at 830 she started to take our orders, by started I mean for some reason, she wandered away during order taking. But did manage to come back to finish. Majority of people did get appetizers and mains, but my partner and I didn't want a heavy meal being that we predicted a slow arrival time of food so we ordered three appetizers. Surprisingly the food was brought out in a timely manner. The escargot, steak bites and the crab shack oysters were the appetizers that we ordered. The food was tasty enough, I am by no means a chef, but I am thinking they could reduce the amount of salt used in the items. Others at the table ordered everything from the burger to the seafood platter for two to the steak tartare, all with mixed reviews. I wouldn't put it at fine dining level, except for the ridiculous prices of their menu.
Being that it was now about 915, my partner and I asked for our bill as we were from out of town and needed to get going. She said she would bring it but they wanted to bring the birthday girl her cake first. Finally at about 940 we got our bills, with the "mandatory" 18% tip added. One couple from the table explained that they too are in the restaurant industry and it should not have taken upwards of 20 minutes to be asked for their first drink in a very empty establishment as well as the amount of time it took in order to get our meals ordered. They voiced their opinion and the waitress obliged to adjust their bill, however, we never saw her again. Instead two brand new waitresses, and I mean brand new to Vons and who we hadn't seen all night were sent out to our table to take the payments. We also observed the manager, who would have had to approve this, seemingly not care that there was a very unhappy table, not once did he come to check on us, even when he saw the displeasure.
In the end we finally got out of there at 1015, we were extremely disappointed and will not recommend nor return to Von's. There are many other true fine dining establishments in Edmonton, better in value, service and food. | 0negative
| 891 |
This summer, I brought my family and friends to Lilette to celebrate my 30th birthday. After a terribly uncomfortable evening, I sent this letter to the manager of Lilette - and have never (2 months later) received a response. As a local New Orleanian, I will not return to Lilette. There is amazing food all over this city at places that value their customers' experiences as well.
Dear Management of Lilette Restaurant:
I am writing this e-mail because my family, friends, and I had an incredibly off-putting dining experience with your server **** this past Saturday evening. I would like to commend the management and our second, excellent server ***** for ensuring that the rest of our evening went smoothly after we alerted the management. I am writing a letter because our party unanimously agreed that it was one of the most unpleasant interactions we had ever had with a server, and I wanted to see if there was some kind of explanation for her behavior and to hopefully prevent other guests from having the same experience.
When we first sat down, my sister took a seat where she preferred and our server asked her to move closer to the center of the table. My sister politely declined because she preferred to sit at the seat where she chose. That in and of itself is not a huge issue, but we noticed as she was telling us the specials and taking our orders that she was very brazenly rolling her eyes at our questions and speaking to us in a sarcastic tone. Finally, we asked her if we could order appetizers, and she quickly rebuffed us noting that it would be better if we ordered our entrées at the same time. Although we completely understood the logic of this statement, our party collectively had no idea what we wanted to eat for dinner and preferred to nibble at appetizers while we decided. Since we were celebrating my birthday, we intended to enjoy our dining experience at a leisurely pace. When we insisted that we would like to order the appetizers, she began to argue with us and tell us that it was not a good idea. In fact, another member of my party assured her that we would like to order appetizers despite not knowing our entrée selection, and she refused him. This was the point where we all began to feel truly uncomfortable. Although her statements were logical, her tone was caustic and aggressive.
She returned a few minutes later and proceeded to take the menus from our hands before we had ordered our entrées. When we began to protest, she stated, "I am just going to collect all of the menus and put them right here. They will be right here if you need them." Frankly, she acted like an embittered school marm. Her aggressive nature prompted us to agree that it would be better if we just changed servers. We did not understand why she acted so vindictively towards us from the moment we sat down.
I myself have been a server since I was 19 years old, and I would never dream of treating a guest in such a manner. Additionally, none of us in our party of 7 had ever experienced an interaction so unpleasant with a server that we had to request a new server in the middle of service. I wanted to write a letter to explain the situation especially because the management didn't take a moment to ask us what had transpired. Perhaps this is because it was a busy Saturday night.
Again, I would like to thank Lilette's management for removing **** from our table and for ****'s wonderful and excellent service. However, I would like to know what the management's subsequent course of action was regarding her behavior. Since no one asked us what had happened, I'm not sure anyone even knows. Perhaps she was having a terrible night or was caught up in some unfortunate personal circumstances. It happens to all of us, but it remains unfortunate that this will now be a part of my memory of my 30th birthday - a fact I believe she must have known -- since I added that note to my reservation on OpenTable.
Additionally, I wanted to write because many of us frequent Lilette and agree that it is one of our favorite restaurants in the city. The food that evening was stellar, as it always is. My sister and I brought our parents there that evening for the first time, and unfortunately, I am not sure if they will return. I wanted to let the management know what happened in case our server's behavior is recurring, and I also was just curious as a patron what the management's course of action is in these types of situations.
Thank you for your time, and thank you very much for making sure we didn't have to interact with our server after we requested not to. Finally, to repeat, your server ***** is a gem. | 0negative
| 842 |
It really pains me to do this.
It really does.
Decided to go here with Sean and fellow Yelper Mary Kate, and her BF, Jason before hitting up the Third Degree Glass Factory's Third Friday event.
I positively loved the decor of this restaurant from the moment I set foot in it. It's BEAUTIFUL! I want to know who does the paintings so I can commission him/her once I am rich! HAHA! This place used to be an old Iggy's Mexican Cantina....it was pretty grungy in there! I was pretty darned excited when I saw they were working on the space, and even more excited when I realized it would be another restaurant that would actually be open before I graduated from SLU.
Alas...
First of all, the salsas were terrible. For those who haven't read all of the other reviews, the salsa is basically a "bar" where you pay $2 to get a basket of chips and a few little ramekin type of things and you walk over to the bar and fill them up with various types of salsa. In theory, it's a good idea. But when every salsa you try is a serious let-down, you start to wish you had your $2 back. Sean doesn't even like salsa so he just wanted to eat chips. So what the heck do you do in that circumstance? Charge him $2 just for a basket for chips? You could buy a bag of chips for cheaper at the grocery store. Regarding the quality of the chips, they were actually okay. Some people seemed to really hate them based on reading other Yelp reviews, but I thought they were A-OK. The salsas just lacked serious flavor or they were ungodly spicy and I couldn't stomach to eat them. Mary Kate and Jason seemed to find that to be true as well except that they liked the Roasted Salsa. I didn't even like that one. At least the waitress didn't charge Sean for the salsa bar even though he wanted chips. I think chips should be free and you could pay extra for the salsas if you wanted them.
I also had a margarita. It was...ridiculously strong to the point of being almost undrinkable. I somehow managed to finish it and had a bit of a headache afterwards. From one drink. The mixologists at Sanctuaria (owned by the same guy as Diablito's) are really really good! So why did the drink totally suck here? I mean, I get that Diablito's is on a college campus and everything, and I get that college kids don't have the most.....discerning of taste buds when it comes to alcohol...but seriously. SERIOUSLY. They need mixologists stat! Or at least offer various options. Waitress said they only had 1 margarita and 1 sangria. Wtf, why? You guys are a freakin' Mexican restaurant. Even the shittiest of shithole places I've been to in Florida have multiple offerings of margaritas like top shelf, flavored ones, etc. Mix it up a bit, people! Also you barely got ANY drink for the price even at happy hr!!
For my entree I had the fish tacos. I was surprised to discover the fish was fried and not grilled like at Milagro. I am not sure what is typical but I think I prefer the grilled fish better than fried when it comes to tacos. These were pretty good though, and to my surprise, I actually enjoyed the jalapeno flavored tartar sauce that came with it. I asked for it on the side in case it was too spicy. But my other gripe is...how do you manage to fuck up rice and beans? HOW? The rice was so bland and dry and it tasted like they dripped some kind of hot sauce on it because even though it didn't have sauce on top, it was almost too spicy for me to eat. My nose was running and indigestion was rapidly approaching. The beans had a bizarre aftertaste. It kind of smelled like the inside of a shoe and tasted like what I'd imagine shoe polish would taste like if it were edible. Ick. I tried to force them down because they were the only thing besides the chips that weren't super spicy. Also I felt like they would have benefited from some cheese on top. I also sampled some of Mary Kate's guacamole and it was bland and barely passable but not nearly as terrible as the guacamole from the Hot Aztec truck (a true abomination of guacamole.)
Salsa bar - $2
Drink - $6 (happy hr price)
My (fish) tacos - $10
Sean's (steak) taco - $5
We later on went to Sanctuaria (just me, Mary Kate, and Jason) because I wanted to show them that the other restaurant owned by this guy is actually damn good. And they seemed much more impressed by Sanctuaria. In fairness, Diablitos just opened. It's in its infancy. So yeah, I know they have more kinks to work out. I just hope they're reading these reviews or listening to their customers for advice on how to improve! We did run into the manager of Diablitos while at Sanctuaria. She's pretty cool--her name is Kentucky (awesome name!) and she listened to our feedback about Diablitos. Because she was so polite and understanding about it, I feel bad giving them a 2 star review cause they obviously want to improve. But IDK. We'll see. I might return in a few months and see if it's any different. Otherwise, I am going to stick to Sanctuaria for the time bein | 0negative
| 930 |
I decided to get out of town for the weekend and was also prompted to do so because my friend from Portland was going to be in Reno as well. In very last-minute fashion, I was directed to check out the deals on Hotwire.com by my now budget savvy Mom (thanks again Mom!). When browsing on Hotwire they tell you how many stars the place is as well as the general area. Saw $39 a night in the East Reno/Sparks Area so I could only attribute that to JA Nugget or "Nug Life". A bit apprehensive I sat on it for a few then decided it was a great deal and it would be a mini adventure since I'd never been to "Nug Life" before. Once I paid my dues I was even more excited about my room being in the Premier Tower which basically meant I was going to be in the tower that was renovated back in 2008. Now I knew this was going to be a great weekend!
Skip to my arrival...after a 3 hour drive I was ready for some relaxation. I headed out of the parking garage, down the elevator to the 2nd floor, across the pedestrian bridge into the conference center, down the elevator to the 1st floor lobby, walk about a half mile to the registration queue and after about a 15 min wait I was finally helped by a nice young lady who also happened to be a Trainee, lovely. She at first could not find my reservation but that was due to her putting my first name in as my last name (the darn all three names are first names curse reared it's ugly head again). Once she got that all squared away she was all business, clickity clackity on the keyboard, no smile, barely a soul until she asked if I wanted a high floor or low floor. I'm all about high scenic views that I opted for a high floor. She then went into how I will get to the West Tower and up to the 20th floor where my room resided. At first I was thinking the West Tower was synonymous with the Premier Tower but boy was I wrong once I got up to my room.
I opened the door to my room with luggage in tow and all I saw ahead of me was a dark cavern. I turned on the first light and was greeted by a vanity with aged light fixtures and a suede green chair. My mind began racing thinking back to the email confirmation from Hotwire that said Premier Tower and then back to reality as to what was before me. I was almost scared to turn on another light then BAM greenish-floral pattern wallpaper, matching furniture to the aforementioned vanity (oh yes there was more green suede!). I at that very moment felt like I was on a weekend trip with the Golden Girls and they were also this room's key decorators! Immediately walked to the large picture window to see what my view was going to be like...wait for it...a 20 story view of the railyard directly behind the hotel, part of the airport (Reno Taho International) and some nefarious alleyways which I believe I saw someone either shooting up or making a deal. This was NOT the Premier Tower and I had to do something about it!
I called to the front desk before I started to make myself at home (think Miami in the 1980's) and spoke to a rather short-mannered gentleman who at least let me say my piece before saying he'll "look into it" and subsequently put me on hold. I was on hold for a good 10 minutes before he got back on the phone in a somewhat whiney voice saying "Well sir, we are doing the best we can but we cannot accommodate you in the Premier Tower because we have no rooms available. Thinking this was a futile fight, I said thank you and hung up. Still not able to get this out of my head, I enlisted the wisdom of Mom and she said to contact Hotwire as my next step. I did as Mom said as per usual and got on the horn with Hotwire.
The wait to speak to a rep was about as much time as the front desk had me on hold but a nice young man took the call. I explained my situation and he said that he'd call the hotel on my behalf and try to get this all figured out. He put me on another hold and while I was waiting I was picturing this dude in full Medieval fighting gear slaying a dragon which was "Nug Life" but alas I came back to reality when I realized I was probably talking with a malnourished white guy. He came back and immediately apologized for the inconvenience further stating that indeed the hotel Premier Tower was full and that they (Hotwire) messed up on the listing, it should've read Deluxe Tower not Premier Tower! For the mess up he spoke with a Supervisor and they were able to offer me enough "HotBucks" to apply to another Hotwire booking. I thought that was fair and accepted his offer. So now I had to make the best of the Golden Girls Room and I did.
A couple of times I ordered room service and everything was great! The food was always the right temp and the staff who brought up the stuff were always very friendly. If I had to take away something from this trip it would be the mixed bag of good and bad. You know what they say...it builds character but for another stay it does not make. | 0negative
| 963 |
I just donated $60 to whatever corporation owns this "farm".
We drove in from NYC, paying $30 in bridge tolls plus whatever the NJ Turnpike charged. 3 hours of total travel time. On top of that, we gave away 3 tickets to the hockey game to come here. So we are NOT happy.
For $15 your wristband gets you into certain attractions. The "AMAZING" corn maze. Jumping pillows. Pedal cars. A peek at some animals. A "spider web" jungle gym. And a playground. You can also go through a less scary version of the two haunted attractions. And they have bonfires with s'mores! Heck yes!
The first thing you're greeted with is a guy screaming in your ear that you can't bring in any outside food or drinks. NONE. Not even water. Well this is just amazing. But I'll cover that a bit later. VERY welcoming. And greedy.
This place looks nothing like a farm. It's basically a carnival without rides. They have booths set up with corn cannons ($3), pony rides ($?), monster truck rides ($7), hammer test- ($3), face painting and tattoos ($?) and t-shirts. OHHH! Kettle corn! I'll take 1! $7! What? That's pricey! Okay, whatever- here's my debit card. Sorry! $10 minimum for cards, but you can buy 2. Absolutely not. Greedy! There's a $3 charge to use the ATM if we would like. Please.
So we head over to the corn maze. It's just a corn maze. No bridges or towers to see over. No puzzles or riddles. No special number to text if you need help. There are five stations where you can dip your fingers in to color them, and find all the colors. So we decided to split up and whoever found all the colors and left the maze first was the winner. I finished it in 11 minutes. My husband about 12. The boys were maybe another 5 minutes. Hokey. And people had trampled through creating shortcuts.
The line to the hay ride was ridiculous. You know why the hay ride is included in your admission price?? Because it takes you out to the overpriced (69 cents a pound!!!) pumpkins. It's not a hay ride through anything interesting. It's just a flat field you can see from the parking lot. And they are crowding way too many people on to it. In the field, waiting to go back, are more hoards of people. No way.
So we next venture over to the jumping pillows. The boys are excited. First issue? You take your shoes off and then walk through dirt to get to the pillows. Not hardpacked dirt for a couple of feet. But tons of soft DIRT through the path to get there. So once shoes were off the youngest (the oldest refused to get his socks dirty and have to wear them all day), we discover that BOTH pillows have a height restriction! Are you serious? Pretty sure this was supposed to be "all ages". So now I have two grumpy kids who can't jump and one with dirty socks.
The two haunted house attractions that are included? I knew there would be no actors inside. I didn't realize there would be no effects. So basically your wristband allows you to walk through a closed attraction with black walls. Thankfully there was a kid standing at the entrance of the alien attraction handing out 3D glasses so at least the painting on the walls of the empty house were a little neat. Also- one member of my family has epilepsy and can't be around strobe lights. So I asked the kid at the front if there were any and he said he didn't know. Really? How do you not know this? He didn't even bother to find out. So three of us walked through. Upon discovering that there wasn't any strobe lights, it wasn't even worth it for the other person to go in.
We never found the pedal cars and couldn't find anyone that worked there (that wasn't at the end of a long line) to ask.
My kids wanted water. So we get at the end of another very long line. I can't tell if they take credit cards, but surely the $5 I have in my pocket is enough for two bottles of water?? Hahaha! Nope. $3 a piece. So the husband goes to the ATM and spends $3 pulling out $20 so we can get an extra $1 to buy the kids water. The lady in front of me was upset because they were out of pizza after she waited so long in line. No signs. And $6 for a funnel cake?? I ask the girl in the s'mores section when that starts. Not for awhile. AND I discover that each kit costs $10! Wait. What? I've been to TWO pumpkin farms in the past and s'mores were always included.
You know what else I've experienced at other pumpkin farms? A farm feel. Picnic tables where if you want, you can bring along a picnic basket. Homemade baked treats. Cider mills. Pleasant employees. This was nothing but a carnival rip-off. I am shocked they don't try to charge for parking!
Live entertainment was a young girl singing the same karaoke song over and over.
Smoking everywhere. Ew.
Now what about people with food allergies? I absolutely cannot eat anything they have there. But I am not allowed to bring in my own food. Nor are there picnic tables outside the gate. My entire family went without lunch because it wasn't fair to me. This place is run by greedy people. | 0negative
| 935 |
As my interest in Edmonton faded like my faith Transformers movies, I needed a salvation, preparing myself to drink the sand if the view of water on the horizon turned into a mirage. The culinary landscape in this city was looking grim. The Red Piano Dueling Piano Bar and Bistro was the most interesting option on Bourbon Street...not the real street, the one inside West Edmonton Mall. "Interesting" isn't saying much when you consider it competes with the likes of Tony Roma's, Earls, Moxies, and Boston Pizza--the three musketeers of mediocrity (I assume one would be D'Artagnan, Moxies maybe). It certainly looks pretty, dominated by the titular pianos. There's also bar, a wine wall, and a balcony. In many ways, it looks not too far removed from those chains, and yet the Red Piano is still better. It's colorful, well laid out, with an astounding centerpiece, highlighting amazing polish in every facet of its decor. No chain is built with this much imagination.
I'm avoiding the obvious point, that the main feature of the Red Piano Dueling Piano Bar and Bistro is a supposed performance between two pianos positioned dead center in the restaurant. I say supposed, as there was no performance the day we were there. Despite finding photos online of a dimly lit restaurant punctuated by moody crimson lights and crowds of well-dressed patrons, we found it bright and barely populated. Still, against the reviled and congested chain restaurants infecting Bourbon Street, my girlfriend and I decided to give the Red Piano our afternoon.
And then they made us take off our hats.
Yes, the Red Piano has a dress code prohibiting hats and unkempt jeans--called business casual--during the evenings of the dueling pianos. According to their website, this demands a collared shirt and dress shoes, and no hats. Admittedly, I always wear a collared shirt, but I'm also prone to wearing a fetching trilby...that's a kind of hat if I've lost you. The point is, this was during lunch, and to repeat my earlier observation, there was no show. Even if there was, this place is located in West Edmonton Mall. It's not some exclusive glitzy destination requiring valets and bouncers; it's West Edmonton...Mall. There's an ice cream vender not twenty feet away and a Bath & Body Works around the corner. How pretentious can one get? I've been to distinguished culinary paragons that don't insist on such draconian conditions.
But you know what, let's not get off on the wrong dress shoe--maybe I shouldn't judge based purely on their location or needless stipulations. Sukiyabashi Jiro, a three Michelin Star restaurant, sits in a subway station. Perhaps the Red Piano's menu flaunts ravioli of foie gras, bone marrow with black truffles, and yellowfin tuna carpaccio with candied lemon slices.
Well, no. We were greeted by a fish and chips, spaghetti, and shepherd's pie. Well...that can be good to; at least it had better be considering the lofty prices. I sacrificed my groaning stomach as tribute and opted for the top prize, the big red burger itself--snake river farms American wagyu beef, thick cut boar bacon, applewood smoked cheddar onion ring stack, caramelized cippolini onions, red wine demi-glace, truffle aioli beefsteak tomatoes, and arugula, all inside a fresh baked brioche bun (this all copied from their menu). The result was a leaning tower of burger too monumental for a mouth to overcome.
I had a conversation with friends who agreed unanimously that a burger unable to being through bitten bread-to-bread was ultimately a failure, that no matter how good the burger was, if you could not eat it as a burger, top to bottom, it was imperfect. Thus, despite its obvious flamboyance and excessive price, the big red burger was unsatisfactory, as the above-mentioned onion ring stack was actually wedged INSIDE the burger. They weren't a side--that was reserved for the basket of fries. So now I'm forced into a game of JENGA where I have to dismantle a tower of onion rings from inside my burger just so I can enjoy it. At least it was a full meal, almost justifying the $25 bill for that one plate.
I have this rule in restaurants that I shouldn't be forced to fight the décor or my dish in order to enjoy the experience. It's a meal, not a turn of RISK, and this felt like the latter, except I couldn't just hide out in Australia like I usually do. Perhaps the owners intended to convey the competitive nature of dueling pianos in the dishes they serve, but the games I prefer playing involve dice of varying geometric shapes and characters attacking innocent creatures until they cough up gold and magic rings. I'm not saying the Red Piano is a bad experience. I'm sure if I visited during one of their performances, my opinion would've been skewed in their favor, but outside of its glamour and pageantry, it's only average. In the end, you still need to trudge through the "Thunderdome" of shopping centers to reach it. | 0negative
| 838 |
My brother found this gem of a place and has turned our whole family onto it. Located on Canal Blvd. just a block from S. Carrollton this little pink house is home to one of New Orleans best eateries.
We arrived just before they opened at 11 AM and had our pick of tables. If we had been about 20 minutes later we would have been waiting to be seated! They are a very busy place. But, I would have waited anyway... It is certainly worth the wait.
Diane, our waitress greeted us just as we sat down and took our drink order as well as talked to us about the specials of the day. I love that the specials of the day are also posted for you on chalkboards throughout the dining area so you can refer to them. Diane also reminded us that everything is shareable
We ordered onion rings as an appetizer and then each chose a different Friday Special for our main course. I chose the Soup and Po-boy combo with Turtle Soup and Broiled Shrimp Po-boy. My sister chose the Stuffed Shrimp and Potato Salad, my daughter had a BBQ Shrimp Po-boy and my niece chose the Cajun Catfish with roasted potatoes and peas.
The Onion Rings are piled high on the plate and have such a great breading on them. It is not a heavy breading but a lighter flavorful seasoning. I personally liked the fact that the breading did not all fall off when you bit into them. I also liked that they were not greasy. Great way to start the meal.
My soup arrived before my sandwich and that was OK with me. It kept me from eating more onion rings and filling up on them! Turtle Soup is something I have always enjoyed -- It is a dark, rich soup that is topped off with sherry. It has a taste like nothing else I have ever had. This soup today was perfect. It was loaded with chunks of turtle meat and the roux was spot on perfect. I am so glad I opted for the cup as it is so rich I could never eat a whole bowl....even though I would try!
Our entrees arrived and OH MY WORD they were huge! Any of them could easily have been shared -- even my 1/4 Po-boy! It was more like a half of one you would get anywhere else. My po-boy must have had 20-25 decent sized broiled shrimp on it. I also added cheddar cheese. I am odd and that's all I like on mine is shrimp and cheese. It was amazing. The shrimp had such a fantastic flavor -- buttery and savory -- and they did not skimp on the cheddar cheese. I have never enjoyed a po-boy so much. The french bread was soft and crusty just the way you want it to be. I realized today this was the best Shrimp Po-boy I have ever had. I ate every bite.
My sister had the stuffed shrimp. There were four on the plate and they were about the size of baseballs. She chose to have them with potato salad. These shrimp were delicious. I tasted them and I think they will be what I order next time...as long as someone will share with me! Talk about filling! My sister ate one and brought the other two home..so who ate the 4th one? My 2 year old picky niece! She LOVED it! We could not feed it to her fast enough.
My niece's Cajun Catfish was another really great choice. The sauce it was cooked in was not a heavy handed Cajun spice sauce but rather just a really good thin red sauce. It did not overpower the light flaky fish and we all enjoyed tasting it. Again... the 2 year old fell head over heels for it and alternated bites between it and the stuffed shrimp. We enjoyed watching her eat. She was loving it so much.
Finally to talk about my daughters 10 inch BBQ Shrimp Po-boy. WOW! It came open faced and covered in shrimp. They already had been peeled so all she had to do was dive right in! She ate and ate and still brought almost 10 shrimp home with her. It was incredible. Their BBQ is not a hot and spicy but rather a butter mild herb sauce. And believe me you want to sit there and eat that sauce soaked French Bread. It is the icing on the cake! No side needed with this Po-boy. It will fill you up all on it's own.
But no meal in New Orleans is complete without dessert so even though we had to go boxes we chose two desserts to share. Carrot Cake fresh made fro Easter and a Fresh Pecan Pie Cheesecake. The Carrot cake was moist and was loaded with nuts and carrot slivers. This might be a turn off to some but my family thought is was delicious. The cream cheese icing was creamy and think but it was not heaped on. It was perfect and paired with a good strong cup of coffee it was perfect. Just as perfect was the Pecan Pie Cheesecake. A layer of pecan pie with a cheesecake topping - sign me up! The cheesecake layer was light and airy and had a very distinct undertone of brown sugar that paired so nicely with the pecan pie layer. I wish I had brought an extra slice home!
Truly this has been one of my favorite new finds and I cannot wait to go back. | 2positive
| 936 |
My office is located downtown and I've seen this cafe a few times but had never tried it before. On June 29th, 2016 I decided to pop in to make a to-go order. Big mistake.
Experience:
When I first walked in with my friend, I was instructed by the host to find a place at the bar so they could take my order. The place was empty so I figured we wouldn't have a long wait. After 10 minutes the bartender finally appears and begins to flirt around with a couple other bar patrons. She finally notices my friend and I and gives us menus so we can make an order. She continues to flirt around with other patrons, and a couple other people take seats at the bar and make order to eat in the restaurant. After 15 minutes Maddie delivers those people their food and takes my credit card that I had sitting in the payment booklet. When she brings back my card, she laughs saying "I gave your card to those guys!" (two men at the bar, they are laughing too making credit card fraud jokes) I just stared at her and the men and said, "That's not funny at all" and I take my card back. The men leave and still after 40 min my to-go order has not been delivered. We see Maddie looking frantic behind the bar, clearly she's wondering where my order is. She does a panicked run around, she'd probably forgotten to put my order into the kitchen or something between her flirting. I told my friend that I'm just going to leave despite already paying. I changed her tip on my credit card receipt to $1 from the original $3 I had left her on a $9.84 bill. About 5 min after I did this my friend and I get up from the bar to leave and here comes Maddie with my to-go bag. We say thanks and leave, muttering under our breath that we will never come back.
Today, July 4th, I go to check my bank account so I can pay bills. I notice there are 5 separate credit card charges and cancelations on my card from 'Another Broken Egg Cafe' on June 29th, for various charges totaling to around $50. Thankfully my suspicions about Maddie's integrity led me to hang on to my receipts. I have proof of my order amount and you can even see my original total of $12.84 when I had left my original $3 tip.
Credit card fraud is no laughing matter, and neither is accidentally handing one patrons card to another. It's understandable that little mixups can happen, but staff should never handle these situations as if it were a funny joke. If my card was swiped to pay someone else's bill and then cancelled, then of course charges and cancellations will be expected on my card statement; but to not inform me of this is just not good practice. This establishment needs to better educate their staff on these matters.
Food:
I got back to my office and was thinking well, hopefully the food will make up for the poor service. I opened the box and a nicely presented black bean burger with potatoes was a pleasant surprise. But, as expected, the food was just as terrible as their service. The burger had barely been cooked, it was more like a mound of smashed beans. Black bean burgers should be slightly crisp on the outside in order to hold their shape. The burger had a bland taste and combined with the mushy texture it was too disgusting to even choke down. The potatoes were just plain deep fried pieces. They weren't even seasoned, so nothing special there. The only highlight of the meal was a quarter of a dill pickle they had included lol
So if you've taken the time to read this, please do not waste your time going to Another Broken Egg Cafe. I had mistakenly thought it was a cute local restaurant, but it's actually a chain. Think of it like a more expensive version of IHOP. There are so many awesome places to go in downtown Nashville, DO NOT GO HERE. And even if you don't mind chains and just want a quick meal, DO NOT GO HERE.
*Edit* I actually wasn't going to take the time to even write a poor review of this place because I originally attributed the experience to Maddie's terrible service, but after seeing my credit card statement I figured it's best to inform the restaurant and others of how terrible this place is. | 0negative
| 771 |
I'll preface this by saying this is another time that I would give 3 and a half stars if I could. Since I can't, I've got to go with 3. :(
Groupon in hand, me and four friends headed to Rare Cuts for a private dinner. Although Rare Cuts is an Uptown high-end butcher shop, they also hold private dinners in a room next to the shop. These dinners are an opportunity to showcase their amazing, high quality meat selection and also the talents of their in house chef, Gason Nelson, a two-time James Beard scholar, and private chef for NFL star Reggie Bush and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
A little explanation of how the private dinners work:
You are provided with a menu ahead of time. You can build your menu to include as many courses as you'd like. The prices provided are per person, but sides are served family style (like at most steakhouses). For your steak, you can either have each person select their own, or you can choose to have your steak family style...allowing you to try many different cuts. This is the option we went with. You are to bring your own wine, alcohol and mixers. I really liked this option. Too many times I spend $50-70 on a bottle of wine in a restaurant and I end up not liking it.
We arrived at 8:30 to find a beautiful table set up with white tablecloth, fresh orchids, a candle, and big, leather chairs. There was some Frank Sinatra type tunes playing, which was a nice touch. We met the chef and manager, both of whom encouraged us to come into the kitchen to chat and see the action. Being that I'm an avid cook and somewhat chef, I liked this touch.
Now onto the food....
For our bread, we had some pretzel type bread with an applewood bacon and blue cheese butter. It was amazing. I seriously could've eaten 4 or 5 of those rolls with that butter. But I disciplined myself and only had 1 and a half knowing the best was yet to come.
For our first course we had Strawberry Spinach Salad with Feta, Toasted Pecans & Raspberry Vinaigrette. While I really enjoyed this salad, it wasn't anything special and no different than what I make for myself at home. It was small, which was fine with me because I didn't want to fill up. But I did find the $9 price tag to be too much for what it was.
For our appetizer, we had the Petite Crab cakes with a Spicy Roasted Bell Pepper Aioli. During my kitchen snooping earlier, the chef let me know that he added lobster to our crab cakes! The crab cakes were really good, BUT...and this is a big BUT, they were TINY even by "petite" standards. It was more like the size of what you'd expect for an amuse bouche. Charging $11 for what we got is just wrong on every level. I'm not sure what else to say about it. They seriously need to rethink this one. It would be better to just combine the two bites, make it double the size and just serve one crab cake.
Now onto the steaks...
We did the Family Style Wet Aged Filet, Ribeye & NY Strip. The steaks were absolutely AMAZING! They brought out two big platters of the different cuts. It was so much steak, we couldn't finish it all. It was seasoned perfectly. It was cooked perfectly. And it was probably the best quality steak I've ever eaten. At $35 per person this was A STEAL! My favorites in order: spinalis, ribeye, filet, strip. The manager told me that the spinalis is 20% off right now. It melts in your mouth. It's like buttah! Run, do not walk, to Rare Cuts and buy some spinalis. NOTE: It's not cheap, so if you don't know how to cook a steak, let someone who does take care of that for you.
For our sides we had grilled broccoli. It was very good. Good grilled taste and not overdone. It was priced fine at $4. We also had the Scalloped potatoes with Shiitake Mushrooms & Brie. These potatoes were very good, but I couldn't see or taste a mushroom in it, and I don't think the cheese was brie...though I could be wrong. At $6 a person, this was on the high side.
For dessert we had Fried Oreos over Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream Drizzled with Chocolate Sauce. This was very tasty. I'm not a big sweets eater and I ate it all. I think it was slightly overpriced, but not outrageous.
To sum it all up...this was a unique experience to enjoy with friends. I like the concept of it and the intimacy of the evening. And again, I can't say enough about how amazing the steaks were. The price per person (including the cost of the Groupon) was $70 per person. Considering how amazing the steak was, and the fact that we could bring our own wine, I can't complain about the price too much. But other than the steak and the bacon and blue cheese butter, I wasn't really "wowed."
Final word: If you've got a Groupon, go for it and have a great time. If you don't have a Groupon, I'd pass on the private dinner. But I do highly recommend Rare Cuts for buying meat. They are knowledgeable and their meat is high quality and worth every penny. | 1neutral
| 918 |
New Orleans Birthday Trip = Dining in the Garden District
Everyone knows Commander's, it's probably the most recognizable Brennan restaurant there is. You don't go to New Orleans and not eat at Commander's. So, without fail, we decided to indulge ourselves in the spectacle and splendor of a wonderful evening, great food and long-standing tradition.
Food:
Now, I've met a few of the Brennans before Ralph and Jimmy, but not Momma Ella, not the Brennans that run the venerable Commander's Palace, so in all honesty, I had no clue what to expect--other than a fantastic meal. And for the most part, the uptown clan delivered. After taking time to properly plot and plan our way though the menu, we knew our course.
We stared with the Soup 1-1-1: gotta love a sampler platter. The gumbo was what I came to New Orleans for, and it was damn good. Dark, spicy and rich in flavor--but it was the turtle soup that made the appetizer worth while. Succulent and hot in way that grew with intensity and addiction with each slurp, we probably would have been fine with just a vat of it for dinner. Alas, we refrained and finished up the Oyster and Absinthe Dome as well. Oysters in a cream-absinth broth surrounded by a puff pastry? Who knew such a delicious creation existed? Well, the Brennan's did, and they did it well.
With refreshed drinks and a renewed appetite, our entrees arrived: the special, Mustard Breaded Seared Tuna with sticky rice and avocado, and the a la carte Rack of Lamb with Potatos and Jus Roti. The tuna was cooked perfectly, and when the whole bite of rice and crispy phyllo dough with the avocado hit the tastebuds, it was all instantly recognizable as an almost deconstructed sushi. The whole dish was consumed rather quickly, but what impressed me most was the rice, which wasn't over cooked or too soppy.
The lamb was another story. It was ridiculously fatty. It was cooked medium rare, and tasted fantastic, but while lamb should be on the fatty side, when more than half your rack is pure inedible fat, it's something to ponder. And we did, for 20 minutes. As delectable as the potatoes and jus were, as mouthwatering as it smelled, when you spend 20 minutes talking about a dish, not praising, it, unfortunately, that's not 5 stars. Super close though, Commander's. Next time.
Venue:
There's this big house on a corner in the Garden District, surrounded by lots of other big houses, but this one is different. This one is Robin's Egg Blue, my favorite color. The place is huge. Often rented out for private parties and events, there are more than 8 dining rooms, with decor ranging from traditional Victorian to modern Country Club. We were in Column Room, upstairs surrounded by ceiling to floor glass windows.
Our service was impeccable, with ever gracious and always helpful. Suggestions and jokes were abundant, and every bit of coordinated presentation was appreciated. What was my most favorite part though, was exiting through the kitchen. Being upstairs means your only trip down and out is through the entire brigade, and what a sight it is. I stayed for a bit, talked to everyone, thanked them, and marveled at the display of culinary expertise on show. Chef Troy was more than accommodating and let me poke around through his poissonner and saucier. So impressive.
Ella and her sister still live out back, in the main living quarters. We sneaked back there for a bit and before leaving. Impressive, all around. Suffice it to say, go you won't be disappointed, if only to fine something to talk about.
BONUS - Brennan Family Tree
For those that have always wondered, I reveal: the three generations of Brennan restauranteurs.....
Owen P. Brennan & Nellie
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Owen E. --- Adelaide --- John --- Ella --- Dick --- Dottie
| | | | |
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Jimmy Ralph Alex Dickie Brad
Pip Cindy Ti Lauren
Ted Lally
Owen E. and his sons are the restauranteurs of Brennan's on Royal Street, and to this day, no long have an affiliation with the other side.
Ella and Dick took over Commander's, and now runsit with the help of John and Dottie and Lally.
Ralph has his own restaurant group (Bacco, Ralph's on the Park, Red Fish Grill and Jazz Kitchen), Ti and Lally run Cafe Adelaide and Commander's in Destin, Florida. Dickie's in charge of Bourbon House, Palace Cafe and the Steakhouse, while Alex is out of town renovating Brennan's Houston. Brad is a partner of several of the restaurants, and Cindy took over Mr B's. | 2positive
| 779 |
It is never good, when you have to ask to speak to the manager before you even sit down at your table, but alas, that is what happened to me when I visited Keke's for the first time this morning. Since this is a relatively new restaurant, I was concerned that they might be too busy, so before driving over, I called to find out what the wait time was. Surprisingly, I was told 15-20 minutes, so I left for their location immediately so as to miss the after-church rush. Upon arriving, I noticed a lot (and I mean a lot) of people waiting outside in the heat. That is never a good sign. But I went on in to check with the hostesses to see how long it would be. Again, I was told 15-20 minutes. I admit that I was a bit skeptical based on the number of parties ahead of me, but it was a large room with lots of tables so I figured for a party of two, it could be true. After waiting outside for about 20 minutes, the heat was starting to get to me, so I suggested to my breakfast chum, that we go inside to wait. Gratefully, we were able to sit down right in front of the hostess stand. My breakfast chum happened to be a hospitality veteran of over 25 years and commented to me on some of his observations. First, only one party had been seated in the 10 minutes we had been waiting inside, even though we counted over 7 parties exiting in the same time frame. And as we watched their tables being bussed, we noticed that the bus staff was moving in slow motion. And, they had no bus tubs so they were literally trying to carry dirty dishes and glasses by hand making multiple trips back and forth to each table to clean it. With a bus tub and a clean dishtowel, they could have cleaned the table in just a couple of minutes. Instead, it was taking way too long. And it is dangerous to carry dirty and wet dishes and glasses across a tile floor. If you drop one you risk someone getting hurt. Meanwhile the hostesses were chatting and seemed to not be concerned at all with seating patrons. From my vantage point at the front of the restaurant I counted over 6 empty tables. I was curious how many there might be out of my line of site, so I took a reconnaissance stroll around the restaurant and counted over 14 empty and clean tables. So, I felt is was time to say something (I was almost into a 40 minute wait time at this point, and I was not alone). I asked the hostess why they had over 14 empty tables and yet were not seating anyone. She told me that the kitchen had "crashed" and that the manager had told them to stop seating for a while. I suggested that was not a good idea, and that if that was the case, those waiting should have been notified so that they had the choice of continuing to wait, or leaving. She suggested that she get the manager, and I thought that was a good suggestion. When he arrived I told him my concerns about the slow bussing of the tables and he told me they don't use bus tubs, because they are unsanitary. I call foul on that since they are perfectly sanitary if you wash them. And five star restaurants use bus tubs, because they are efficient. Further, he confirmed that they were having a problem in the kitchen and he had advised the hostesses not to seat parties. Absurd!! You could at least seat them and offer them a beverage while they wait, rather than have them out in the heat, or standing. After our conversation, suddenly parties were being seated. And our server was almost overly attentive, as I am sure she was alerted to my complaint to the manager.
Now to the food, I did not see a combo with the items that I wanted, so I ended up doing an ala carte breakfast that cost me $15. I got scrambled eggs whites, strawberries & bananas and silver dollar pancakes.Very steep pricing for am average breakfast with a very long wait time. I would suggest that you drive a bit further north on Dale Mabry and try Village Inn. They know how to run their breakfast service (see my review) and the cost is about 2/3 of what you will pay at KeKe's. I suggest management at Keke's take that drive too, so they can see how a pro management team serves up breakfast. | 0negative
| 789 |
After a busy month, my boyfriend and I were able to have a date night and chose Etch on this past Monday. We were both looking forward to a needed fun night out where we would be able to sit and talk over good food and wine and enjoy the evening. However, from the second we sat down, our server was trying to get us to leave. We feel that he quickly assumed that my boyfriend and I were a young couple going to Etch for the sole purpose of saying we had been there. We both worked in the restaurant industry for a number of years and enjoy great food, drink, and most importantly, hospitality.
The food was incredible, and we both agreed that it was one of the best meals we've had; however, being rushed by the server the entire time made it difficult to enjoy the experience. We brought our own bottle of wine, a very nice 2007 Marchese Antinori Pian Delle Vigne, and the server gave no presentation at all as he quickly poured us two overly generous glasses to start with, asking what appetizers we wanted while doing so. I told him that we hadn't looked at the menu yet, and that we wanted to take our time and really enjoy our night. This was the first of MANY times I specifically told him that we were not in a hurry.
Once we enjoyed some wine, we ordered two appetizers. Immediately after telling the server our choices, he asked us what we wanted for dinner. We again told him that we hadn't looked at the entrée choices yet and would like to take our time enjoying our appetizers. Another server, who happily told us about our selections and seemed to actually enjoy our presence, delivered the appetizers to us. Our server definitely could've taken notes from her. The pork belly was cooked perfectly, and we were both absolutely blown away by the cauliflower, specifically the truffled pea pesto that accompanied the tasty vegetable. We loved the pesto so much that my boyfriend asked our server if the chef used truffle oil or a specific seasonal truffle to which he responded, "I don't know. She [Chef Deb Paquette] doesn't tell us anything." I understand that recipes are closely guarded, but we only asked about a specific ingredient and, it is impossible to believe that a chef would not want knowledgeable servers to represent the delicious product that they're providing to guests.
After finishing our appetizers, our server returned to ask us if we would like any bread. Every time I've gone to any other restaurant with complimentary bread, it always comes out before or with the appetizers. After confusingly turning down the bread offer, we placed our entrée order. This is about the time a ten top sat down in our server's section and my boyfriend and I were clearly put on the backburner for the rest of the evening. My boyfriend enjoyed the pork chop and I chose the venison, and we shared a side of Brussels sprouts. The venison was very lean and cooked to a perfect medium rare. The sweet potato, cherry plum jam, and apple puree accompaniments made the dish overall a bit too sweet for an entrée, but it was still very enjoyable. I had to try my boyfriend's dish, and was blown away. The flavors were spot on and the fried polenta was absolutely incredible. We both agreed that the Brussels sprouts were decent, but the caramelized onions didn't bring enough flavor to the dish.
Upon finishing our meal, we enjoyed our last glasses of wine as we waited for our server to come back and clear our empty plates but this did not happen for quite some time. A server assistant, Kevin, cleared our plates, asked how our meal was, and if we were having a good evening. Kevin seemed like he would be a fantastic server; he stopped by our table a couple of other times throughout the evening, and at the right times, refilling water and clearing dishes and remarking when appropriate.
My boyfriend and I finished the evening sharing a chocolate pretzel bar, and he had bourbon as well. The dessert was very tasty but the presentation had an excessive amount of negative space and made it look like four other pretzel bars should have been on the plate.
Our server eventually showed back up noticing we had finished dessert and immediately grabbed everything that was on the table, including the empty bottle of wine and did not ask if we wanted to keep the cork or not. We paid the bill and left with satisfied stomachs about an hour earlier than anticipated.
The food was incredible but the experience would have been better if we hadn't been rushed and then later ignored. I know several people who have had fantastic service at Etch, so I'm hoping that our experience was just a rarity, and that the team can learn from our visit. If our server had taken a moment at the beginning of our meal to talk to us and learn how we wanted our night to go, our experience would've been much better. Etch definitely stands out as one of Nashville's best, but there needs to be a higher focus on genuine, enlightened hospitality before it reaches its full potential. | 1neutral
| 896 |
We were finally able to try out Chaatable last night! Heads up - on a Friday night, you definitely need a reservation. We arrived just on time (7:45), but we did wait a few minutes (5 minutes tops, and they were very attentive and updated us when we could expect to be seated). People walked in without reservations and were told they could wait for a seat at the bar. Even when we left around 9, the restaurant was PACKED. We could barely leave the restaurant because there were so many people waiting to be seated standing by the hostess stand. (I wish there was more room for waiting parties - it's a tiny little area just by the door - and when you're waiting for a table, there's no where to go and you just feel that you're in the way.)
But on to the food! We were STARVING so we decided we should order several appetizers and snacks in the hopes that even though the restaurant was packed, we'd have something tasty to eat soon (spoiler: we did - the food all night was very fast)! The whole left side of the menu are small plates/appetizers - and we ordered one from each category.
From "Chakhna - Itty Bitty Bites," we ordered "This Spuds For You" (mint cilantro spiced crispy potato peels) - they were a great little simple snack. And sort of genius - this restaurant must peel A LOT of potatoes, why not use the skins for something like this crispy snack?! I particularly recommend ordering one or more of these Itty Bitty Bites if you're with a larger group or if you need to time to read the menu through while you figure out what you want!
From "Thand-Rakh - Cold Apps," we ordered "Puff Puff Pass" (semolina puffs with moong daal, potoates, and sweet and sour yogurt inside). They were really light and refreshing. For anyone that hasn't had semolina puffs before - they're quite small and the whole thing has to be popped into your mouth and eaten in a single bite. I couldn't quite taste the daal or potatoes, but the yogurt was extremely tasty. Very refreshing starter.
From "Garma Garam - Hot Apps," we ordered "Hand It Over!" (spiced potato hand pie samosa chaat, green peas, tamarind, and mint chutney). The samosas were well fried and very tasty and came out HOT (steaming when you bit into them). Though only two samosas, quite a filling small plate.
From "Pataka - Firecrackers!," we ordered "Shammi the Way" (spiced lamb kebab sliders with mint chutney, garam masala, and onion slaw). This was, surprisingly and unintentionally, the only meat we ordered all night. It was extremely tasty. The lamb was wonderfully spiced and not dry at all!
We also ordered the "Build Your Own Bhel." Bhel is a puffed rice salad with fixings that have been tossed together. At Chaatable, you choose 4 toppings (from among a list of vegetables and fruits) and that gets tossed with a bunch of things! This was light and refreshing and fun (I'd never had it before!).
And then we ordered something from every menu section on the right hand side of the menu as well (where mains, vegetables, and breads).
From "Dhinchak - Flashy Mains," we ordered "The O.G." This can be made with either chicken or paneer and served with that classic gravy from butter chicken. We chose the paneer fig kofta. All of the mains are served with turmeric rice. This was my favorite dish of the night. The kofta were magic: beautifully formed balls of paneer but when you cut into them totally soft! I have no idea why they didn't just fall apart into the gravy. The gravy was sensational. Serious: I'd drink that.
From "Mandi - Veggies," we ordered "the Okra Winfried Show" (fried okra with tomatoes and onions). Okra is one of my favorite vegetables when prepared correctly. I really enjoyed the okra at Chaatable: sliced very thin and fried well and really salty. I loved the crunch of them.
From "Saath Saath - Forget Me Not," we ordered "Legalize Wheat" (layered wheat bread with flavored butter). Good as well - and I'd never had it before. I definitely dipped into the gravy from "The O.G."
In case this wasn't clear, all of the food above was ordered for TWO PEOPLE. We wanted to try everything. But this was way too much food. We definitely took home enough for lunch on Saturday (something to look forward to). For that reason, I unfortunately was way too full to try any of their desserts, which sound AMAZING.
We tried a couple of their drinks (creative and priced extremely well). The service was great - our waitress was full of energy and answers, and the manager stopped by to make sure we enjoyed our meal. The food came out of the kitchen very fast even though they were very busy. (Chaatable is extremely vegetarian and vegan friendly. They offer a separate all vegetarian menu!)
All in all, our experience at Chaatable was pretty great. My only little hangup is about the menu itself - I wish they hadn't decide to give the dishes cute names. But we liked everything we tried, and I'm sure we'll be back to try those desserts we missed soon! | 2positive
| 890 |
This place was one of the places that I gave two tries to see if they'd improve the second time, but they just couldn't make the mark. I wanted to love this place so badly. First, this place is a little restaurant/bakery on a hill. It's the only place of its type in the direct vicinity of Levittown/Langhorne/Feasterville-Trevose (and that's the main reason why I wanted to love it so badly). It has a few seats for eating inside.
However, they do NOT have a bathroom for public use. Seems unsanitary. What if you want to wash your hands before and/or after eating? The first time I came here (yesterday, 3/9), I ate in as I really wanted to do so from the start and didn't expect them not to have a restroom. The second time I came here (today, 3/10), I took my food home. Both times were underwhelming.
Yesterday I came in around 10:00 AM. I was planning on trying breakfast. Out of my excitement to love the place, I also asked when they might have lunch ready. I was told "whenever it gets done cooking." I kind of had a puzzled expression due to being given such a bad answer. The employee (whose name I'm not going to reveal but you can find if you dig through the photos) must've seen my disappointment and readjusted her answer to say "most likely by 1:00 PM."
On to what I ordered yesterday. But let me make a note that holds true for BOTH visits. ****PLEASE**** expect that whatever you TRULY want will not be available! Have a second, third, fourth, and possibly FIFTH option in mind for what you want to order, because they do not have half the items listed on their menu. I asked for a Mallorca breakfast sandwich and they said they didn't have any Mallorca bread. I just decided to settle on a simple American breakfast platter with sunny side up eggs, bread, and longaniza (Spanish sausage). It was just okay. On top of that, it took over a half hour to make and be brought to the table. I couldn't understand which part of the meal would actually take that long. Even the Spanish longaniza wasn't above average. My friend had a waffle bowl with scrambled eggs and longaniza and also said it was okay. I went home a little sad.
Today, I came in at 3:00 PM, thinking that I was going to finally try some authentic Puerto Rican food. Today, the same employee was there, also with two kids behind the counter, helping with orders. (There was one other lady in the store waiting to receive her food.) I attempted to make my order at least THREE times, but each time was told that the specific thing I wanted was not available/had already sold out. (At this point, I'm thinking, if the food gets done cooking by around 1:00 PM usually and it's 3:00 PM, if they sell out in 2 hours they definitely need to cook more food. That just seems strange.) Okay, they don't have roast pork or pork chops with rice. So I just get chicken with white rice and beans. I also try to ask for a chicken pastellilo, and they tell me they don't have that either. I settle for the steak pastelillo.
Aside from the main lunch, of the meat with rice and beans and pastelillo, I order two tres leches cakes, which I also tried during breakfast yesterday, and it was the only truly amazing item of the day, and a couple canned sodas. The employee bags the ready-made cakes and sodas. Later, the kid bags the actual food. Before leaving, I ask if this is everything I ordered. The child says yes, that everything I ordered was in the bag. When I get home, there is NO pastelillo in the bag. In my photos are my receipt and exactly the items I came home with. They forgot to give me the pastelillo.
I open up the bags, and pretty much almost every item has some spillage to it inside the bag. I was extremely careful to hold everything upright today because yesterday, the milky portion of the tres leches cake I took home spilled everywhere inside the bag, and I thought it was my friend's fault. Not surprisingly, the milk was all over the bottom of the tres leches bag, and also, there was sauce/oil on the bottom of the bag with the chicken, rice, and beans.
I notice that the chicken looks pretty bad. It looks dry and stiff. No wonder they weren't sold out of this particular item. I start eating and notice that the chicken is indeed dry and stiff. It's also EXTREMELY salty, to the point where I just stop trying to finish it. I just finish off the rice and beans and throw the rest out. The rice and beans are okay, but then again they're just rice and beans - how can you mess that up?
I have a tres leches cake for dessert, and make up my mind that in the two days I've been here, this was really the only menu item that was truly amazing and worth the drive. I'd most certainly come back if I had a mean tres leches craving. But other than that, I probably won't be back for anything else, for quite a long time. Also, they've got some updated shop hours that I'll add to the pics below. These hours are updated as of March 6, 2019. | 0negative
| 927 |
Took my partner to O'Keefe's tonight with high expectations. When he was having emergency surgery at the nearby hospital I stumbled upon this place and had a great meal (the Reuben), great beer and great service.
Unfortunately tonight we were very disappointed. Once seated we were told our server would be Matt. We were reviewing the menu and Matt approached our table. Great smile, friendly, talkative - off to a good start. I ordered a beer on draft and my partner had sweetened ice tea. It took a bit but the drinks finally came - we were ready to order. We ordered the Irish puffs as an appetizer and were really looking forward to trying these. My partner ordered the Philly Steak which comes with Au Jus - he asked if the sandwich had Mayo on it and Matt said no but that he would bring some on the side. I was a bit undecided but Matt eventually help me pick the fish and chips - I'm from Maine so looking forward to some good fried haddock.
Order placed and we turn to our beverages - I go to take a drink of my beer - Stella - and it tastes funky to me - kind of pickled. We were near the bar so I went up to the two bar tenders and they both agreed it smelled funky. They immediately rinsed a clean glass and poured a new beer - much better - problem solved. My partner went to try his ice tea and that tasted strange and the cup had an order. When Matt came back he ordered a soda and that was better. We're wondering if the glasses had been dirty glass. But problem solved.
We watched Matt wait on other tables - again making connections and jovial - a lot talking. We were looking forward to trying our Irish puffs. Finally a food runner brought our 2 meals and no Irish Puffs. I mentioned this to her and she said she'd check - she came back and said that order was never put in. She asked if we wanted them but at that time it was too late as it did take awhile for the food to come out. Matt did come to the table and apologized and took ownership for the error but I still couldn't figure how this happened as he did write everything down on the same ticket. Oh well. We were hungry and ready to eat.
The fish and chips: huge piece of haddock lightly breaded and hot - very good and the tarter sauce wasn't bad. Steak fries were ok - a little soggy - a frozen product but I like mine more crispy. The coleslaw was creamy and had a good flavor - needed salt which improved it. Unfortunately the ketchup was watery and runny even though in a Heinz bottle.
My partner's steak sandwich was good unfortunately he didn't get Mayo on the side and Matt really didn't do frequent table check to see if everything ok, but spent a lot of time talking to some tables.
We finished and were ready to leave - I did tell Matt he needed to do a little less talking and focus more on getting the order right and doing more check-ins on the table. I stated you can be really friendly but if you don't perform in the end but getting food orders correct and doing check-ins that's what determines the tip. He's been there for 4 months so he should have this down. He did say it was a busier day than normal and he had more tables than usual which I can understand as I was a server in college.
I gave him my card and when he can back with the receipt he didn't have a pen on him and had to go back to get one - so a little discombobulated.
With that said - did I tip? Absolutely - over 20% as it is tough work and we all have rough days and Matt was good in taking constructive criticism.
Will we rerun? Yes - I want the experience I first had that time by myself when my partner was having emergency surgery. The server gave great service and had empathy for what I was going through that night. So we'll try it one more time - I'm hoping to try the Irish Puffs and a lot of their meals look great (Shepherds Pie, the Reuben is great, Corn Beef and Cabbage - just a lot of great options.) For service - would I give Matt another try? I would - I'd be a bit skeptical - but I'd let him know it was his second chance - after all everyone deserves another chance.
So the moral of this story is that while we all strive to have great days and be great servants, inconsistencies do happen and we have small failures. But we learn from those and pick ourselves up and focus on improvement. For those on the receiving end of those not so stellar days - be patient and understanding and don't let the experience prevent you from giving it another try. | 1neutral
| 868 |
The partner-in-dine and I had such a great first experience at Pho Can Tho that it pains me now to write this review regarding our abysmal experience during our second visit.
The partner-in-dine was craving banh mi and so we made the trip across town on a mid-Sunday afternoon. There were 3 other tables with customers and we were seated immediately in a booth.
This is when the dominoes of anticipation and patience started to collapse one by one. First, we waited for more than 10 minutes for a server to come and take our drink orders. There were only two men waiting on tables but one of them would always disappear into the kitchen. Since we had time to peruse the menu, we already made up our minds on what to order for the entire meal. When the younger wait staff finally stopped at our table, he apologized fleetingly and then quickly announced that he was only going to take our drink orders only. No more, no less. I told him that we already knew what we wanted to order for our mains but he refused to take those. He was firm in his initial decree that this round of ordering would only be for drinks. We then acquiesced to this unorthodox set-up and I ordered the taro boba drink which I had enjoyed thoroughly the first time we were there. They had pictures of beer on their menu but they don't serve them. They explained that they haven't gotten their liquor license which was the same thing they told us the first time we were there (which was about 4 months ago). He said he had to come back to get our appetizer order. After another round of waiting, he came back and we ordered the shrimp spring rolls. We couldn't really understand the descriptions of the menu items with their original Vietnamese names so I pointed to the picture of two spring rolls with shrimps inside and told the server that that was what we wanted. By the way, the pictures are not labeled at all so you don't really know what the names are.
After a few minutes, the older server came by to give us water. He then said that he could take our order. We were hesitant to give him our orders because we didn't want an overlap or any confusion of our orders with the younger guy who was taking our orders initially. We then decided to take the gamble and give him the rest of our orders. In the middle of my giving him our orders, he left abruptly saying that he was going to get his pen and paper. He came back eventually.
As he was taking our orders, the younger guy came back with my boba drink. I was so happy to finally get my drink that I didn't notice that there weren't any bobas at all in my drink. My partner-in-dine, who has a far more astute sense of perception than yours truly (who's blinded by her infatuation with boba), noticed the absence of those black chewy balls of heaven. For the record, when the younger guy came by to drop off my taro boba drink, he didn't utter a single word about the fact that my drink was boba-less. When I finally got hold of him, I told him about it and he matter-of-factly said that they were still cooking the boba and that he would bring me some later. So, if I hadn't said anything, he would have just left the situation as is and still charged me boba drink prices.
After another looong wait, the younger server came by to give us our appetizer. The spring rolls had pieces of meat that didn't look like any shrimp we had ever seen in the wild, in captivity, alive or dead. The spring rolls looked like they had spam in them. We immediately got the attention of the said server and he insisted that that was indeed what we had ordered. He said that they were not spam chunks but actually shrimp patties. But in our defense, we had explicitly pointed to the picture of the spring rolls with actual shrimps inside and confirmed that that matched menu item #15. He said "yes" then. Also, the description stated "grilled shrimp patties" but the alleged shrimp patties were not grilled at all. They looked like they came out of a package or a can and then boiled.
This was the point when I finally had enough. With admirable (in my opinion) patience and calm, I told the server that we would be paying for the boba-less taro drink and "shrimp" spring rolls and that we were leaving. I told him that service was at an excruciatingly slow pace and things were too haphazardly done. Added to this was the unorthodox system of ordering which no explanation was offered at all. Diners were just expected to follow instructions.
Also, I didn't get a single boba at all and they still wanted to charge me for the bobas. I told them that I was going to pay for the drink but they shouldn't charge me for the bobas.
The partner-in-dine and I left Pho Can Tho disappointed and hungry. It was such a shock how "love at first bite" could turn sour on a second date.
P.S. I do apologize for the numerous references to boba in this review. I blame my boba withdrawal for it. | 0negative
| 915 |
I came here today shortly after 3 pm. With my family and good old friends we had not seen in awhile. I am slightly new to port Richey area but have been coming here after work almost every night w friends to have a beer after a hard day from across the street. Prices on drinks are good and the bartenders are awesome. Esp. Tracy and Emily..Sierra etc.. However we ate on the deck. Party of 6 and it was a lil busy. Esp. For 3 pm. We all ordered and our "server" was pleasant at first.. I say that as a quote because later on we find out that he was actually the manager. After almost an hour n half w only once a check up ONLY after flagging him down...at apx 430 pm only a few items, less than half the order arrived. That first part of the order. Very simple w only a few side items and apps. We got cold fries and no garlic butter shrimp that we ordered. Also no croutons on the sd Caesar i ordered. I asked Keith about croutons...if i could please have some or even crackers as a sub. He looked at me as if i was stupid. But said sure.... We told him about the fries being could after waiting so long and the shrimp he so obviously forgot. (My moms main meal) she opted to cancel the order because she didn't want to have to wait another hour for them an apparently he told her he couldn't give an estimate of how long it might be... No ESTIMATE NEEDED...JUST TO KNOW HE WOULD DO HIS BEST WOULD HAVE SUFFICED. ESPECIALLY SINCE WE STILL HAD SEVERAL DISHES MISSING. Needless to say. The rest came out about ten min. Later. Calamari that cost 15 dollars was burnt to a crisp. My salad w no croutons became soggy and gross .... We all sat in obvious disappointment . The fries came back out burnt to a crisp... 20 min later he found or remembered croutons... The philly cheese steaks were burnt crisp as well. We had to ask for refills evey time. And he never ONCE checked on us to ask how things were or how we were doing.... Because it was obvious he KNEW it was atrocious. No shrimp. Hour n half wait for half of the food to come. Beg for refills. Burnt fries after being cold fries. Soggy salad and no croutons. Burnt steak. Burnt calamari...measly portioned for 15 dollars and horrible service. I could go on. I am sorry but no matter what how EVER long you have been in the business you don't hide from your tables when things go wrong... U re assure them and make the guest happy... W anything!!! After our horrible experience and finally getting the rest of our food....not even finishing the second half or being offered anything else... Nothing...he is dropping off checks..a near over 100 dollars. We could tell just to get rid of the situation...being US n his horrible service. I pulled him aside quiet n polite and told him that i understood what he was going through BEING BUSY as a server myself and he showed no nothing except a sly.."ill be sure to let them know".... WHO...? U fool. So i politely asked to speak to a manager after explaining to him what was wrong w out entire two split meal and experience and he rambled on that HE WAS the manager, and that he has been doing this for 40 years and how he wouldn't be degraded and that he was and is an ex marine....and so on......was ANY OF THAT RELEVANT TO OUR SERVICE AND FOOD .....except to worsen things BY SO MUCH MORE saying n knowing that HE IS THE MANAGER OF THIS Place. Wow. I told him that i came here every night after work as a regular and that i was in the biz myself for 16 years and then he goes on with his war story and at the end has the oddity. To go on saying HE would not allow being undermined....if he is or was the manager that day or any. I feel sorry for the owners because other than the bar staff and the view...the MANAGER...KEITH showed us the worst possible side of Seaside inn.. Etc. And even more so the worst possible. Side of his work ethic as a MANAGER...EX MARINE...40 YEARS IN THE BUSINESS.... N SO ON as he said. Point is.... Go there for a cheap beer. That's it ... A view. But not for service or food. And for sure ABSOLUTE. DO NOT BRING ALONG YOUR FRIENDS or FAMILY TO PAY OVER 100 DOLLARS WORTH OF EMBARRASSMENT!!!!! go alone n order from the girls i mentioned earlier... 40 years n ex Marine or not... Wtf!??? They. THEY ARE MANAGEMENT QUALITY. THEY WON'T GIVE U A WAR STORY OR DEMAND TO BE UNDERESTIMATED OR ANY OTHER OF THAT BLAH BLAH CRAP THAT KEITH UNNECESSARILY GAME N TOLD US. THEY. THOSE GIRLS ARE TRUE MANAGERS IN MY N SIX OTHERS OPINIONS simply because they give good service regardless of the BOH. KITCHEN. and they resolve Issues w out wanting to yell in your face for no reason...or when they are in the wrong and know it. Work ethic my friends....and they sure won't hide when know there is a problem w a table....only one star because i HAD TO TO Post n that goes to the bartender of the day. | 0negative
| 924 |
I try hard not to review big-chain-fast-food because a lot of the time there are many, many lower ratings already. I do go out of my way to give five stars to these places when they really impress me. But unfortunately I have had the SAME issue at this Taco Bell location on three separate occasions (and I have been here four times).
According to those who know me, I am one of the annoying people that come to Taco Bell and turn a $3 item into a $7 item by adding lots of ad-ons and making changes. This is true, and I've come to accept that about myself. I typically order the same thing over and over again because many years ago they stopped making the Nacho Cheese Chalupa that I really love. So now, I have to come in and I make the following: A chicken chalupa, add extra nacho cheese, no sour cream, lite lettuce, extra tomatoes, add guag, add the zesty sauce, and add some potatoes in there as well. Now, all of these changes (ad-ons) cost me money. I'm 100% fine with that because I'm ordering a custom item and I understand that the upcharge is needed to make the world go round.
I also know that my order is kind of a pain. So I go inside and I make all of these changes on the new computers they have so that each and every change is meticulously detailed. There is NO way to mess it up because everything is written down -- every little thing. You just have to read the ticket.
The first time I came here, I ordered and the employees in the back went above and beyond and made my order 100% correct. I was thrilled! I was like "I've finally found a great location that gets my order correct!" and happily stuffed my face.
The second time I came, I didn't even bother to check my chalupa until I got home. It was covered in extra sour cream. Had no nacho cheese. Was still beef. They added guac but none of the other items that I had requested. Fail. I was so tired that I really just said whatever. I gave the chalupa to my dog. Because not only am I picky, I also CANNOT eat any sour cream due to serious stomach issues. So I paid several extra dollars and didn't get what I wanted and didn't eat any of it.
The third time I came in... I checked the chalupa before leaving. As I unwrapped it (and they seemed peeved that I wanted to check it before leaving) I pointed out that they had again put the beef. The kid says "It comes with beef." I say yes, but see here on the receipt where it says that I substituted for chicken? He nods, apologizes, and goes back to remake the chalupa. When they come back with the chalupa this time it has chicken but they didn't put the guac, no potatoes, etc. And it has sour cream. I hand them my receipt (get these printed!) and say no, can you try one more time? This time a younger girl rolls her eyes and says "Maybe Taco Bell isn't for you." But the third time they get the order right.
The fourth time, again, I'm having the same issues. And I keep thinking back to "Maybe Taco Bell isn't for you" and I'm starting to think that no, maybe it isn't. I'm inputting a very specific order. I'm paying more to help to make sure that the order gets taken of correctly. I'm helping to pay the salary of the same people that seem so concerned with idle chit-chat and flirting with each other that they cannot follow WRITTEN directions. The only thing I can come up with is that they just don't hire employees here that care enough to make sure the orders are correct. Fourth adventure here and I check my food in the car, yet again something is incorrect, and I'm again charged for all these ad-ons and I received one of the several ad ons that I asked for. I walk back inside (I've been gone about three minutes) and say that my order is incorrect. They ask if I have a receipt. No, because I ordered on the machine and didn't get a printed one this time, but I can bring it up on my email/phone. Have to wait for them to finish making other people's items, then as I'm getting mine another person comes up and is upset their burrito has the wrong meat. Huh. Just seems like the standard here is to make stuff quickly but not accurately.
I would LOVE to come back here and get the experience I had the first time I came in where my order was 100% correct. I am going to adjust the times I come in because the mid-day crew seems to be where I'm having the problems (maybe?).
I'm giving Taco Bell (at this location) one more chance and I'll update my review if they make things correctly this time. Otherwise, I'll update and say "Nothing changes." | 0negative
| 865 |
hen we arrived here the manager was seated at the bar having loads of casual conversation (like more of a patron) and the hostesses seemed to be distracted with something other than the task at hand. With a non crowded restaurant and plenty of open tables, they took almost 10 minutes to seat us. We were a large group but again the restaurant was not crowded and there was plenty of seating.
After we were seated we waited another 10 minutes to even be greeted by our server. The potatoes (which normally arrive right away when you sit down) didn't come until right before our entrees which also came just after our appetizer was served. Our drinks were never refilled until we called a manager. Then let's talk about our orders. Several people ordered their po boys and sandwiches dressed differently. Not ONE was correct (out of 6 sandwiches). They were all just "dressed" (Lettuce, tomato, pickle mayo). I do not understand why the server bothered asking us HOW we wanted them dressed as she just put the order in clearly as "dressed".
The server only came to our table when there was something to deliver. Truly, we saw her only to take our order, deliver our onion ring appetizer and potatoes, when our food came, and to deliver the check. She literally could not be found any other time. I had mayo on my po boy which I cannot eat (and didn't ask for) so I sat and waited to see if we could actually find out waitress to have it changed. I sat again for another 10 minutes until a person in our party finally had enough at that point and got up to find the manager. When he was found, the manager was on a personal phone call on his phone and "waved" the person that approached him and told him he "would be a minute". I saw this happen with my own eyes as did the others in our party. After a few minutes of waiting for the phone conversation to end the manager finally came to our table.
When the manager arrived he asked what happened. I told him about my sandwich and then elaborated about the rest of the experience. I also added to him that I was aware that large parties get an automatic 15% gratuity and this server had NO WAY earned her 15% as she was non existent the entire meal. He snapped back at me in an extremely sarcastic tone and said, "thank you for your feedback ma'am". It sounds nice enough written but if you had heard the way it was delivered it was anything but that.
We informed him that everyone at the table also needed drink refills. He came back with a new sandwich for me and our waitress came back with cokes in her hand. We informed her that we needed water refills. She literally rolled her eyes and huffed and puffed at us when we told her this as if we totally inconvenienced her by asking for water. Honestly, between the two of them I have never been treated so rudely in my entire life.
We went on to finish our meals. I asked everyone how their food was and one of the people didn't care for their etouffee and asked me to taste it. It was definitely on the bland side. Bland meaning not hot, and less than flavorful. Every other etoufee I have had has a good kick of cayenne and these flavors that we love so much from the trinity. It really didn't matter though as no one who actually worked at the restaurant actually asked us how the meal was.
When we were done eating we yet again were scanning the dining room to find our waitress. The only time the waitress spoke with us was when she took our order. There was no other communication. I got up and went to find the manager again. He was at the hostess stand chatting it up with the hostesses. I informed him that yet again we could not find our server and this was beyond a bad experience at this point.
He brought us to go boxes and the waitress then appeared with the check. Here is where it gets even worse. She added 17% gratuity to our check (apparently she thought she earned an extra 2%). We did not have separate checks so there was no reason for the extra 2%. We also informed the manager of this. I told the manager that this was salt in the wound considering the horrible service (which he was aware of) that we experienced. She didn't even earn the automatic 15%. While we were explaining this to him, she arrived at our table. Right in front of him she began slinging our plates off the table abruptly (again not saying anything).
......... (see update for continue) | 0negative
| 822 |
I had the opportunity to attend Kazoku's soft opening last week to get a sneak preview of the new restaurant space. The menu at Kazoku is fairly focused, offering a couple appetizer plates and a variety of ramen and rice bowls.
Our table started out with a couple appetizers, trying three of the six available plates. The BBQ duck ($10) is roasted Chinese style in house daily and served with a side of plum sauce. The marinade for the duck was fairly typical of the ones you can pick up from any Chinese BBQ shop, but I found the meat to be quite moist and flavourful.
Next we had the pork Gyoza ($7) served as a set of 6. The dumplings were pan fried to a lightly golden crisp, keeping the meat inside juicy and flavourful. While these gyoza were pretty standard, I quite enjoyed the ponzu style dipping sauce as it was both sweet and savoury with a kick of heat.
Last but not least we had to try the Beef Tataki ($11). Kazoku's version had beautifully marbled striploin that was tender and sweet, dressed with onions, scallions, and a light but flavourful ponzu sauce. The slices were a fair thickness, and the portion size quite reasonable for the price.
Next came the part we had all been waiting for: hot, steaming bowls of ramen. The menu offers five different options, which include the Kazoku ramen, tonkotsu ramen, miso ramen, shoyu ramen, and shio ramen. The toppings in each bowl are quite similar, so the bowls mostly differ in their soup bases.The first bowl to arrive was the Tonkotsu ramen ($14) topped with slices of char siu, a half soft-boiled egg, nori, bamboo shoots, corn, bean sprouts, toasted sesame, green onion, and narutomaki. The soup was slightly thick and creamy, the way most tonkotsu broths should be. I felt the broth could have used a tiny bit more seasoning, but otherwise it was tasty.
While the broth is made in-house, the wavy noodles are flown in from a manufacturer in Vancouver. The noodles aren't too thick or thin, and once cooked have a dense, slightly chewy texture. While they hold their shape well while you enjoy the bowl, they don't quite have the elastic bite that I prefer.
We also got an order of the Miso ramen ($13), which featured the same toppings as the tonkotsu, except with shredded nori. The miso ramen featured the most flavourful broth of all the bowls at our table that evening, and you could taste the subtle nutty flavours in the broth. The char siu in these ramen bowls is equal parts lean and fatty, lending extra flavour to the noodles. The soft boiled eggs are cooked to the perfect consistency with a slight oozing yolk, but they would be made even better with a marinade.
For myself I had to order the Kazoku ramen ($15), which features char siu, a full soft-boiled egg, nori, bamboo shoots, corn, wood-ear fungus, bean sprouts, toasted sesame, green onion, and narutomaki. Basically, all the toppings that Kazoku uses in their ramen bowls. This ramen sets itself apart from the rest by its clear pork and chicken based broth. It's the lightest broth the restaurant makes, and it has very subtle flavour to it. I wasn't expecting this upon ordering, and initially found the broth to be quite bland and underseasoned. If you're looking for a broth that isn't too heavy, this may be for you, but I like my noodle soups to be packed with umami, and this bowl unfortunately didn't do it for me.
Since Kazoku also offers rice bowls, we needed to try one out for ourselves. Bowls can be topped with BBQ pork, BBQ duck, imperial chicken, or soya chicken, but we chose to get a combination of the BBQ pork and imperial chicken with the 'pick two' option ($14). The large bowl of rice came to the table with a generous portion of pork and chicken, and sides of a soft omelette, broccoli, and bok choy. The rice bowl came as described, but it was quite boring compared to a big bowl of ramen with a variety of toppings. As rice bowls are fairly easy to put together, I would recommend skipping them all together and ordering a bowl of ramen instead.
To finish off the meal that evening I chose to try the Purin ($4.50), which is the Japanese version of a creme caramel or flan. I'm a sucker for custards, and this one didn't disappoint with it's smooth, creamy texture. The purin wasn't overly heavy or sweet, making it a perfect end to the meal for me.
The ramen scene in Edmonton is continuing to grow and it's great to finally have an option in the west side of the city for a bowl of this Japanese comfort food. While the noodles at Kazoku aren't what I prefer, the tonkotsu and miso ramen broths lack some depth but have good flavour, making them on par with other bowls in the city. As mentioned above, Kazoku will be featuring a Godzilla ramen bowl, where you can have it for free if you finish it! And to show off your amazing eating capabilities, you get a t-shirt featuring Kazoku's Godzilla on it too. The prices are affordable and on par with other Japanese restaurants, so stop by if you're nearby. | 1neutral
| 898 |
Well, our quest to find "real" Japanese food in Florida (either coast: Tampa or Vero Beach areas) continues with mostly disappointment.
My wife had heard about this place from a co-worker who said it was her favorite.
The atmosphere was ok/pleasant, if a bit dirty. And by dirty, I mean both cleanliness (dirty dishes/utensils/table) and the fact that they have an old-style Japanese wood block nude in the men's stall (which, to be honest, I found pretty funny).
For a place that's called "Noodle World" we thought we had finally found a place that offered some honest-to-goodness traditional Japanese ramen, which we've been craving for some time now.
Uhm, yeah. No.
We asked what the most popular ramen soup was and were told the Udon (which, by the way, is not ramen) with Seafood soup, so we ordered that and the Ton Katsu, a sushi roll called the Nelson (or something), and then the grilled whole squid for appetizer and fried ice cream for desert.
Service was exceptionally slow, especially considering we were the first customers when they opened for dinner. The green tea was ok, but too heavy (dark).
The squid was meh. Thin and a little spicy, and it just tasted....fake. Like that fake crab meat stuff. I mean, I don't think it WAS fake, it just tasted that way. Certainly not fresh by any means.
The Nelson Roll was ok at best. A lot (too much) of different stuff mixed together and only a thin layer of rice encasing it. Again: Meh.
The Ton Katsu was about 1/8 inch thick, and half of that was the breading. It came with about 1/2 a head of shredded cabbage (waaaay too much!). It tasted ok, but, again, mostly breading.
The one cup of rice that came with it tasted like it came from a box marked Uncle Ben's. (eye roll)
The Udon, well that was just plain terrible.
Simply no way around, or excuse for, that one.
OK, I've come to realize (if not accept) that "Japanese" restaurants in the U.S. are not really Japanese by any stretch of the imagination (other than the hodgepodge of cheesy/touristy decorations) with food that features heavy influences from other asian countries and America itself.
This is sad, but true.
BUT, the Udon was barely half-cooked, the broth was bland and the seafood was that frozen seafood mix-bag stuff you get at Sam's Club. Bleh!
And then there was the fact that the soup included (a little bit of) Green Onions (ok), Cabbage (ok), Carrots (?huh?), Broccoli (??WHAAA??), and Cilantro. Seriously. A LOT of Cilantro....
My wife forced herself to eat the seafood, so as to at least get something out of the money we paid for it, but she could only stomach a single Udon noodle. She insisted that I help her with the seafood, so I bit into one of the rubbery squid pieces and was instantly rewarded with the fact that a HUGE piece of Cilantro had wormed it's way into the middle of the rolled-up piece I grabbed with my chopsticks.
I guess I should clarify...I hate Cilantro. I Frakking HATE it!! It took every bit of reserve I could muster not to spit the piece out onto the table.
I can still taste it (shudder).
Then, after fighting our way through all that, came desert.
Basically it was about a golfball-sized scoop of vanilla ice cream enrobed in enough dough to bring that up to the diameter of a baseball, and then deep fried and topped with lots of canned whipped cream, a spritz of chocolate sauce and a cherry.
Looked cute.
Until I tried to dig into it with the tiny spoons they provided and found that it was only about half cooked. After the first layer of dough, there was about an inch of undercooked dough which I could have sworn was alive the way it fought our attempts to eat it. I finally gave up and used both spoons to pry it open like one of those eggs from Alien and retrieved the tiny nugget of frozen sweetness within.
Overall, we wound up paying $60 for a very unsatisfying and only half-eaten meal.
Now, you may think that, what with all this complaining I just did, I would have only given it one star. Maybe, but I thought the place had potential, the ambiance and presentation were ok, and the waitresses were pleasant (if slow).
But I can't imagine returning for a second go. Once was enough.
Oh well.
I heard a place called Yoko's was pretty good.
I'll let you know. | 0negative
| 767 |
I am torn between 3 and 4 stars for this review...
Service was decent. Nothing stellar, but not bad either. She kept recommending more expensive dishes without really hearing me out about what I was looking for which seemed kind of sketchy but maybe the more expensive stuff IS better... she did help me select a cocktail that I loved and ended up getting two of! That was a plus.
The pasta dish I had was pretty darn good but for the price, I would have preferred Pastaria, believe it or not. Quality for dollar, I feel like I get a better deal elsewhere. Maybe I just didn't pick the right pasta to try for my taste?
The food my companion had was not anything to write home about sadly. He couldn't find anything on the menu he liked and complained that nothing was written in English, LOL. I told him it must be Italian words and we could google to find out what the heck they mean... But the server did a pretty good job of explaining things too. I just had a thousand questions.
Almost like you gotta do some 'homework' before coming here lest you sit and be hungry while you're trying to not only translate the menu, but then once translated, figure out what you actually want to eat. Oy.
In any case, he had ribs, and it was impossible to eat. The meat arrived partially on the bone, partially off the bone and it was kind of...grisly? IDK how else to say it. I tried a small bite and it was bland, and lacking in flavor. The radishes or turnips or w/e they were that came with the meat were SUPER bitter. Like ew, cannot chew, had to spit out bitter. :( For $15something dish I was expecting it to taste a bit more flavorful. But that might have been an off the menu special, I cannot recall...
I liked the fact that they had herbs planted everywhere outdoors. Good for crushing up into your olive oil (and I like that they bring plain olive oil for that very reason!) I had asked and she said it was okay to take some of the herbs for my olive oil but they should maybe put a note on the menu or a little sign saying it is OK to do so...I would have done so sooner and asked for more olive oil for the bread too if I had known. A really terrific concept, and very fresh & tasty!
I asked for extra cheese which I think added significant improvement to my pork pasta dish. But it was weird because I asked for "a little extra cheese" and she brought out a gigantic cup full of it and charged me a dollar. Which I am not complaining about, but a little advance warning would have been nice...!
The one thing that bums me out the most about this place? The fact that you can't get a smallish/half order of a salad or pizza or pasta. I wanted to mix and match so many different things but you are pretty much stuck with a large, expensive salad, pizza, or pasta. No half orders. :-( I hope the owner/manager will read this review & maybe consider this option!! :-D
I guess if you don't like something they can bring you something else, but I always feel bad sending things back which is why I always ask a ton of questions. It annoys my dining companions, but rather be safe than sorry, right? My partner hated his food but was too polite to say anything about it. I did give them some feedback on it but the way the server said "should I go bring out the manager?" it just seemed kind of defensive/impersonal the way she said it.... it made things kinda awkward and we just let it go. 80% of his food was remaining and we didn't get a to-go box. Should be a sign in and of itself. But oh well.
I know my review probably makes it sound like I fucking hate this joint, but I don't!! I really did like the atmosphere, the amazingly delicious cocktail I had, and the luscious homemade pasta, but I think when I go back, I would get a pizza or salad instead or maybe the squid ink spaghetti which the server said is her favorite. I am just scared of the price tag, lol. But yea, would return but will have to be with a friend because dining partner refuses to go back... there's nothing on the menu he would eat.... maybe they have a kids menu though? Haha. | 1neutral
| 781 |
Went last Saturday at around 11am. The place was already busy! I thought 10:30 would be too early as it's freshly opened, boy was I wrong... They said they had no tables due to reservations so we waited on the patio sofa's. I ordered a bloody mary extra spicy and my friend ordered a blood orange mimosa. My bloody mary came with a "mini" side of lager which was a cute touch. Kinda pointless but cute. The bloody mary came out in a mason jar and was really cute. I wish it was in a standard lager glass though, only cuz it was so well made that one jar wasn't big enough to satisfy! :)
Once we got a table (which was much shorter than the 45 minute time they quoted us- good job for that!), we got a seat on the other patio with tables. So far, so good.Then the quality just dropppppppppppppppppppped. Was it cuz I was expecting more from such rave reviews? Did it genuinely fall low? I realize now, that it really did fall low, and wasn't my expectations.... it was worse than a mom and pop. Details are below, but to be honest and fair I'll say that the reviews for Abbey are so good that I probably will give this place another try. Perhaps it was the waitress? Or just brunch? Or just that specific day? Either way, I know that this type of place deserves a 2nd shot. With that... here's my review:
Our Groupon came with 2 brunch entrees and 2 mimosas. The menu clearly states that drinks are $6 each. Once seated at the table, I ordered a blood orange mimosa (as covered by my groupon right?). My friend finished her mimosa while waiting and didnt' order another drink. 2 drinks covered by groupon, bloody mary is $6 out of pocket. cool.
My friend ordered an omelette and the waitress informed us in her description that there are veggies and ham. My friend asked hers to be removed of ham and just add extra veggies in instead. I saw the menu and wanted to try the spinach raisin hash badly but didnt want duck confit (my friend adn I are vegetarian as you can tell by requests above or thru other reviews). the baked french toast sounded good but had bacon. I asked if I could replace the duck and she said no so I went for the french toast and replace bacon (sounds easier somehow to replace THAT meat?)... she said she could do the spinach raisin hash. cool. not sure what it is but sounds good. We didnt hear from the waitress for any water refill (Hot AZ heat... on patio.... NEEEEED water! ) When my friends dish arrived, it was an omlette flipped in half with just sour cream-esque sauce inside... and POTATOES. the same potatoes that were her side. Nothing creative from the chef on veggies. Nothing like we were told. So an omlette with potatoes and a side of the same potatoes. EXCELLENT? My dish came out huge!! It was delicious smelling (and tasting!!!!) and then the side of raisin spinach hash came with DRY shreds of DUCK on it! The waitress caught it and apologized and brought out a new batch- which was weird to be even recommended by her- it was all greasy over cooked wilted spinach with a huge handful of golden raisins on top. ODD combo. Unappetizing. I don't even understand the flavors. If its a dish meant for duck she should say that- a waitress should know her food and flavors. Esp at a place like abbey. Suggest me something else. tell me what this hash exactly is. I was so disappointed. I still cant wrap my head around that side.. who invented it? Isn't a chef supposed to atleast know their stuff? They cant replace duck with anything even? Anyways..... the french toast is amazing so get it! I dont know the hash would be good even with duck (ive eaten meat for most of my life- i cant imagine that ever begin tasty.... let alone the DRY duck wasnt even moist/juicy looking )
The service is really slow- we were there from 11 to 1pm! When I got the bill after the Groupon was applied it was $9 plus tax..... how $9? my bloody mary, the only thing not covered by the groupon that was ordered, was $6 on the menu. I was gonna ask the waitress but with the slow service i figured it wasn't worth wasting another 30 minutes for $3.
Abbey, please work with your chef + waitress. I know vegetarian patrons are far and few in Tucson but please just get a basic knowledge of your food and pairings at least. I'm not cheap, I tip well, I order drinks.... please just deliver good food pairings and at least suggestions, it'll make up for your bad and slow service. I'm not a stingy vegetarian to leave bad tastes in waitresses mouths.... sigh.... I'll give you guys a shot for dinner perhaps? | 1neutral
| 846 |
Blue duck is a simple take on BYO's in NYC or downtown Philly. The food is good for the area but it's a one trick pony and the pony isn't quite the stallion it should be. I will say it doesn't change enough and there aren't enough specials to keep the seasoned blue duckers satisfied. It's definitely a pick a menu favorite and come and scratch the itch once a month or less. I was there three times and only for dinner and I was already bored. I am very curious as to what their brunch is like. I have heard good things and it's hard to screwup eggs (although it can be done). Even the brunch menu hasn't gotten any type of makeover since it opened (I think). Anyway, the first time I was there I had the Brussel sprouts with bacon, fried cauliflower, and the duck special. Fried cauliflower was really delicious and cooked perfectly. The Brussel sprouts were very good as well. I just wondered where their veggies are sourced. They were very big Brussel sprouts which makes me think they may have been from a wholesaler and not a local farmer. Either way good. The duck was ordered medium well and it came pretty much raw. The skin was crispy which was nice but I didn't want duck sushi. Sending it back isn't an option since the mental picture is there and the meal is basically over. Food should never have to be sent back to be cooked right. Step your game up chef. Granted they were busy but that is no excuse since top chefs like Mark Vetri consistently churn out perfect dishes one after the other daily. If you wanna be on that level, you gotta cook at that level. Earn your rep boys. The first go round was about a 5. The person I went to dinner with got salmon and it was a very nice piece of fish and the potatoes were quite delicious. The second time I was there I had a better experience with where we sat but the food was really lackluster. I usually try specials when I am at a byo, but I decided to change it up and try an in-house staple, the fish tacos. Granted I do not like farm raised tilapia and neither should you but I gave it a go anyway. It's pretty gross when you see how they raise those things but nevertheless I went in with an open mind. A lot of times you aren't even getting tilapia, unbeknownst to the chef but that's a different story. Ok, so the fish tacos. The tortillas were kind of cold and really just raw. You can't just lay tortillas down under got food. They get soggy and the texture ends up feeling very mushy and soggy. The toppings weren't amazing and it could have used a little more umph (fresh veggies, cilantro, slaw etc). The mayo was haphazardly squeezed on top in very unappetizing squiggly lines. It made the dish look cheap and like something Denny's would have on their international dinner menu. The fish was deep fried like it should have been, but the taste was just bad. Fresh fish isn't fishy and has a very delicate flavor. Frozen, farmed fish taste like the slimy toilet they are bred along with subtle but familiar freezer after taste. I couldn't eat the fish tacos. I was skunked at the duck again. I think blue duck should really run in the, locally sourced, FARM TO TABLE FRESH, healthy food
with constant new takes on the menu. Otherwise they won't be around long. Although the northeasters really don't expect much in way of cuisine ( that's why so many greasy spoon diners remain open there amongst the fast food and bad pizzas). The northeast is hellosh when it comes to trying to find healthy, delicious, interesting food. The blue duck could save the day if the mama duck can get the bull whip out and get to work kicking those little ducks asses into shape. The owner is a very nice guy and the whole staff is likable and sweet. Also, the female waitstaff are all very nice to look at... Especially one in particular ;) B
I like this place but I wanna love it. It's like a coach wanting a player to succeed in the highest level. You wanna see a culinary underdog like the BD make it because they are great for the area and I love that they are expanding people's horizons and opening their minds. The northeast is where I am from and I know how close minded people can be. It's tough to make it in the city but at least there are people who know good food when they see it. They can get good feedback and perfect their menus based on foo foo customer reviews Etc. The only way to get good, is to find out what you are doing bad and change it. I really want this place to make it past those dreaded first years and become a staple. They are the bar setters and I am hoping a total food revolution takes place in that area. I am rooting for the duck and I will continue to eat there. | 1neutral
| 884 |
A quick Google search led me to this place as it was super close to the Famed Blue Bird Cafe. I was super excited to see that the Executive Chef was a Chopped Champion! I love the show! Checked out the menu, saw a coupon online my excitement grew! Arrived, easily found parking, went inside and immediately felt like I had been transformed to some sort of old Christmas Light playland. All across the whole place is silver garland, Christmas Tree Lights, and paper hanging from the ceiling. All over the walls are posters, paper and other stuff. Every available space was filled with stuff. If your OCD, or hate dust, your first impression would be to run... However if your super hungry you may overlook all the décor, and hope that the food is good.
The tables and chairs are mis-matched, and my chair was wobbly and the rubber rim around my side of the table was pulling apart from the table. I only noticed this at the end, as when I was first seated, I was SOCLOSE to my neighboring table, it was like I was joining them for dinner. It was a party of two and I was early. To my left were strangers seated too closely and to my right was a curtain and strangers I could hear that were seated too closely. And again there was Christmas Tree lights and paper hanging all from the ceiling. At one point near the end of my dining adventure, I starting seeing all the dust I had tried hard to ignore for an hour and 45 minutes. One paper light thingee that was hanging from the ceiling started swaying and I wondered about the dust that was swaying and falling with it.
The bathroom wasn't especially clean. It too was cluttered.. If your OCD, you would have run to escape the Christmas Tree lights and dust into the safe havens of the bathroom, only to be disappointed because it was cluttered and dark and dingy.
Anyhoo enough about the décor! I was there to eat.. and I was super hungry. There was no pre-meal bread and so we ordered the White Mac and Cheese with Truffle oil. The time it took to get there was super long. It was in a small serving pan, suitable for one slightly hungry person. We were given itty bitty bread plates to enjoy it on. That's right you get bread plates but no bread... The small shallow bowl was hardly enough. The flavors were rich and creamy and it was a delightful dish.. But again that tiny portion was not adequate.
The menu is hand written, not in an elegant fancy script , it was a messy scribble that wasn't easy to read. I ordered the Bear Farms Steak or maybe it was Beat Farms who knows, the handwriting was a mess. IT came with a broccoli hot pocket and something else I was unable to read from the menu. My dining mate ordered risotto. There was a lengthy delay in the mac and cheese being devoured to the entrees arriving. Finally the main courses arrived. The risotto was served in a huge bowl... I mean HUGE. IT was like enough Risotto to feed two tables, we could have filled those little bread plates up over and over again with all that Risotto, it was topped with some white clumps of something and bacon.. Bacon makes everything good. Having never eaten Risotto I liked the taste, it's like al dente rice with lots of rich cream. My steak was ordered medium, it was served partially medium (two small strips, it was skirt steak sliced somewhat thin) and then there were a couple slices that were Mooing. Having never ordered medium before, I was torn between making a big fuss or just trying to eat it. I instead commented that it didn't look medium to me.. it look like it was red and still bleeding. Anyhoo not wanting to make a big fuss, I put it in a to go box. The broccoli hot pocket was burnt, and the big pile of white stuff that I was unsure what it was, wasn't good an tasted like a sour kraut flavored sock.
Dessert was shared coconut cake, it was ooey gooey and dense. As if it was hidden in the refrigerator pulled out zapped in the microwave and covered in a sauce. Not good.
Service was spotty too.. She said twice she forgot us.. Did she forget where we were seated? Were the Christmas tree lights and dust a distraction to her and getting refills and food to us... Who knows. The staff had a nonchalant attitude. The host was at the bar watching dancing with the stars on a fuzzy television.. IF he had free time, he should have pulled out a Swiffer and used it.
I had post dinner plans, so I pulled out a lint brush and used it as I was wearing all black ... and once I got home, I gave my house a good dusting. | 0negative
| 847 |
Two words. Han Dynasty. This place is exactly like Han Dynasty but with some Taiwanese cuisine added on the menu. Supposedly...except I found the food here to be mediocre. What draws people in (at least what drew me in) is the hip trendy vibe the renovations of this establishment and the new-ness factor, but what brings them back should be the food. I don't think I would come back for the food.
Minus the few authentic Sichuan cuisine items that people probably would not order, such as beef and tripe and tendon, there's really nothing authentic or special about the food in this restaurant. I don't know about you but there's no point for a Chinese person like me to go out and order mediocre Chinese food. Don't get me wrong, I'm not just talking about authenticity of my home country's cuisine. I love all Chinese food. There's authentic Chinese food (Sichuan, Hong Kong, Sanghai, Hunan, Yunnan, you name it..) and there's "fake" American Chinese food (like sesame chicken, kung po chicken, etc). I love them both because I love food. What I don't like is when mediocre food is sold off as some specicialized trendy cuisine with rip off prices. I feel like Dan Dan tries to do that.
Some food I've tried for lunch with a coworker:
1. Lo mein with Taiwanese sausage--I love Taiwanese sausage and occasionally crave lo mein so I ordered this dish. The Taiwanese sausage protein choice costed $2 than the others (pork, chicken, beef, etc). I expected like a WHOLE sausage sliced up in my lo mein. Nope. It was probably like a few thin strands of what looked like ham and that was it. The rest was just noodles and a few thin slices of cabbage. The noodles themselves were way too salty. This was very terrible fake Chinese food.
2. Kung pao pork--Not spicy at all, no flavor at all. Kung pao pork is supposed to be spicy!! They were good cuts of pork but flavor was something left to be desired. They might as well just called it pork n veggie stir fry with ornamental chillis and peanuts.
3. Beef and Tripe in Chili Oil--This dish was hot hot hot and tasted very similar to that found at Han Dynasty. However, I believe Han Dynasty's tasted slightly better from what I remembered.
4. Rice--I judge chinese restaurants by their rice. The rice here was overcooked and mushy. Not the best rice imo but that's up to you to decide.
Overall, the lunch menu was just ridiculous. Every lunch special entree sounded like the exact same thing. One choice of protien stir-fried with a vegetable and a soy-sauce based sauce. Chinese food should not be like this. There should be some thought that is put into the creation of the food! I don't go out to have you mass manufacture me a stir-fried salad in a wok with soy sauce. For that, there's better places like Honeygrow down the street.
Only upside to this place is the atmosphere was nice and presentation of the food in general was very nice and pleasing to the eye. All the waitstaff were very friendly. The service was good and the decor was fun. Each table came with a cast iron tea pot, a caraffe of water, and bright orange coasters. On the flip side, I was dissappointed to find out that although the tea came in a fancy pot (like the sets you see in Teavana) the tea was just your plain old boring weak Chinese restaurant tea water. It wasn't even anything like oolong or jasimne.
The decor is pretty much what you're paying for, that and the location in Center City. I suspect all the decor will get old and unappealing from wear and tear. I already saw this happening with their paper menus. They were dotted with specks of food and grease marks from patrons touching them over and over. I really think DanDan should consider regularly reprinting the menus so people don't lose their appetite from looking at the grime on them.
The food is just really so-so and disappointing at a higher than normal price, too. There's really NO reason to eat this food in Rittenhouse when you can get this elsewhere in Chinatown for less than HALF the price. This place gives me the impression of trying too hard to be cool, when the food doesn't match the expectations set by the decor or the location. There's tons of better food in Rittenhouse that deserve the prices they charge.
Perhaps I'll revisit and try something off the full menu just to be fair and give DanDan a second pass, but for now, I would say avoid for lunch. | 0negative
| 790 |
This car wash is expensive yet I have been going here for seven years.
I gave them my car for a wash and they returned it with a big head to toe crack on the windshield. They did everything to wiggle out of it and claimed that this was due to the heating and cooling since it was hot outside and they used cold water. They claimed (Todd, manager) it could have been a pre existing crack so I asked if they had video footage of the before image in which case just zoom in and you will see that the windshield was perfect when I gave the vehicle. At this point Todd, the manager said that their video was not that good and could not zoom in. Todd/manger also said that they have nothing at the car wash that could cause the crack. I pad $1000 to replace the windshield of my new CLS 550 Mercedez Benz and with the benefit of a doubt I switched to a different Waterway location in Kirkwood from Creve Coer. All this was because I was a car club member.
Around March or so this year, I started taking my Range Rover for a wash at the Kirkwood location. After , a few washes I started noticing hair line scratches on the body of the car. I inquired about this and again Todd, the manger told me that they have nothing at the wash that would cause this. This was my first black car and black shows a bit more so with a grain of salt I kept going to the wash but was more observant. During the next few months and I kept getting more and more scratches and each time the manager, Todd/Shawn or Nate would assure me that it has nothing to do with the wash and that there is nothing there that would cause this. Now consider that, out of the 24 or so washes over a 6 month period, I took the vehicle back 4 times for a re wash - on three occasions, I had armor all o the body of the car and once on the leather and interior of the vehicle. Well it occurred to me that possibly using the same cloth for tires and amoral for cleaning the body of the vehicle could easily cause scratches and therefore it would be a blatant lie to say that there is nothing at Waterway that can cause scratches/hairline scratches on my vehicle. Besides, if any vehicle is washed right after a a very dirty one, it is very possible that dirt would remain on the cloth and easily scratch the next vehicle.
All these are possibilities to the hairline scratches however it is the mentality of the ownership and the mangers here that i have an issue with. The young employes just work and work hard and maybe sometimes make mistakes however management and the ownership have a very disturbing approach to customer issues. The process is simple. They will offer to erase the evidence and please don't mistake this with fixing the issue. When I pushed them to fix the scratches they told me that the burden of proof was on me and there lawyers would win - The came from Todd, the manager. As an alternative, they offered to do a cheap buff but I refused as a matter of principle and given their bullish demeanor. It is not possible to take before and after pictures of your vehicle each time besides as a customer you would like to trust that the food placed in front of you is properly made. The idea of having the burden of proof is just wrong and ill conceived. When you have an issue with your vehicle at Waterway, they will quickly try to wipe it out, make it mild and have a way with words to get you to leave and or suggest that you are holding up other customers. Wiping evidence of incompetence and damages is part of the training here by the mangers.
I did insist that they pay for the damages. The Range Rover has 6000 miles and lots of scratches on it. I threatened to take legal action and they refused and stated that the burden of proof is on me. Soon after I received a threatening letter from their lawyer stating that my membership had been discontinued and that i would be considered a trespasser at Waterway if I ever came back. The letter does not state any reason or wrong doing on my part which is the case. I will post on reddit as soon as I scan it. | 0negative
| 778 |
I'm absolutely OVER this place!!!! Horrible staff and completely inconsiderate!!! A couple months back I went to this place since I work in the same plaza, I took a lunch break and had my mom with me. We went in with masks on and ordered our food. When it came time to pay, I handed the cashier a $50 bill a new one with the blue strip and all. She then proceeded to "check" if it was counterfeit. Ok no problem. ( mind you there's a floor full of customers plus those who were waiting to order) she then grabs another staff member to "check" the bill. They're going back and forth with this $50 dollar bill, I said excuse me ma'am is everything alright? I literally just got that out of the bank. I work right over there and I pointed right out of their window my place of business, plus I had my work shirt on with all of my information. She tells me I'm sorry it's just we've had numerous occasions where people have brought in fake bills. So I said ok but if that's the case and you're fully aware of crooks in your store then why not have the money pens handy because your holding up a line and creating a scene. After saying that she quickly excused herself and goes to the back, I wait maybe about 30 seconds, she returned to the front and states, " my manager will be right out to check the bill, he's just busy at the moment". ( ) "Wait, what"? I still have to wait to get it checked??? At this point I wish I had another source of payment but I didn't. Finally the manager walks up to the register grabs the bill turns completely around so I can't see what he's doing I'm looking at my mom with such a questionable expression as if this is even legal? The bill obviously came up good! I don't understand why it took that long.(Eye roll moment) they give us our order and part of my order was a medium strawberry milkshake. When the cup was handed to me I immediately noticed the weight was off so I opened the lid and sure enough the cup was literally less than half full ( I wish I was exaggerating, but I'm not) I went back up to the counter and showed them the issue. The lady said oh wow I'll tell my manager. He comes back out to tell me sorry we ran out of the medium cups so all we had was this one. I gave him a questionable look like should I even buy that lie? As I was about to walk away he decided to go ahead and fill my cup especially since he practically embarrassed me with the $50 bill. Ok perfect I found that to be like a peace offering, like sorry for your troubles deal (lol) I accepted it because at the end of the day I still work in the same plaza and that place is convenient for me, or so I thought........ 12/4 I had a client of mine which is also a very good friend of mine. We decided to have lunch but didn't want to spend time driving around so I mentioned burger 21 and pointed right out my window. She said ok let's go. We went in and waited to get served. The lady states do you have a mask? We both realized we didn't and quickly went in our bags to grab them. My friend put hers on and lady waiting for us to order had hers on but I was still looking for mine. Shoveling through my purse I stated that I couldn't find it. My friend states can we just be seated and have our orders taken that way because as soon as we sit the masks do come off? The lady who does have the mask on was literally 6 ft away from us states No we can't do that. My friend then stated so you really can't take our order even though I have a mask and you have a mask? She said unfortunately not! Not to mention there were people in the floor sitting down WITH NO MASKS ON!! Lol what a joke this place is I said NO WORRIES I'll be happy to take my money elsewhere. We are so glad we did! We went right across the street to Twisted Turtles was greeted amazingly well had their delicious burgers and let me tell you the fries wow!!! I was very, very happy in the end! I wanted to detail my experiences with burger 21 to assure you that I really gave that place the benefit of the doubt after my first encounter but the only thing I see is my business is not welcomed by them at all!
**My post was deleted from the website w/out any response back I don't think it's right I think you are free to know what I went through so maybe I can help someone not go through the same thing | 0negative
| 857 |
It is obvious from other reviews that A LOT of people seem to love this place. I'm going to give the owners the benefit of the doubt here that they haven't had that many friends or relatives hype the place, and I'm taking into account that there are also quite a few people who didn't like the place, as well. Believe me, I wanted to like the place. It's close to home, and the menu offers a great variety of options for the non-BBQ lover (hubby, who ordered the fish and chips, at a BBQ place! Go figure.) In the interest of disclosure, we used a Groupon. I paid $12 for a $20 Groupon, a savings of only $8 but worth it to try out a cute little neighborhood place. By the time we added a 20% tip to our pre-Groupon total, the $8 was gone. At this point, I will add that we use Groupons fairly often, and I have NEVER given any negative feedback. Until now.
So, what went wrong? We made the mistake of going on one of the coldest nights of the year. Having read previous reviews that said there was no hostess and you should seat yourself, we did so, taking the only remaining table which unfortunately was only a few feet from the front door. My husband refused to take his coat off the entire time we were there. I did shame him into not leaving the hood up, but after the fifth or sixth icy blast of cold air I almost couldn't blame him.
After several minutes wait, a server approached us and chided us for seating ourselves. We apologized if there was a misunderstanding, but we noticed several people coming in and seating themselves as tables became available. She left to get water and menus, and meanwhile another very nice young lady appeared with water and menus. We gave our order, and settled in to try to keep warm. Ten minutes later, re-enter server number 1, who was now miffed that we already had been served and placed an order.
As previously stated, hubby ordered fish and chips which indicated that it came with a side. When he asked for the mac and cheese, he was informed that the menu is misleading and the chips are the side. No problem. Except that the chips were way overcooked, dark brown and had almost no flavor. Peeling aside some of the breading on the fish, he was left with two small fish-stick size morsels of food. The entrée was a bit overpriced for the size of the portion. I ordered the beef brisket. I think I was expecting slices of meat. Instead I got something that was more on the side of being chopped meat. A very small portion on a plain, cold, untoasted hamburger bun. Think of a cheap store-bought bun right out of the plastic bag. Sadly, I too was lured in by the homemade chips, and mine were the same disappointment as hubby's. Again, price for portion size was too high.
In no way do I blame the owners for the patrons who allowed rude, bratty, ill-behaved children to scream, throw temper fits, kick nearby tables as they ran about, and almost hit a fellow diner with a thrown smart phone during a full-blown tantrum. It is not his fault if people are too lazy or inconsiderate to control their own children. And yes, it is a place that caters to casual family-style dining, so there was no expectation that we were dining at a 4-star restaurant.
I do fault the owners for not having regular bathroom checks to make sure the one-seater ladies room is stocked with toilet tissue and that patrons don't have to see another customer's unflushed leavings. I will say that otherwise the bathroom was very clean and nicely decorated.
Before I forget to mention it, the young lady who ended up as our server was very nice, very efficient, and performed her job with a big smile and a cheerful attitude.
When asked by Groupon to rank the restaurant thumbs up or thumbs down, I gave it an honest thumbs down. When asked to provide feedback to help the owner, I said what I said above. Get a hostess, rearrange tables away from the front door, improve food quality and provide adequate portions for the price charged, and have someone check bathrooms now and then.
I got an e-mail from the owner that was disturbing, borderline threatening. He informed me that he did not appreciate my negative remarks and demanded that I e-mail him personally so we could discuss my attitude. Buddy, a new restaurant opens every other week around here. I don't need to waste my time listening to you have "attitude" with me, and I sure don't need to waste my money for a miserable evening where I go home afterward and eat a bowl of Cheerios. They were tasty, by the way :) | 0negative
| 830 |
Olly was not 'A-OK.' It was alright.
I was here to sample a tasting menu. The group (it was mostly twosomes and foursomes) was informed that everything on the menu were things in regular rotation at Olly and also things that the chef felt best showcased the restaurant's style.
Chris D'Ambro, the chef, came out between courses to talk about what was just served as well as general chit chat. He seems like a very enthusiastic, down to earth, 'every guy' type man who really enjoys what he does. And so he must with 2 other restaurants-Southwark and Ambra- to his name.
The tasting event hostess, not associated with the restaurant and whose name I did not get (and if I had, I'd want to have forgotten it) treated the room like she was Sister Strict Nun and we were all unruly charges. When she wanted to talk, she would ring a loud chime and then comment on how 'good' or 'not good' everyone was in quickly ceasing conversation in order to hear her blab. By the end of the evening, I wanted to throw a pitcher of ice water on her and suggest she go back to the imaginary convent to do penance for her lack of social grace. Again-please note-she is not an employee of Olly.
The venue is a corner location, small, bright (lots of windows) and full of plants and knick knacks. The colors are restfully neutral but the acoustics are horrible. Kalaya, also a new kid on a block not too far from Olly, is the same as far as having a space that holds unmitigated, high level noise. I shared a table with 7 other diners and by the second course, even those of us sitting right next to each other were shouting and straining to hear the person on either side. Maybe that is the new trend in small South Philly restaurants. It does not make for a relaxing dining experience.
The tasting started with hush puppies filled with corn and shrimp. I found them dry with one corn kernel and nothing else (not a speck of crustacean) in the several I ate. They were served with a side of quartered lemons. The juice from the citrus was all that made them moist. They were served with aioli but not enough of it. Not at all greasy or heavy but not worth the calories, either. My fellow diner took one bite of hers and left the rest. Enough said.
Following those bites came charred pole beans in a black pepper vinaigrette with pecorino cheese and basil. I just don't like beans. These needed a lot more char and a lot less pepper. The starch of the beans and the heat of the black pepper was all I could taste. The occasional bite of basil was refreshing but not enough to save the dish.
The shining course of the evening was charred broccoli ceasar salad. It was supposed to have chicken in it, though there was none found in all the polite, discreet fork hunting I did as I served myself. This had a fish sauce or anchovy funk that danced well with the skillfully charred broccoli. Had I not been in company, I would have just pulled the serving platter over to my own personal space, eaten every morsel of every component, then licked the platter clean. This is something I have been mentally reconstructing so I can enjoy it again at home.
The next course was Blue Bay mussels in a buttermilk broth. These missed the mark for me, too. The mussels were plump and well cooked but the broth did not taste like much more than salty water. I love buttermilk but this had none of the tang or the creaminess that makes it a special ingredient. The dish was garnished with Olly's house baguette toasts and even soaking the toasts with the broth did not satisfy my search for the lovely acidity buttermilk brings to food. I was glad I'd managed to keep the lemons from the hush puppy course as they at least added the acid I was missing but unfortunately did not save this dish.
Another gripe I had was with Olly's servers. No one was given fresh plates with new courses. The tables were set with small, round plates that had a lip. Basically tasting plates. Fine for one tasting course but we were expected to try new things with the same soiled plates. A big no. My neighbor, who was a light eater, had so much barely touched food on her plate that she was having a tough time piling a new serving on top of the prior courses. She asked, then I asked for her, that a clean plate be brought out. Never happened.
Lamb meatballs with cucumber and tomato baba ganoush was the last savoury course. They were so salty I left them all and concentrated solely on the excellent mix of greens and herbs they were nested in. Another miss.
The meal ended with carrot cake which made me groan inwardly with disappointment when I saw it on the menu. Happily I was wrong. This proved to be light, creamy and delightful with a raisin puree on the side. A heavy, hackneyed dessert blissfully reinvented. Yes!
Would I go back? No. I wish Olly and Mr. D'Ambra well but with only 2 good-ish dishes out of the 6 that I had, as well as the awful acoustics, this was not a dinner outing I'd want to repeat. | 1neutral
| 924 |
Wow - if it wasn't for the sweet younger girl ruby who works here this place would receive a strong zero based on the mother who works at this location.
My fiancé and some friends had his bachelor party in New Orleans, so I wanted to surprise them with some cheeses meats and a liquor at their hotel when they checked in. After googling liquor stores in the area, Vieux Carre Wine and Spirits popped up. I gave them a call and spoke to a very sweet and pleasant girl named Ruby. She helped me hand pick a nice assortment of goods and arranged to have it delivered to the hotel for me so that my fiancé would receive it upon check in. Score! Fast forward a few days later when my fiancé got home, it comes up that some of the cheeses I had paid for were not given to my fiancé. I thought, no big deal, it was about $30 or so for the three missing items, I'll call Vieux Carre and the hotel and see what happened. I started with Vieux Carre where ruby answered and I asked if I could be refunded for the missing items. She explained she would need to put her mother on the phone if this involves any kind of refund. I said no problem and the attitude began.
The woman who I guess is this young girls mother immediately was on the defense and saying how I can't just call and say "give me a refund." I was taken aback by her abrupt behavior and tried to say I hope I didn't come off as so demanding, I just want to be credited for what I didn't receive, everything else was accounted for and was great. She continued to speak to me as if I was lying about the missing cheese because they clearly checked and double checked before the shipment went out.
I tried to explain that it did sound like they had double and triple checked the bag so I'm sure it was no fault of their own. Instead, it sounded to me like the hotel had perhaps messed something up and I will have to call them directly to ask. But instead of her hearing me, she continue to go off like a lunatic screaming at me saying that I can't go around calling every small business demanding a refund. I again tried to say I'm not going around calling every small business, I'm calling the one business that I placed an order with and items were not accounted for when me, the end user, the customer, had paid for it. She said she would call the hotel, which she did, and they seemed to believe they received the items as well. So I again said okay it sounds like something happened after the goods were delivered before they were given to my fiancé. So she continued to speak over me saying the hotel is reputable and would not do anything shady. I tried to explain I wasn't accusing anyone of anything and I just didn't want to pay for something that we never received.
She continued to speak over me so I finally shouted back at her saying I'm done with this conversation, I'll dispute the charge if you don't want to hear me, thank you for your time and calling the hotel. I was definitely more than frustrated with her at this point, but I shouted more for the pure sake of trying to have her hear me over her own ranting and raving. But then, her absolute rock-bottom moment was when she screamed at me some more by saying GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR MARRIAGE!! GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR MARRIAGE!!!! and hung up on me. Clearly not wishing me any luck at all, but in a sarcastic demonic tone. Flat out nasty to her customer. That's what compelled me to take the time to write this review. If she wanted to explain that since the hotel documented they received the goods on their end, that she apologizes but could not give us the refund, I of course would be disappointed but would understand. At the end of the day it was all over $30. She didn't need to go on the attack with me from the second she was on the phone and then throw personal insults my way with "good luck with your marriage."
My fiancé ended up calling the hotel directly and they ended up finding the missing cheeses in a separate fridge way in the back (funny how they didn't find it when the woman from Vieux Carre called). So as I thought, it was the hotel that messed up. But people make mistakes - they admitted it was their fault and offered to refund us. So what more could I want? They showed good customer service despite being the ones who messed up. Whereas I will never recommend Vieux Carre to anyone after how I was spoken to by that woman. She acted like an animal. Very classless and tasteless behavior. What a shame since I had such a wonderful positive experience with this place until the woman was disrespectful towards me. | 0negative
| 870 |
Have you ever gone into a business and instantly thought to yourself "I like this place?"
That's what happened to me with Hart Bakery & Gifts, a small bakery and gift shop right next to the corner of 10th & Shadeland on Indy's Eastside. While I'm hesitant to use the phrase "hole-in-the-wall," Hart Bakery has always struck me as a little hole-in-the-wall establishment with an exterior that is plain, simple, and I wouldn't even call it particularly inviting.
I've driven by Hart countless times and, during most of those times, I've found myself mumbling the words "I should stop there." For the most part, it has been during hours that they were either closed or I was in a rush. Today, as I was driving I spotted the familiar Hart's Bakery building and thought to myself "Why not?" I'd just had a late lunch and I was in the mood for a doughnut. While this would usually send me up to 38th & Shadeland to hit Dunkin' Donuts, today I finally dragged my butt into Hart Bakery & Gifts.
A little research has taught me that Hart Bakery & Gifts is the third oldest Indianapolis bakery and is family owned and operated. Started shortly after World War II, the current owner (Sandy) is the only female certified Master Baker in the State of Indiana and she's joined in running the establishment by multiple family members.
The parking lot is small, but has several well-defined spaces (not necessarily what I would consider "accessible" but they do have a curb cut into the building and the way the lot is situated makes it fairly simple for someone in a wheelchair to find easy parking).
As I headed into the door, I was greeted at the door by a helpful and sincere young woman who was working the counter. To call this young woman enthusiastic would be an understatement, but it struck me as genuine and it was quite contagious. The owner was also at the counter and, it appeared, was engaged in handling some other business. Despite the somewhat distracting nature of this side business, the employee working with me didn't miss a bit - she asked me if this was my first time visiting the store, and upon finding out it was proceeded to explain their specialties (decorated cakes, doughnuts, fudge, iced cookies) and offer me a couple samples. She explained that they used no preservatives or chemicals in their baking, but then also made sure I understood that their "gifts," which are essentially a WIDE variety of figurines ranging from Hummel to Jim Shore to Precious Moments to Steiff Bears and others, are not made in house.
Given the birth of gourmet doughnut shops in Indianapolis, it was refreshing to see a rather simple doughnut shop with a wide variety of doughnuts and reasonable prices. I ended up buying three yeast doughnuts at a price of $2.10 - more than Wal-Mart (but FAR better) and actually a good $.29 less per doughnut than a Krispy Kreme will run you at most any convenience store. I've been trying to decide what a Hart doughnut reminds me of - it's nothing like a Krispy Kreme (definitely superior) and probably most reminiscent of the old Roselyn doughnuts. I definitely enjoyed them and, I must confess, they didn't make it all the way home.
I tried one of their sugar cookies, absolutely delicious, but declined trying the fudge. As I love fudge, it's something I'll consider in the future.
The gift area of Hart is definitely not as wheelchair friendly and, as one might expect, you'd want to be careful if in a wheelchair considering you're mostly dealing with breakables.
In terms of ambience, Hart Bakery & Gifts reminded me a lot of the not too far away Heidelberg Haus. Both places tend to be hidden gems that look plain but house tasty and delightful treats while offering excellent customer service.
The young woman who provided excellent service throughout also made sure I left with a business card and, in turn, this card led me to their really nicely done website at http://hartbakery.com - It'll give you an even better idea of what they offer. For those wanting to support a local business and, as well, Indiana's only female certified Master Baker, Hart Bakery seems an obvious and rewarding choice. Don't let the plain exterior fool you - inside, Hart Bakery & Gifts is serving up warm, enthusiastic, and inviting service along with a wide array of tasty and reasonably priced baked goods! | 2positive
| 759 |
Okay everyone, sorry for the novel below but I love Japanese-style ramen. It's by far what I eat most when I'm in Asia for work or over there on vacation. Japan obviously has the highest quality and varieties of ramen; when I'm there it's pure heaven. Even when I'm in a bigger US city I always try to seek out the best ramen joints; I'm a connoisseur of sorts. If you love ramen like me or newly into it hopefully you appreciate my thorough review below:
My fiancee and I made sure to try this place on the first day it opened since we are both ramen-loving freaks. It was pure chaos and our bill got confused with another order but I'm not going to hold that against this place. This was their first day open and rolling out a new restaurant isn't easy, especially one like this that is so desperately needed in Boise. I think it's a good thing it was chaotic because it shows how much Boise is craving ramen! It was exciting to see so many hungry people swarming this place; in Tokyo the best ramen joints have hour long lines of people around the block waiting to sit at a 10 seat hole-in-the-wall.
Anyways, onto the review: when we walked up there were 3 groups ahead of us and they said the wait would be between 15-20 minutes but we were seated in under 10 minutes. I ordered the Miso Ramen and my fiance ordered the Tonkatsu. I had a few bites (slurps?) of hers so I could write up this review for both dishes. There was one other ramen style available called the Shōyu (soy sauce) ramen which I'll definitely be back to try soon. Lastly, there were 2 or 3 other ramen dishes on the menu covered with tape at the moment and I heard one of them is a tsukemen (dipping noodle) option which I can't wait to try as that's one of my favorite styles and it's typically hard to find in the states.
Miso Ramen: Delicious! I'm being serious this was very good ramen, there could be some small improvements but overall it was very hearty and full flavored which is what I prefer in my ramen. The broth was rich, the noodles weren't too soft, the pork chashu melted and fell apart in my mouth, and the soft boiled egg was that perfect medium level where it's gooey but not runny. We both love our ramen spicy so the waitress brought out some dried pepper flakes and I put two heaping spoons of it into my ramen and stirred it in. I highly recommend adding this to the ramen if you love spicy ramen like me: it kicks it up a notch and most importantly it DOESN'T change the flavor of the broth. I hate when I go to ramen place in the U.S. and I ask for it spicy and they bring me sriracha or chili bean paste which will completely ruin the flavor of the broth and throw off the balance of flavors. What I'd really prefer though: a finely ground chili power that can almost dissolve into the broth (Ichiran, a very popular ramen chain from japan does this) or the option to have the chef add Japanese chili oil (La-Yu). Next time I'll probably bring some of my own finely ground chili powder because I'm weird.
Tonkotsu ramen: Also delicious and had a very authentic milky/creamy broth. However, the broth was surprisingly mild and light to my taste compared to what I expect from tonkotsu ramen. I think it may have more chicken and/or vegetable broth added to lighten it up a bit. This isn't a bad thing; it's just a preference thing. If you like a lighter broth this one is for you! I also noticed the strong ginger flavor which again is very authentic: they use "beni shoga" (pickled ginger) as a topping (red stuff in the pictures) and it was great for my fiancee who had an upset stomach that day. If you aren't big on ginger have them hold off the beni shoga/pickled ginger topping.
Overall I'd like to give 4 stars because there's a few tips/suggestions I have:
1. Add more broth to the bowl. The noodle portion is perfect but as you can see from my pictures the broth level is a bit low compared to what I'm used to. In Japan often times you finish your noodles and have the option to order a second helping of freshly cooked noodles to add back into the remaining broth. It would be great if this place had that option but right now both of us didn't have much broth left over to savor after finishing our noodles.
2. Already mentioned it before but spicy options: it would be great to have a more finely ground chili powder (Togarashi) to dissolve into the broth OR have the option to add some japanese chili oil (La-Yu). Also I think adding to the table some white pepper instead of just black pepper would be the way to go.
TL;DR: great quality authentic Japanese-style ramen in Boise, finally! | 2positive
| 864 |
I came here for brunch on Sunday not knowing what to expect. My friend bought a deal on Travel Zoo and we were both pretty excited to actually be able to go out for Sunday brunch, since we are both usually working a brunch shift on Sundays. The place was fairly easy to find, and they had their own parking lot, which is a plus for a restaurant so close to the heart of downtown Nashville.
The building was enormous yet beautiful, with lots off wood panels and seating available outside. Their restaurant was fairly full, but it's also spacious enough so it did not feel crowded. They had a full bar, which included wine on tap, and I saw noticed a large party all sitting together, so yes, they are able to accommodate large parties.
We made a 12:00 reservation, but arrived 15 minutes early. We were greeted by a friendly manager who was happy to show us to our table, despite our early arrival. We asked him to sit outside since the weather was beautiful, and he gladly showed us to a table outdoors. I felt very welcomed and comfortable.
We scanned the menu, which was smaller in size than many restaurants, but I personally find that an attractive feature because it makes decision-making easier We started off with a couple of "brunch cocktails;" mine was called the Spanish Violet (I think) which had a very soft violet color, a citrusy taste, and a lemon peel garnish. My friend ordered some peach mimosa, which wasn't bad. I wish I had stuck with a classic mimosa, or maybe the brunch cocktail that had orange juice in it because the more I drank my Spanish Violet, the less I liked it.
For an appetizer, we ordered the pastry platter, which came with a wide assortment of delicious pastries, butter, and apple butter. This was probably my favorite part of my dining experience, and I highly recommend starting with this if you dine hear for brunch.
For entrees, I ordered the vegetable frittata and my friend had the huevos rancheros. They were OK I suppose, though I would question what they think a frittata is. Both of our entrees were drizzled with might have been sriracha, which I loved, but my friend did not since she is sensitive to spicy foods. We were full after we finished, so redeemed our coupon, received our check, and that's all she wrote.
The manager did a great job creating a great first impression, and really setting us up for a wonderful dining experience. If only our server followed suit. My biggest complaint with her was how long it took her to greet us. I had my phone with me, so I was able to check the time in semi-regular intervals since I had somewhere to be at 2:00, and I remember it took our server at least 5 minutes to even acknowledge us. Luckily, the had water carafes on the table, so we did not have to wait for her to drink some water. After sitting down, it took about 10 minutes to order our brunch cocktails and another 7 minutes or so to order our appetizer. I understand servers get busy and weeded, but we were one of three tables outside, and even though inside was busy, they had plenty of open tables, so surely, our server could not have been that weeded. Luckily, the kitchen was working at a regular pace and there were food runners on the clock because it did not take us very long to get our food. While we were munching on our pastries, our server took our entree order, which was at least 20-25 minutes after sitting down. Afterwards, I only saw her twice; once to actually check on us while we were eating our entrees, and again to deliver the check. On one hand, maybe she thought that my friend and I were the type who needed space, so she didn't have to be around so much, but it was also the way she spoke with us and how promptly she took care of a neighboring table that implied she did not care for us (maybe because we're young? I work in a restaurant, I know how much it sucks to deal with college-aged customers).
Our entrees and brunch cocktails were taken care of because of the coupon, but the check was still almost $25 dollars because of the pastry platter (which I knew wasn't included in the coupon) and taxes. Our server ended up charging us for the pastry platter for 4, rather than for 2. I brought it to the attention of the manager, who was the same person who seated us, and he said he would change it. Instead, he took it off of our bill!
Overall, I had an OK experience. I would have left four stars if our service was better, but maybe also two stars (perhaps a little harsh?) if the manager wasn't so accommodating. Would I come back? Maybe, but I probably wouldn't recommend this restaurant to a friend looking for a good brunch spot. | 1neutral
| 856 |
Unfortunately this hotel has gone down hill from what it used to be years ago. The front desk staff have a tendency to be rude and not care about your accommodations even when calling ahead of time and let's say asking for adjoining rooms or a crib. But the conditions of the hotel itself are daunting and to believe that Hilton as a brand is not on top of this, is quite unnerving. The cleanliness of the hotel is kept pretty poorly with peeling wall paper, mold in bathrooms, drops of strange substances around toilet and suite bar areas, clusters of dirt and debris culminated in corners of rooms, mysterious substances on the bedskirts of the beds, and stained dk brown carpet where you can't even be sure what you're walking on top of. This is not the worst of it folks, oh no there is more. I just came back from a weekend stay there and the I am disgusted and will never stay there with my family again. We got in late Friday and the minute we checked in and got off the elevator on our floor which was the 6th floor the smell of marijuana hit you like a ton of bricks. Because we were exhausted we just hoped our rooms wouldn't smell and we'd go to bed. We got into our rooms (mind you I was with a two and a 4 year old) and one of our rooms wreaked of smoke....this is supposed to be a non-smoking hotel. The air conditioner did not work in one room so we hoped by leaving the door in between our rooms open, we would get some cold air from the other room during our nights sleep. In the morning we woke up, ordered room service which was excellent actually. Also the valet service was excellent. Only two good things about it and one of the main housekeepers was incredibly nice and so was one of the bellhops we had to interact with the next night because....so we disappeared all day to visit family we have there and didn't come back to the hotel until 10:30. At that time, we walked in and our bedroom window was open. We thought perhaps the maid had left the window open because yet again there was an overwhelming smell of marijuana on our floor. Already sadly this was an indicator we wouldn't come here again along with the lack of cleanliness in the room. But then we noticed all the bugs that had flown in to the room. There were a lot. We decided we couldn't sleep there. We informed management. The housekeeper and a manager came up and at the time the manager looked at us and said "oh well the bugs are here because they were attracted to the light. If you turn it off, they will go away." Excuse me?!? No we weren't going to sleep with bugs for $200/night. We told him that there was no way this was acceptable and we didn't even leave the light or the window open! We didn't even know the windows could open. Finally we were moved to a suite which was all they had available. We needed double beds but there weren't any. My husband had to sleep on the sofa bed which everyone knows will be the worst sleep one can get and I slept with the two children in the king. I'll tell you the suite was in no better condition. Dirty, even an open safety pin was on the floor in the corner. A hair in the shower and it was not someone's head hair . Stains on carpet and bathroom floor. The toilet room light didn't work so you had to do your business with that door open to see. It was pretty bad. I kept telling my kids to wear socks if they were going to walk around and to not touch the carpet with their little hands. This hotel needs help. Corporate needs to know they need to change it up, upgrade the conditions it's currently in and find a way to better detect smoke. Oh by the way, the suite was on the 6th floor and that too smelled of marijuana and cigarette smoke combined! It was pretty overhwelming even in the mornings. Oh and I forgot to mention that my mother in law who stayed in the room adjoining us on the 6th floor reported that there were already new guests in the bug room and she didn't hear anyone in the middle of the night change sheets or clean the room. Which potentially means the new guests would be in the room we had vacated as it was with the bed sheets we used. Frankly we don't even know if we slept in clean sheets either! Having said all of this we will never stay here again unless Hilton really makes an effort to renovate and change things around here. I felt it was my duty as a mother and a concerned guest to warni anyone else about the poor conditions of this hotel as well. | 0negative
| 854 |
My wife and I stayed at the El Dorado this past weekend. We were there for a friend's birthday. Our thoughts:
(1) We sprang for the Playa's Club Spa Suite, while our friends got the Large Playa's Club Spa Suite. From what we could tell: the only difference is that the large suite has an extra couch, instead of a dresser for clothes. They were very close to the same size. I'm very, very grateful that we saved the extra $40 per night, as we found the extra storage space much more useful than the additional couch. Unless you're planning on having 6 people spend a lot of time in your room, you don't need the large suite.
(2) While the room itself was very large, the bathroom was tiny. Not the washroom area - which was ample, with dual vanity sinks. But the toilet and shower are literally located in a small broom closet. If you have a belly, like me, or a sizable bust (like my wife), you're going to have to step into the shower in order to close the bathroom door to get to the toilet. It's THAT small. And, also: there's no bathroom fan. Which is archaic.
(3) Another hotel that uses "Angel Soft" toilet paper?? Ugh. Trying to pass off those movie-theatre napkins as "angel soft" is like calling McDonalds "body fuel." It's just completely dishonest marketing. If you're a Charmin user at home, you will leave the El Dorado with supreme road rash on your culo after 2 or 3 nights here. I can take the tiny bathroom... but the Angel Soft? That's just rude and unbecoming of a place that's suppose to specialize in hospitality. [Minus a star]
(4) That mid-room soaking tub in the Playa's Suite is MONEY. I have never felt more Scarface in my entire life than watching March Madness from a soothingly hot jaccuzzi tub with jets bubbling up both sides of me as I sipped my beverage and enjoyed the lights of the city from my 15th-floor room. Didn't break the bank and certainly made the trip infinitely more enjoyable. [Plus one star back]
(5) The room service crew is on the ball. We stayed 3 nights and ordered food 4-times (3 breakfasts, 1 dinner). The cook staff was always quicker than the estimated wait time (ie, a 45-minute estimate typically arrived in 25-30 minutes). The delivery guy was always friendly, helpful, and personable. And the trays would be whisked away within the hour, when we'd set them outside of our door. And for hotel food, this was top notch eats. We had good results with the chicken strips, burger, and El Dorado breakfast.
(6) As good as the room service was overall, we had one meal that was just a trainwreck. I ordered the Blackjack special (aka, pancakes, instead of toast & hashbrowns). It comes with eggs, which I asked for scrambled, and what showed up was 2 pancakes and an over easy egg on top. Which put me in a weird scenario, because I didn't want to break the yoke over my pancakes and I didn't want to get syrup on my eggs... but since the egg literally sat on top of the pancakes (which took up the whole plate), I had nowhere to put them. I ended up eating the egg like a taco, which was not fun, but it successfully evaded getting yoke on my cakes. My wife's toast was also wrong (wheat, instead of sourdough) and the staff didn't bring up any jam, salt, or pepper with her meal. On top of that... we noticed that these guys are tacking 18% gratuity onto the meal - which seems excessive, since they're just dropping off a tray (not refilling drinks or waiting on us). I'm all for tipping the room service guy a few bucks when they drop it off, but 18%? Aka, $11 on a $60 meal?? That's gratuitous. [Minus another star]
(7) The vallet guys are quick and helpful. We needed to retrieve a backpack during our stay and they went and grabbed it in under 5 minutes. No scratches, didn't move my seats or mirrors. Good job, overall.
(8) The front desk ladies were quick and helpful. Got us in and out in less than 10 minutes both times.
(9) The elevator system is obnoxious. They make you flash your room key every time you approach the elevators or they won't let you on. I'm guessing they're trying to avoid a Mandalay Bay scenario, but it's just annoying from the customer perspective. Get a better solution for security and don't inconvenience me to cover your own ass. Do better.
(10) When we first arrived, our sheets and pillow cases had pimple stains on them. The bedware seemed washed, but it's still pretty off-putting to roll back the covers and see someone else's splotches where you're going to sleep. To Dorado's credit, the cleaning ladies immediately came up and changed the sheets.
Bottom line: If we go for El Dorado again in the future, we'll definitely head down to the restaurants and bring food back up to our room, as 18% for walking a tray of food to someone's room is absolutely absurd. We enjoyed our stay and will definitely book a Spa Suite again on our next trip to El Dorado, but the small bathroom and deceptive charges may lead us elsewhere on our next trip to Reno. | 2positive
| 908 |
I found out about this place from visitphilly.com while brainstorming unique things to do with out of town guests, since I am new to the city. My roommate also told me that it was a neat place to go, so when my boyfriend came up from Dallas for the weekend, we decided to give it a shot.
Walking in the door, we were greeted by soda jerks wearing old fashioned uniforms of crisp white button down shirts, aprons, bow ties, hair caps and all. The atmosphere really does take you back in time from the metal wire chairs with the heart shaped backs to the old wooden display cabinets. From the tile floors to the ceiling fans run by a belted cable, every detail of a bygone era was preserved.
HOWEVER, our pleasant experience stopped right there at the door. The shop already had a line forming, but it was by no means crowded since there were still plenty of tables available. One of the soda jerks begins making an announcement in a sugary sweet voice with a fake toothy smile, informing all patrons that the line starts about six feet from the entrance, moving along the counter and out the door. The existing line already occupied this space, so we were told we needed to wait outside in the cold, low 40 degree March weather! (Really, could they not have let us sit at an empty table until there was space in the line to stand?!) We waited for a few minutes, then walked to Shane's to browse and kill some time. When we returned about five minutes later, no other guests had entered. There were now gaps in between the guests, so we could tell the line was moving, but there was still not enough space for us both to enter. When we finally could, the line moved very quickly, and we were soon the only guests at the counter besides two other girls who were in the process of ordering. No one else was waiting outside or appeared to be making their way towards the store, but I was asked in that same sugary sweet voice to "please move down the counter." This upset me because we were clearly waiting outside, and this same comment was not made to the guests before us who had at least a foot of space in between each other! The soda jerk maintained his fake smile until I actually moved down the counter.
Looking over the menu, the prices were extremely high. Yes, I understand it's homemade ice cream, and you are paying for the nostalgia, but still, $12 for a banana split and $8 for a large milkshake is ridiculous. (Actually, I would say all you are paying for is nostalgia. We visited the Reading Terminal Market earlier in the day, and we could have gotten homemade ice cream there that I'm sure would have been just as tasty, if not better, for a lower cost.) I was forewarned about the "cash only" aspect, so I was prepared there. I was not prepared for those prices, so we ended up sharing one treat, which really was fine.
We tried to order the apple pie milkshake after much deliberating, but go figure, they were out of the ice cream needed to make it. Instead, we ordered a peach milkshake. It was good, but not spectacular. With all honesty, I would have rather had Chick-fil-a's peach milkshake - twice the size for half the cost AND with whip cream and a maraschino cherry on top! The Franklin Fountain's milkshake was served in a glass with spoons and old school cardboard straws, and the extra was served in the metal mixing cup. (Although this presentation was expected, I'll give the FF a point over Chick-fil-a for that, since their milkshakes are served in styrofoam cups...) The straws were cute, but we both agreed that they tainted the taste of the milkshake and felt awkward, so we ate with the spoons instead.
Overall, I probably will not return. While the ambiance of the soda shop is great, EVERYTHING in Philadelphia is old, so it really does not come as much surprise. It's almost expected to be quaint and cute, if not completely modernized. The soda jerks were friendly, but it was a fake, forced friendliness that makes you wish they were just themselves. The real kicker was the cost. Also, I never carry cash, so having to take out $20 for two people to each have a little something sweet is just not worth it. | 0negative
| 761 |
As with many other reviewers, our experience was very mixed.
To start with, we live 2.5 hrs away from St. Louis. We go to "the city" once a month or so & try to do something fun each time.
This time, we picked the Botanical Gardens (lovely) & Mad Tomato.
We knew we were going to a place that prides itself in locally sourced or "farm to table" food. That's why we went there.
So to the review:
On the one hand (positive) 80% of the food was mostly fantastic.
We started with the special anti-pasta which was a tomato/mozzarella/basil/cucumber salad ($9). Mains, I had the Saffron Linguini with Florida Gulf Shrimp ($15) while my partner had the Margherita pizza ($11). We also ordered the Roasted Beets & Greens ($6). For dessert we got the Blueberry cobbler ($8) and the Chocolate Pistachio cake ($8).
Food wise- we were very happy with the anti-pasta & beets/greens. The pizza was dripping in olive oil (not horrid, but not what we were expecting). The Shrimp dish was very rich & creamy (as advertised) - but only 4 shrimp- $ I wondered if 2 of them were frozen while 2 of them were fresh. They had different textures. On the dessert front the Blueberry cobbler was good. The Chocolate Pistachio cake was fine.
On the other hand, the service & some of the things going on in the restaurant while we were there was... unexpected. The physical space is really nice. While one reviewer commented on the funky red chairs - I thought they were fine. I liked the abundance of natural light, and the overall feel of the place. There were some decorative quirks- but we thought they added character.
Service wise- when our waitress arrived to greet us she said "hey! lucky you! it is two for the price of one night!" -- my thought was "wow, awesome!! half price food! amazing!" In reality it meant that our waitress was training a new staff member. This turned out to be good as our waitress forgot several details about the meals/menu.
Our waitress was very bubbly-- she was a bit too bubbly. Her vocabulary was full of words like "fantastic" "full of bubbly good-ness" "amazingness" and "perfect!" I almost felt like I was on the set of 90210 or some horrid early '90s movie. The atmosphere of the restaurant screams professional, simple, and bold. Call the ice cream "salted caramel ice cream" please don't say "covered with the most amazing salted caramel ice cream. It is so good I would eat it all day if I could. I would even lick it off the shoe of a 7th grader." Really? You would lick the ice cream off a shoe of a 7th grader? That's going to encourage me to a) purchase it, b) want to eat it, and c) enjoy it? Since she said everything was delicious, it actually didn't tell us if anything was especially good.
Ironically, I did purchase that item (the chocolate cake) and found the ice cream to be fine. I preferred the vanilla bean that my partner got on her blueberry cobbler. The chocolate cake was really just a brownie with pistachio sprinkled on top of it. Oh and the chocolate syrup on the plate, which was really pretty, was totally Hershey's - which took away from the food. If you market yourself as "we do everything here in house" and we are "farm to table" -- then melt 1 oz of chocolate & spread it around the plate.
Back to service - we noticed that several of the other patrons of the restaurant seemed a bit off-put by their wait staff. After the waiters would leave a table the guests would comment (loudly) about how they were not impressed with the service. At one point, a guest actually corrected the wait staff (in front of the wait staff) about leaning over a patron to clear a glass off the table.
Back to frustrations -- Vito, the owner I'm assuming based on other reviews, did some really interesting things while we were there.
First, he sat down at the bar with his busser and basically told her "get your stuff together or we'll fire you."
Did I mention that we heard almost the entire conversation because it was at the bar and we were seated at the table closest to the bar?
We felt extremely embarrassed for her.
I also felt awkward that the bar tender just jumped into the conversation.
While I realize a chef might not have great management skills -- you really should not sit down w/ your staff (in front of guests) and talk about poor work performance.
The rest of the night (while we were there) Vito sat at the bar & worked on his laptop.
So, my hat goes off to the sous chef- who, I would imagine, made my meal.
The next frustration was how "over" staffed they seemed- similar to other reviewers- the bulk of the staff gathered by the wood stove and chatted. At times we counted 9 staff members just standing around hanging out!
Granted, the restaurant wasn't busy while we were there- but 9 staff? Vito has $$ to pay them all to hang out and chat?
Bottom line-
food was good, presented beautifully, waitress was nice, but not exactly helpful. | 1neutral
| 894 |
I am not quite sure where to begin... I have had breakfast at this IHOP on multiple occasions and it has never been great but it has never been as bad as it was this past Monday. It was their 58th anniversary so that most likely contributed to how awful it was but I will never eat at this IHOP again and I will be telling everyone I know not to waste their time or money at this establishment.
We arrived relatively late in terms of when people would typically choose to eat breakfast, it was more like lunch time (after noon for sure) but very busy. We waited 10 minutes for a table and were seated at a booth right next to the kitchen. Our server was polite enough but there was definitely a language barrier.
After bringing us coffee and water he took our orders and this is where things started to go south. I am not a fan of runny or wet eggs in the slightest and I would rather be specific with my order to avoid having food sent back so as I ordered my egg whites to be cooked WELL done the server just nodded and kept scribbling. My boyfriend ordered his food, specifying red skin potatoes instead of hash browns, ham and 3 over easy eggs. After he finished ordering I then thought I should perhaps emphasize that I do not like wet eggs just so that it was clear to the server and there was no miscommunication.
He assured me that he would definitely have the eggs cooked well and that they would come out as requested. Soon after, our food arrives and as soon as he places the eggs on the table I can tell that they are very soft and undercooked. Instead of wasting time, I very nicely ask if I could have them cooked longer. He picks up the plate, doesn't say a word and walks away. Not only that but my boyfriends meal wasCOMPLETELY wrong. He gets 2 eggs instead of 3 and hash towns instead of redskin potatoes. However, he is very easy going and chose not to say anything. His ham was also two quarters instead of 4. Now that my eggs are gone I decide to have my pancakes while I wait. To my disappointment, they are stone cold. I put the first bite in my mouth and I was immediately turned off by he temperature and chewiness of the pancakes. I then touch them thinking that I may just be overly sensitive but they are cold to the touch as well. He goes to try his and they also seem like they have been siting out for quite some time.
The waiter returns with my egg whites which seem to be slightly more cooked but nowhere near well done (edible now at least). Let down by the pancakes, I mention that they've come out cold. The server then rolls his eyes, picks up the plates and walks away. He comes back not even 30 seconds later with new pancakes that aren't even cooked and still the colour of pancake batter.
At this point my boyfriend and I are both unbelievably frustrated so he gets up and asks for our bill so that we can go to a different restaurant and have some actual food. The server does not question him at all even though neither of us have touched our food and gets him the bill.
I should also mention that the owner has been circling around the entire time and saw us get up with all of our food untouched and walk to the register. I will also add that they charged us thirteen dollars for three egg whites which is absolutely ridiculous. As my card is literally in the machine, our server runs over and decides that now is the time to ask if everything is okay. (Right before I get to the tip option) We calmly tell him that it is not and his response is to take only the egg whites off of our bill even though the pancakes were a nightmare and my boyfriends entire meal was wrong.
The worst experience I've ever had at a restaurant and the food is absolute garbage. GARBAGE.
I let my feeling settle before writing this review because I want it to be fair but the fact that I'm still baffled by everything goes to show just how bad it was. If you feel like eating cold and chewy pancakes and wet eggs or an entirely different meal than you ordered, IHOP is your place to go! | 0negative
| 773 |
I got a chance to kick off last Remembrance "long" weekend with a late night dinner at the new North 53. I say new, because although I had been there a few times before, this past Friday was their official reopening launch, showcasing a new look, new chef, and new dishes.
The tasting menu and plates are now gone and instead replaced with snacks, plates, and plates to share. The new concept focuses on smaller tapas style plates, encouraging its patrons to share more menu items. The most noticeable difference on the menu? The price. Diners, I'm sure, will be happy at the lower price point of the meal.
I really enjoyed the mousse, the chicken liver sourced from Four Whistle Farm. Blended with duck fat, it was smooth and rich. Delicious! Could have used a couple more bites, perhaps larger individual portions would have been more satisfying, although the petite bites gain points for being adorable.
Chicharron seems like a trend now on a lot of menus and North 53 has jumped aboard. Scallops and mussels are dried in house and ground, with kelp and salmon katsubushi, giving a strong umami flavour to the fried pork skins. So good, crunchy, and super addicting!
The Marinated and Griddled Mushrooms came out next, a drool-inducing looking plate. A mixture of crimini, shitake, beech, and oyster mushrooms are first brined with Maggi sauce and griddled on the flat top before serving.
The Popcorn Chicken literally took on its name: pureed popcorn grits mixed in with a tempura beer batter made a crisp coating to bites of Four Whistle Farms chicken and finished with powdered popcorn. Yum!
The Shrimp Chorizo was one of my favourite dishes for the night! The shrimp was mixed in with a blend of garlic, chill, fennel seeds, smoked paprika and hot paprika, giving the "sausage" slices that classic chorizo flavour. Loved the fact that not all the shrimp was ground so that you could still taste and see chunks of shrimp.
The Carrot Salad was the most elegantly plated of the night, and was nice and refreshing after the heavier dishes we had earlier. Loved the colours and the varieties of techniques used to treat the carrots (steeped and pickled), with a light vinaigrette of olive oil and Saskatoon berry vinegar. To add back some sweetness, a carrot caramel, made from freshly juiced carrots, was drizzled around the plate. Quenelles of goat cheese topped it all off, with hints of green cardamom. Most of the bites I got were on the sweeter side, while some of the others got a hit of the vinaigrette. Wish I had the dish all to myself to get the best of both worlds!
The Rutabega & Oxtail Tart was a table favourite. John Schneider's Gold Forest Grains lends his Park wheat flour to make the tart shell, which was filled with a rutabaga puree. The oxtail was from Sangudo Farms, braised and shredded, then cooked with red wine, espolet peppers, and a red wine vinegar sourced from Spain. A micro salad from their urban cultivator topped off the dish with a honey and lemon oil.
The clam and scallop fettuccine gave the Shrimp Chorizo a run for its money for me. Utilizing their pasta extruder, the house made egg-free (whaa?) pasta was amazing and perfectly cooked. West Coast clams and Nova Scotia scallops were tossed in alongside a white wine sauce, my favourite! Absolutely loved this dish and bound to be a favourite for many.
Last main for the night was the Short Rib Glazed in Beer. The short rib was sous vide for 24 hours before being finished with a beef stock and beer glaze. The navy beans were nice and tender, but not overcooked, and mixed with parsnips, carrots, onions, and celery. I was confused as to where the bone marrow was, expecting a whole bone to be plated, but was notified that the dish was finished with raw bone marrow for added flavour.
The Blue d'Elizabeth was a conversation stopper, a combination of the named blue cheese from Quebec, roasted Bosc pear, and a side of salad with olive oil from Turkey and dressed with a burnt caramel mixture, deglazed with a sweet sherry. The components were all separate but combined created an amazing dish, well balanced, and truly unique. I'm not the biggest fan of blue cheese either but this was so yummy!
The Cognac ice cream. TO DIE FOR. Smooth, creamy, the ice cream's texture was perfect. Calvados and maple syrup were incorporated into the mix itself, and finished with Cognac-rehydrated sultana raisins. Even the simple toasted brown flour sugar cookies were delicious! We also got to try the blueberry sorbet (unpictured), light and refreshing, not overly sweet. A great way to end our meal.
Fried chicken is only available as the perfect late night snack: three pieces of dark meat, brined and fried with a simple batter. A powdered green Tabasco and jalapeño mixture gave the chicken an added kick, although I didn't seem to get any of that in my bites! Will have to try it again on my next visit for that, but the chicken was moist and tender, the batter crispy. | 2positive
| 868 |
It may be too early to review this restaurant but I'm going to give some thoughts on my initial visit to Mad Rex.
I get the impression the owners were annoyed that the opening was already delayed and felt the need to rush to open. Almost all of the issues we had were related to restaurant operations and not the food, drinks, decor, etc.
To make sure we wouldn't have an issue sitting down we made reservations for Wednesday night. When we arrived the hostess seemed surprised we had reservations. She then said we would have to wait 20 minutes or so to be seated. This was a bit of a surprise as there was nobody waiting to be seated and we had gone to the trouble of reserving a table. There appeared to be empty tables but we chalked it up to the servers being overwhelmed and essentially stalling for time.
They offered us some 'free VR' to apologize for the wait. That amounted to watching a cheesy two minute demo advertising the VR service. That wouldn't have mattered if they hadn't framed it as they were giving us something as an apology. Being underwhelmed by the VR visuals and experience we decided we would cool our heels at the bar. But we couldn't get any drinks. The restaurant got huge, plush, & luxurious bar stools. They are so huge that there is no gap between the seats. If you don't have a seat you essentially cannot interact with a bartender. We were stymied and had to sit around.
After about a half hour we were taken to a table they said 'was a share table and other people might show up and sit here'. I spied a beautiful looking table for two and asked if we could sit there. She apologized and said some confusing thing about how we couldn't possibly sit there because it wasn't properly entered into the computer system. At that point I was just frustrated and agreed to sit. After a while someone came and introduced themselves and asked if we would like drinks. We said we would but no one gave us a cocktail menu. She returned with one about ten minutes later and we ordered. Ten minutes after that our server came back to say they were out of the beer one of us ordered. We ordered another and we insisted on putting in a food order because we were getting nowhere fast. My cocktail comes out. It is sugary and bland but it's a drink. The beer is still missing. Our appetizers arrive. They are well-crafted. The beer is still missing. To keep you up to date we had a 7pm reservation and my dining companion doesn't have a drink at 8:30pm. After being ignored for a seriously long time we flag down someone to ask if we could possibly get the beer we ordered. Our server suddenly appears and seems annoyed that we wanted to have a drink with dinner. The beer (it's just an opened can of beer) arrives a few minutes later well after we were long finished with our appetizers. I ordered another beer in hopes that it would arrive before midnight.
The 'survivor menu' steak arrives. It is beautifully presented and accompanied by delicious sauces and nicely prepared and plated sides. We had a fun time cooking our meats on the hot rock. The quality of the meat was exquisite. The only caveat I have for people who order it is that this preparation is for people who enjoy their steak rare. Without an open fire or oven heat it will take a silly amount of time to cook the steak beyond rare. This wasn't a problem for us. We happily seasoned, seared, and dipped our delicious steak and picked at our delicious asparagus and roasted fingerling potatoes.
After our entrees we were pretty stuffed and declined to try the desserts.
All in all it was a uneven experience but almost all of the complaints can be chalked up to growing pains of running a big ambitious restaurant. The bar and servers really, really need to get on the same page. We were essentially waving money around and they restaurant was stubbornly refusing to take it. We left full but totally sober having been given two beers and one cocktail over a 2.5 hour period.
Ultimately I think the restaurant has a lot of promise. The ingredient quality is stellar. The menu is simple and elegant. The staff is friendly and eager. I am definitely going to come back after a month or so in hopes that everybody is firing on all cylinders.
Review breakdown:
Food: 4 stars (average). 4.5 for mains, 3.5 for apps
Ambiance / Theme: 4 stars
Service / Bar service: 2 stars
Total: 3.3 but don't consider this a complete review. | 1neutral
| 809 |
My parents always used to tell me that if I couldn't say anything nice I shouldn't say anything at all...well, if I chose to follow that advice 24/7 I wouldn't even be writing my review of Arnaud's "Jazz" brunch that I experienced on Valentine's Day 2010. Present in New Orleans since 1918 and billing itself as the ultimate New Orleans experience I at least figured I would get some good Creole food in a nice setting along with some pleasant Jazz - what I got instead was mediocre to bad food, lousy and rushed service, and approximately 8 minutes of Jazz before I was hurried out the door.
Preparing my coffee in my standard style with artificial sweetener I hadn't even managed to tear open the packet before my captain arrived, pad open and pen in hand, asking "so, what can I get you." Thankfully I'd already looked at the menu online and knew what I'd be ordering, but this event let me know straight up that we were on a clock - turnover time was of the essence - and as such I began keeping track of time. Orders placed I finished preparing my coffee - a decently nutty and thick blend that lacked the chicory so prominently featured at most of the other restaurants in New Orleans.
With a "put the bread on him" I received an admirable loaf of French Bread with a peculiar design but excellent flavor, crisp and golden crust, and fluffy interior. Unfortunately, the bread would serve as the best thing I ate while at Arnaud's.
Quickly following the arrival of the bread was Shrimp Arnaud - approximately 7 shrimp that were no larger or better than the flash frozen and bagged versions I can get in Ohio. They were served over a tomato and some iceberg lettuce and accompanied with lemon slices. Topping the dish was the "famous" tangy remoulade sauce - essentially a thick and pungent orange sauce that tasted largely like curry, paprika, and capers - perhaps some horseradish as well. Poorly conceived and featuring inferior ingredients all I could taste was the sauce - a taste I could do without having experienced.
Finishing the shrimp and the tomato the surly man I mentioned hanging the balloons appeared with my second course in hand and "swapped out" one plate for the next. No presentation, just one plate collected with right, the other deposited with left. Now less than 10 minutes after being seated I was on course two and there was no jazz in sight or hearing range. Dish two was a lettuce salad topped with Creole vinaigrette - decent but nothing to write home about. Feeling again as if I was being rushed I picked at my salad and ate some bread only to have the surly man come back 7 minutes later and ask if I was "all done" with his hand already on the rim of my plate. Stating "no" he retracted, walked away, and stood eyeing me from the doorway. When I did finish the plate I moved it to the opposite seat so that he would know to come collect it. At this point my coffee stood empty and I had to request a refill.
My third dish, the "main course" arrived only moments later - and it was cool to the touch. Once again presented without explanation, this time by the young water boy, the Crabmeat cheesecake featuring "Fresh Louisiana lump crabmeat, Brie and cream cheese,eggs, cream, fresh vegetables, herbs and spices. Served with a sherry-infused Cream Sauce" was approximately the size of a wedge door-stop - and being both undercooked and questionably fresh it was flattened and soupy. Taking a bite (one of four that it would've taken to finish the dish had I not been babying it waiting for some/any jazz) I was greeted by a decent crab flavor and the heaviness of the cream sauce - no real detectable essence of brie or any spice other than parsley. I will say the asparagus was good - crisp and buttery with a nice texture.
Finishing my main dish by 10:40 and requesting another cup of coffee, the jazz finally started...and then stopped...and then started again. It wasn't good jazz, not even close, but at least it was something. At 10:44 my dessert arrived - Bread Pudding Fitzmorris described as "Arnaud's famous cap bread, rum-soaked raisins and custard with warm Walker's Imperial Bourbon Sauce." Again a miniature portion and clearly made in advance the dessert was definitely more "bread" than pudding or custard and the dish lacked not only sweetness but any semblance of nuance - it was essentially day old bread baked with eggs and cream and doused in a bitter and liquidy shot of bourbon. By 10:50 I'd eaten all I wanted (I left bread pudding on the table - unheard of)
Looking back on the whole debacle that was Arnaud's Jazz brunch it is my personal belief that this is potentially the worst dining experience in my last 3 years of eating and I can wholeheartedly say that there is absolutely no circumstance under which I would return or recommend anyone do so. Bad food, bad service, high prices, and bad jazz...in New Orleans? That sort of thing doesn't happen by accident, it takes effort to be that bad. | 0negative
| 888 |
Stopped in for a weekday lunch for a disappointing experience. TL;DR: Bad ambiance that could easily be fixed if the management gave a damn and mediocre food at high-end prices.
I'd driven by Wild Garlic dozens of times and was always curious about what was hidden inside. It was a tough read from the exterior: The giant sign, complete with mega beer mug, and lack of windows or decor screams dive bar, but the clove of garlic and the name hint at decent food. So when we decided to stop in for a weekday lunch I didn't really know what to expect. I went in with an open mind; would've been ok with dive bar grease, fancier fare, or anything in between.
Walking in, you find yourself in a dark, narrow space by the bar. Not sure how much use the bartop gets, as the kitchen seems to have spilled over into about half of it. The host, to my surprise, was wearing a tie. I took that as a clue Wild Garlic might be somewhat nicer than the exterior lets on. In the dining area I was more surprised to see tablecloths, cloth napkins, and wine glasses nicely pre-set at every table. This place was going to be WAY nicer than expected, I thought. Looking beyond the tables, the outdated decor and grunginess seemed odd, but not entirely out of place since some of Tucson's best spots are older and have a similar well-worn, "towny" vibe (Kingfisher, anyone?).
We chose to sit on the large covered patio and were pleasantly surprised at the low temperature, courtesy of the swamp cooler. That's about where the pleasant surprises ended. Seated at a table similarly appointed as the ones inside with cloth and glasses, my eyes were immediately drawn to an old dirty stove planted at the head of a nearby table. I wish I'd taken a photo, the contrast was insane. The crisp white of well-folded napkins on a table literally touching a black and grimy old stove. Next to it sat a discarded wine fridge, next to that, another well-set table. Looking up, mismatched rope lights were strung haphazardly, some dangerously resting on top of heaters. Across the patio, half the chairs were old metal conference room stackers rather than the nice wood and cloth near the entrance. All around, the area was enclosed by heavy screen, annoyingly flapping loose in places or doubled over and stapled to itself in others. It would take all of 30 minutes and some simple tools to fix the screen, cut it to size and make it look great, but apparently that's 30 minutes too many for Wild Garlic. And that's my main complaint about the ambiance - it's trying to be fancy, but very obvious problems are going unaddressed. Cloth napkins and wine glasses next to a dirty old stove, case-in-point.
None of the ambiance issues would matter if Wild Garlic were a dive bar. Unfortunately, based on menu and pricing, a dive bar it is not.
So let's talk about the food.
The menu was impressive. While most high-end restaurants limit themselves to a handful of apps and entrees, Wild Garlic offers about a dozen options in each category, in addition to another 8 or 9 lunch items and several specials. Every primary meat was featured, along with some niche selections like duck and foie gras. The specials list was absurd; at least five items, but it felt like fifteen by the time the waitress finished her recital.
Looking to keep it light for lunch, I settled on the Roasted Beet Salad and the Ceviche. Food service was slow, which was surprising given that about 75% of the tables were open. I'd hate to see it on a busy night. When the food arrived I tackled the beet salad first. To my dismay, the salad featured large slices of beet atop even larger full leaf greens, necessitating a knife to chop everything prior to the first bite. Your opinions may vary, but having to cut a salad with a knife is a pet peeve of mine that drives me nuts. Taste-wise, the balsamic reduction was overly sweet and thick, as if it were store-bought rather than kitchen-made, and the goat cheese was over baked to the point of mealy dryness. That said, the beet salad was edible and I finished it, which is more than I can say for the Ceviche.
After discussing with a friend who is something of a ceviche connoisseur, I realize that I should've known I was taking a dangerous path ordering a shrimp-based ceviche. Often "shrimp ceviche" is a nice way of saying "cheap ceviche." But given the $14 price tag and the promise of scallops as well I thought I was in for the best shrimp ceviche around, a shrimp ceviche to make the other ceviches jealous. Boy was I wrong. The shrimp were tiny, the shrimpiest of shrimp, the kind you might have at Red Lobster as popcorn shrimp. The scallops were tiny to match. The cilantro, onion, and lime were imperceptible, buried under the avocado and mayo mess plopped on top. I made it halfway and threw in the towel.
Apart from the food, the service was nonexistent. We had to flag down the staff for napkins, refills, silverware, etc. No anticipation of needs.
Sorry, Wild Garlic, won't be back. | 0negative
| 896 |
Our meetup group Matters of Taste visited Cholita Taqueria on 5/19/19 for their unlimited Sunday brunch. Members enjoyed it so much that a return was planned for today Memorial Day since they closed on Sunday probably due to the race traffic. Unfortunately it was a disaster! We arrived promptly at 11 a.m. when the doors opened. Since there were 16 in our party in an effort to be less bother to the kitchen we decided to order as a group so everyone could taste multiple items on the menu. Immediately upon arrival our organizer put in our appetizer order for the table; 3 orders of Queso Fundido, some Mexican Street Corn and 3 Breakfast Tlayuda. I would assume that this was one of the first orders sent into the kitchen if not the first. The Breakfast Tlayuda's were large and 3 of them allowed everyone in our group to sample it. Not bad...nice and crunchy with lots of toppings. The Queso Fundido while a bit crispy on the outer edge was far from being hot and bubbly...in fact the cheese in the middle wasn't even melted!! We each passed around the ears of corn and cut some off the cob and boy was it delicious!! Prior to her unexpected departure Sigi had also placed an order for 16 Baja Fish Tacos and consulted with the group and asked our waiter to put in an order again for the table of '64 total items'...which our waiter then advised us that he didn't even give to the kitchen staff as 'an order for that many items would overwhelm them and no-one else would get any food'. This was a recurring theme from him and my thought was that if your restaurant seats x number of people and you offer an unlimited brunch you should be able to execute it even if every seat in the house is filled vs beating up on patrons who are there paying your wages. It was as though he expected an apology from us because we were there 'keeping others from getting their food'...not a great feeling. Considering that if each of the 16 of us would have placed an order individually for assorted tacos of our choice the kitchen would have had to prepare 32 tacos...not just 16 of one type so I found this to be very strange. Oh and I didn't mention that the ONLY food we were served in 1 1/2 hours were the shared appetizers and fish tacos mentioned above. At this point several of our party paid their checks and left. Our waiter then asked if we wanted to move down and consolidate, but he never bussed the table so we could do so. Finally, I pushed some glassed, plates, etc to the end of the table and wiped it down myself so we could squeeze together. We were then advised by our waiter he would take orders from each of us individually for one item off of the menu at a time. So we each placed an order for one item. Then we waited and waited and waited some more. No food came out from the kitchen. Then our waiter came back and told us to just go ahead and order 2 or 3 items each. At that point I wasn't sure what was happening to our orders...was the kitchen staff throwing them away...was he just not turning them in...perplexing. Personally, I placed an order for myself 4 times for the Mexican Style Crispy Chicken Milanese Sliders. i also requested the Sweet Corn Tamales and an order of Cinnamon Churros. At around 2 hours into our dining experience food began being delivered to our table. The Sweet Corn Tamales were outstanding but the Milanese Chicken Sliders weren't sliders at all. The sandwich was actually served on bread I normally associate with Cuban sandwiches. Since I had been warned about the spice level I was surprised that there was no heat to this sandwich at all which makes me wonder if it was prepared correctly. The chicken itself was crispy around the edges but soggy in the middle. Not something I would order again. At 2 1/2 hours after the manager became involved we did receive several Chocolate Mexican Waffles and orders of Churros, along with to-go boxes as we all were eager to get on with our other plans for the day. The Churros were pretty typical but the Chocolate Mexican Waffle was the bomb...light airy and with just the right chocolate flavor. Without the intervention of the manager --- thank you, thank you, thank you!! I'm not sure we would have received any food beyond our appetizers and fish tacos. It was also appreciated that he did mark our bills down to help make up for the poor service from the staff. Having hoped for a similar experience as the one our group had on 5/19/19 where they tried virtually every dish on the brunch menu I was a bit disappointed but enough of the food was tasty that I will probably give it another try...however, the beauty of going with a group is the ability to taste more dishes than you would be able to if dining alone or with only a small party. Oh, and by the time we paid our checks and got out the door we had been there for 3 hours. Hope they get the kinks worked out so patrons can have a more pleasant experience in the future. | 0negative
| 915 |
I HATE that I have to write this review, because I really loved this place and wanted to keep loving it. I think that's what makes this so bad for me. I once raved about this place and now I'm embarrassed that I recommended it to friends. I also hate complaining at restaurants and RARELY do it, but there were so many problems this time... we all agreed we had to speak up.
We went for a friend's birthday, and let me just say, we feel so bad that her birthday dinner was ruined here, that we are probably going to take her out again for a birthday re-do. Our waitress was unable to describe any of the beers, and I was really hoping to explore the extensive beer selection. When I finally did ask for my favorite, the Ithaca Apricot Wheat, I was told they were all out. Every time I come here, that is what I order, so I was kind of lost. I just think that is a major no-no for a place that is supposed to be known for its extensive beer menu.
We waited for our food for over an hour, and other tables around us who had arrived after we did seemed to get their food right away! We were only a table of 4. Our waitress blamed this on an 8-top table nearby, but I think there was definitely something wrong because I've come here before with a larger party and had better service. Did she forget to put our order in? Did the kitchen screw up? At one point, she said "I can't control which slips they pick up first in the kitchen" OK, then maybe that's a problem...
When our food finally did arrive, I was given the wrong burger. There was no bacon on it, as I had ordered it. When I asked about it, the waitress said "The cook has assured me that there IS definitely bacon on that burger" And I responded "Well, would you like to bring it back to him and show him, because there isn't?" I felt like they didn't believe me or something and I was talked to like I was a child. I did not appreciate the condescending tone.
My mom ordered the chicken fingers, we thought that would be a safe bet. Somehow they managed to screw it up! The chicken was so tough and chewy it was hard to eat. The "honey mustard" she asked for was so spicy she almost choked. We asked, "Is this really honey mustard?" And our waitress said "Oh yeah, we use a spicy mustard to make it." It would have been a good idea to let the customer know that information BEFORE ordering/choking on it. Honey mustard is usually a sweet and mild sauce.
I wish the bad news stopped there, but the night continued on its downward spiral. Instead of asking us if we wanted dessert (we did) she took it upon herself to bring out a chocolate torte for my friend's birthday. She said, "this is on the house, sorry for the wait" and then emphasized, "Dessert is on the house, but only for YOU" (to the birthday girl) It seemed weird because we ALL had to sit there and wait, and 2 of us had been given either the wrong order or poor quality order... so why didn't we get a dessert? We felt like this was poor customer service, especially the way she talked to us. We asked for the carrot cake anyway, to which she replied "Oh we're all out" - So what was the point of telling us all the desserts if all they had was the chocolate torte??
My friend asked if she could have a fork for the torte, and the waitress said "But I gave you a SPOON, see!" I don't understand why she couldn't have a fork, and why she had to answer her like that.
Both our waitress and another waitress hovered around our table picking up silverware and water glasses even though we were not finished. Then, another waitress insisted we let her bring us more water after we said "no thank you" - at that point we wanted to get out of there.
On the way out, we stopped in the bathroom, and the water was scalding hot - leaving red marks! It was also hard to turn on. We left laughing about how doomed the night seemed to be, but everyone agreed we would never be back.My friend also asked to have her leftovers wrapped up, but it took so long for our waitress to get the box, that we ended up leaving without it. We think she must have just forgot that too.
I feel so sad about it, because I really did love this place. After this experience though, I don't think I can try this place again. There were just too many things that went wrong: out of beer, out of dessert, very poor customer service, wrong food order, and a super-long wait.
Also, the manager/owner used to always be there and come around when I've been there in the past, but not this time. He wasn't there at all. I'm wondering if that is why people slacked off?? I hope whatever the problem is, they get it fixed soon. | 0negative
| 892 |
Just recently went to get a small snack kind of a meal at 9p.m.ish at night. Not many people there. Service wasn't good. While the waitress wrote down our food orders and repeated them, my husband had to wait for syrup and butter, something that could easily have been brought out ahead of time and I had ordered a side of ranch with what I ordered, I got no apology for her forgetting it. She obviously didn't compare her written order to the food to make sure it was right. Since it was almost empty the restaurant, there's ZERO excuse to have this many problems on very uncomplicated orders. I would say we were probably our waitress's only table. They had a couple of couples or so at the counter area. Another waitress serving another table. Why servers don't say they are sorry when they get your order wrong? They want more money, but don't want to be polite, WHY? The more they aren't nice, the less money they will get tip wise. Why syrup and butter wouldn't have been brought out ahead of time? I am just not understanding that? When you go to IHOP, they got syrup on the table already. So it's sad that they have better service there than here. I am pretty sure she didn't compare her written order to the food.
Also, what is with serving water and soft drinks? I didn't drink but a tiny sip of water. It was just a waste of time. Instead of saying "2 waters and" she should have ASKED if we wanted waters. I honestly would have declined. Service is supposed to be getting all about how you want things for your tip money you are paying, not about the server or manager wants.
Then, our waitress took time to write "Have a good night" on the check with drawing a smiley face rather than coming to bring us our rung up check. How is that nice to waste our time? How would she like it if we took her time up when she was ready to go? I watched as she was in that room ringing up the check I noticed thinking to myself "WHY is she writing something when we are waiting to leave?" She should have if she wanted to write that, write it WAY BEFORE check time like when we were eating still. If we would have ordered something else like a dessert, she could have simply wrote it again. Why servers are so inconsiderate of customer's time? Do servers realize when it's busy like when they have wait for a table that they are hurting their own tips by not getting a new set of customers faster at the table that the customers that are waiting to get their check back and leave? It also hurts the restaurant's income. I have seen customers at restaurants decide they weren't going to wait anymore and left when they had Twin Peaks. These people were ahead of us. The thing is, maybe 30 seconds less they would have waited, if they would have been seated, they would have stayed. Servers don't think about these things, do they?
Also, the refill thing. WHY can't they give you a NEW glass like places like Outback does? People don't want their glass taken as they receive their food. It's not as bad if you do it before I get my food, but not when I have food in front of me. Also, it is nice to get a nice fresh glass that the ice hasn't melted also.
Why are servers so unfeeling, uncaring at times? Why are they thinking they are giving good service when they aren't even TRYING to get the orders right? Being a good server is getting the orders correct to the customers table as much as they can see without touching the food. It was so slow, there was no excuse for that and even more so, no excuse in this world to not apologize for forgetting my ranch. I sat and waited to eat. It sure doesn't take longer to get a side of ranch than cooked food, does it? If you can't even get a side of ranch right, that's pretty bad. A simply apology would have made the tip go a little higher, but no, servers want to be mean, so they get the mean tip. When they be nice, I'll be nice. Being nice is a TWO-WAY street. Don't expect a good tip if you don't even TRY to get anything right. Syrup and butter should be an automatic thing when someone orders a waffle or pancakes to at least OFFER it when you get the customer's order, then just bring it out right after putting the order in. As I said, there wasn't many customers, so HOW can you get these things wrong if you put forth EFFORT into the job by comparing the written order to the food(example component A, check, B. no, it's missing C. check)? Crappy service. Why is a server here not verifying what she is serving? While, I can see if there was a mistake if it was real, but she had AMPLE opportunity to not only bring that stuff out ahead of time and apologize. Servers want to make more, be at the very least polite enough to apologize for your mistakes. If you forget something, you say you are sorry, it's that simple.
Also, it is so cold in the place. While that had nothing at all to do with the server, I wanted to say why I would not want to dine here very often inside. It's so cold. | 0negative
| 948 |
We've been to the driving range a lot in the past few years but when covid hit we went here for my youngest birthday and then again on a hot summer day. His birthday trip ruled. The man working was ultra friendly and wanted to just let the boys have fun. These are baseball players so golf was a new challenge. It was fun watching them struggle at first to find their swing. Toward the end one of them pulled a baseball bat put of their pants (yes I'm aware of how that sounds) end they took turns throwing a golf ball up and hitting it. The guy working was cracking up at them and encouraging them. We had dinner delivered to the range by Grubhub, sat outside and ate, sang happy birthday with candles and all, it was fantastic. Fast forward to last week when we visiting the range after a day at the pool.
Upon arriving and trying to pay the older gentleman working was kind of cranky. He was inside the AC building with the doors still locked leaving us in the heat, so we were taken aback by his mood right away. He kept telling me to read the sign for questions, so I did. He asked how many clubs I wanted. My choice on the sign was 1, 3, or 5. I had two kids so I went with 3 clubs. The guy working got frustrated and asked why I didn't want two. I told him the sign didn't have an option for 2 and he had told me I had to choose what was on the sign. He sighed and wrote me up for 2. He then handed me two slips of paper for my codes to get the balls. He was very stern on the rules. Go to the machine, push in ONLY the code on the paper. Do not push any other buttons at all. When it asks what size bucket don't push anything just wait. If it asks anything else just wait. I go over and my code starts with a 9. The screen asks bucket size and has the options from 1-3. I look at him and he says "what did I tell you, only put in your code." So I push the 9, look at my paper for the next number and the entire screen fills with black lines. I'm perplexed. I wait. Nothing. I try to type in the whole code, nothing. At this point the man working is arguing with new customers, and I'm still waiting. I finally politely interrupt and tell him the screen is just black lines. When I tell you this man SIGHED slammed outside, literally SNATCHED the papers out of my hand and says "I'll do it." Hoooo boy was I a little peeved. It's never great to grab stuff out of a customer hand. He goes to the machine. Pushes in my code. Black screen. Pushes more. Still black. Looks at me and says "what did you do?" Essssscuse me sir!! He gets more upset grabs two buckets goes in back and fills them up. Slams back in to help the other guys and fills their bucket by hand. Much later the old man comes up to me and says "you were right it wasn't your fault, the other guy who works showed up and said it's been doing this all week." I told him I knew it wasn't my fault. He said "okay I just wanted to come over and tell you that you didn't break it." I knew that. He did NOT say sorry for the attitude or snatching papers from my hand. The boys had a great time golfing but it started to heat up so at the end they were swinging balls pretty fast and goofing around. The began tossing the ball up, and when it came close to the turf they would swing. Suddenly the old man came over and told them to knock it off, they could hurt someone, points to the only other people near them two stations away and tells them the ball could hit them. Then he told them it could break the club and I would be liable. This was confusing as they were using the same swing and power they would if they hit it off the tee. He is mainly yelling at my sons friend, I'm sitting behind them laughing honestly because I can't believe these knuckleheads managed to get in trouble. The old man leaves and my son is cracking up because his friend got talked to.
They both finished their balls and wanted to to. While both trips were fun, I think it was hard to go from having an employee watch a bunch of young kids having a good time in the midst of covid and letting them screw around with their bat, or toss the balls up to hit them, to the other employee who was mad at everything. If anything I would have expected them to get mad about the baseball bat. But tossing the ball up and hitting it with a normal swing as it comes down, didn't seem like a reason to chastise two kids on a lazy week day with no other customers really near them. I think it kind of killed the fun after that because they felt like they would get in trouble if they did anything but a standard swing. I was still frustrated with the employees attitude & didn't even want to go get my ID and return the clubs. I did, the guy was still cranky, and we left. I think before we return we would check to see who is working.
Overall the range is great because it's outside, and a lot of fun, but this is an example of how employees really matter because two suddenly employees really gave us two different experiences. | 2positive
| 988 |
Three Chefs Bistro opened last week quietly in a small store front that used to be occupied by Joey G's hoagie shop across Grant Avenue from Five Guys and Popeye's Chicken and just behind the Nifty Fifties.
The space has been transformed form a typical pizza/ hoagie shop into a modern yet inviting space. Warm wood accents and a contemporary fireplace mixed with nice details like the hand blown glass floral vases on each table and unique lighting. The staff are dressed like they walked right out of an Apple Store so as you can guess, clean and contemporary. But just like the decor, don't think that means cold or detached. Quite to the contrary, they were very friendly and engaging if a bit green. It was only their 4th night since opening so we need to cut some slack here.
Where no slack needs to be cut is the menu. I was pleasantly surprised by an obviously Brazilian/ Portuguese based offering. Something that jumped out right away was the focus on organic and locally sourced items. This is a big deal in Northeast Philadelphia as, outside of perhaps Blue Duck, there is an absolute absence of anything like this in the area. It isn't just lip service either. A quick glance at even the beverage offerings reveal a host of fresh made juices and teas. Warning to soda lovers (like me- and yes, I know they aren't good for you), they have no colas or other traditional sodas here. No organic offerings either so you may want to either bring your own or even better, try one of their healthier options. Hopefully they add some organic soda in the future as there are a few local companies which have some nice options. That said, they are a BYOB so bring your wine and enjoy that instead.
Back to the food, there is an obvious ethic twist to the menu. That's a good thing. There is nothing on the menu that won't be odd so someone who has dined at a decent Brazilian Steakhouse like Na Brasa or Fogo De Chao. that's not to say that Three Chef's is a steakhouse in the vain of those other establishments. Rather that some of their authentic dishes show up here as well. Croquettes, for example are prevalent as appetizers. They are accompanied by salads, soups and lighter fare. Entrees include a good variety of organic, free-range chicken, beef/ steaks and fresh seafood. They offer a few paella dishes and pizza as well so there is no shortage of options.
Typically this means disaster as a restaurant tries to be too many things to too many people. I'm not sure but perhaps the fact that there are really three chefs working away in the kitchen allows this gem to overcome that. In fact, they blow away any concerns in that regard. Our table ordered 2 pizza as appetizers. For our main course, we chose the Salmon with Passion Sauce, the Sea Bass and the Picanha Steak.
The pizza took a bit extra time to come to the table. Probably 2-25 minutes. A little long but the time was helped along by fantastic fresh house-baked break with olive oil and olives. We were also treated to a sampling of the afore mentioned croquettes which were spot-on. They included a chicken-corn, shrimp and cod. All were excellent.
The pizza had some of the best crust I can recall ever having on a pizza. thin, light with a nice crust around a chewy dough. Just enough char to add flavor without taking anything away from the fresh tomato sauce and cheese. Very good indeed.
Our entrees were expertly prepared. You'll see from the pics I am am adding that these could have easily come from one of the finer establishments in Center City. The fish dishes were accompanied by a very nice fried sweet potato side as well as mashed potatoes which featured diced onions and garlic providing them an excellent texture and complex taste. While it may seem odd to some to have these 2 sides with the same meal, once you embrace the ethnic twist here, it makes sense. the only possible complaint I could levy here is that the salmon was slightly overcooked. Not dry and probably exactly the way most diner would prefer (white all the way through). We prefer our Salmon more of a med-rare-medium and as we didn't indicate our preference, I can't blame the chef for erroring on the side of caution. The steak was prepared as we requested (medium rare) and presented on a skillet (like a fajita). The sides of traditional beans and rice were presented on a separate plate along with a Vinaigrette dressing. The rice took me by surprise as it was a flavorful long grain with accents of onions and saffron. It was really fantastic. It definitely makes me want to try the Paella on the next visit.
Oh and there will be a next visit. In fact, we are bringing back friends next week who are professionals in the food industry and run very successful catering businesses. It was good enough that I think they will be as impressed as we were.
I need to add that the desserts were very authentic and fantastic. | 2positive
| 881 |
My recent issues with this location. I was working in the area and drove thru the drive up on May 26 at 9 am. I ordered a sandwich and a drink. I sipped my drink to make sure it was unsweet tea and left. A short while later hen I reached into the bag I was startled to find pancake condiments. When I got back to work about 20 minutes away I tried calling a few times but no one ever answered the phone. I figured I would just deal with it next time I was in the area and went back to work with no breakfast. The next time I was in the area it was in the evening, June 3 6 pm I was with my husband and hot and tired form working. We ordered a diet and an unsweet tea. I asked at the drive up for extra ice in the tea since it seems to melt. When we pulled up to the pick up window they were switching out the tea container with a new unsweet one. I watched as the woman filled a cup, my cup, with NO ice and just fresh tea. I said I asked for extra ice and there is no ice in that cup. Can I get a cup of ice? She told me I'd have to pull forward and they would bring it out to me. I told her just scoop a cup of ice I'm right here and it'll take two seconds. This became a huge mess. A man got involved they yelled at me I was holding up the drive up. I kept saying just give me a cup of ice and they refused. At one point the man got on the phone I assumed he was calling the police. I don't know. So stupid. Finally she gave me a cup of Ice. I tried calling the customer service phone number that is on the sticker at the window. Unfortunately the answering service does not give you enough time to leave a good message and I have never received a call back. I was in the area again on June 16. I stopped and parked so I could go in and talk to a manager. The doors were locked, our local McDs the lobby is open for take out, so I went to the drive up. I ordered the same food I had ordered on May 26. But I told the voice box that I needed to speak with a manager. When I got to the payment window I had my $1.10 ready for the drink but expected to receive the sandwich for free since I had not received one earlier. The woman seemed irritated with me and I said I wanted to talk in person to the manager but the door was locked..... Here's the thing they could have asked to me meet ou front but instead the Man who may have been the manger came to the window and got snippy. Informed me I had had 24 hours to return to get my sandwich and that he would NOT be giving me a replacement. I asked where it was posted that you only had 24 hours to get hold of them. That I had tried calling and his response in short was I should have tried harder to get hold of them. After much frustration I left with out breakfast again. I did audio tape this interaction with these two. I then parked in a parking lot and called the McD's customer service number off the internet. A very nice woman Nicole listened, showed compassion and assured me I would receive a call from this McD's. Having not received a call yet. I decided yesterday at 4:30 to call the location and get the phone number for their customer service that is on the sticker on the window. The man who answered was smart mouthed when I asked for the number. Wanted to know why I wanted it and the told me he didn't like my attitude and hung up. I called back asked politely for the number and he said if you want it then you drive out here and get it and hung up again. I called the 800-244-6227 number again. This time I got Amy and she seemed like I probably had called the wrong number, couldn't find the location etc. I offered to redial the number and let her listen on speaker to this man. She said that they wouldn't know if it was the right number so no. I had customers come into my business so I had to get off the phone but I asked her to have someone call me. Which of course I fully feel will never happen. Maybe this will get me a call. But I doubt it. They just don't care about Customer Service which is a shame. Our local McDs is wonderful and the owner is very nice.
So this morning I called and asked for the phone number again. This time a Brittany who did a very nice job of talking to me gave me the phone number and looked up to see who I had spoken with the yesterday, Austin. She did give me the customer service number for Christie, 632-6971 and sounded surprised that I had not yet received a return call. But said she could not give Christie my information as they only speak with her about once a month. | 0negative
| 919 |
So this review is a bit late but thought I should still write it as my Dad (who only ever really enjoys eating steak and potatoes or sometimes a pizza) thought this was a good enough restaurant to return to. So what made it that great that my dad would give it such a high review?
First, if you've never seen an advertisement for this place, prepare yourself for ongoing talking and some well rehearsed comedy from the chefs. There literally is a live cooking show being done with your meals right in front of you. This combination of humour and meal prep was a big hit for my family (the 5 of us were constantly commenting on how things were being cooked, what was new to us and encouraging the ongoing trials of the fork toss plus the salt and pepper tossing trick by the chef).
Second, it might be a Japanese place but they have steak! You may have guessed with my intro but that was an important decision factor in choosing a restaurant. We wanted a different place for the early Christmas family gathering but something everyone could enjoy.
Third, they're very diligent about respecting allergies. My sister-in-law gets very ill with her allergies. So it's nice not having to worry. They set her food specifically on one area of the grill and no other food was ever placed there. Hers was never combined with the rest of ours either. They also had a different soup for her to enjoy and did a vinaigrette on her salad instead of the house dressing.
The food itself is a decent price for a fine dining experience and what you get with the dinner. There's soup, salad, grilled shrimp, grilled veggies and whatever you choose as your main. All with great flavour and you get two different dipping sauces - one being better for meat and other with vegetables. Obviously if you select the options of more seafood to accompany the main piece of the meal, the price is more expensive. We all kept it pretty simple. Two with shrimp dinners, two with New York steaks and one with teriyaki beef. We were all quite happy with our portions and if you feel you need extra rice, they will bring more out. If you have saved a bit of room, there's lots of dessert options too but that comes with an additional price. I really was quite happy with that large selection of mocktails to try but for those that want it, there's a large selection of mixed alcoholic drinks, wine, beer, etc.
The place is accessible from the outside doors to the grill tables and even though my brother struggles to see in dim lighting, there's enough random lighting that we found a well lit spot at the table for him. I liked that I didn't have to watch for random levels or steps. There are a few booths throughout the restaurant for those that maybe want a more secluded meal but there's no grills for those spots.
So after such a glowing review, why am I only giving it 4 stars? Well as I had booked ahead of time and specifically gave a number of 5 people for the reservation, it would have been nice to know we would not have anything started to be cooked, nor our meal order taken until they fill the rest of the table around the grill. If I had that information, I could have easily invited a couple of friends to join. However as this came to us as surprise, it meant even though we didn't know who was joining us, we were forced to awkwardly wait over 15 min to have them arrive and then start giving our order when they were ready. At least some of the drinks had made it out by then but the place was starting to fill up so the noise level was increasing. Luckily for us my mom randomly know the couple that was sat at our grill table but there were parts of the dinner you could tell they would have enjoyed having their own time as a couple (as I'm quite sure they weren't informed they'd be part of a bigger table being that they were surprised that my mom thanked them for arriving on time so we can now order when they are ready).
It would have also been a different experience for my family too without the combined table situation. I had to remind the chef who's steak was being prepared due to the over eager guy wanting a well done steak the same time as a medium rare... Things eventually got served to everyone but only because I spoke up, I was able to get near to what I had requested (glad that my dad at least got his medium rare) even though everyone had reconfirmed orders when the chef was placing the meat on the grill.
Lastly, the noise in the restaurant was so high at the end of our meal that not only did my dad stop trying to have a conversation but so did the rest of us. So instead of savouring dessert, I ate it quickly as all I wanted was to pay the bill fast and just leave the noise. I've gone once before on a week night back in April and it was more manageable for noise level. This being due to not all grills were full nor was the restaurant as full. | 2positive
| 919 |
In Italian, Vicino means neighborhood. In Boise, Cafe Vicino means fine dining. We had high expectations going in for unpretentious and casually elegant vibe, impeccable service and farm to fork food focus even if at prices on the high end for Boise dining.
Our expectations were met with one exception. Specifically there were surprising errors in a couple of the dishes. Just enough given the reputation of chef and restaurant to make this a 4 and not 5 star rating. Still, delicious flavors at play and we will happily return on another Boise visit.
If we lived here, we would make this a regular rotation spot for dinner and lunch. This is gracious dining for grownups of all ages. I include adults, teens and children in that equation.
VIBE & SEATING
In the unlikely location of a small strip mall, the interior is so much more charming than you expect from the unassuming entry. White tablecloths with nice place settings. Cool contemporary meets classic interior touches. Comfortable seating at standard height tables. Crooners like Sinatra and Clooney along with jazz classics on the music mix set at the right level to be backdrop to conversation. Just perfect for us after a long, hot September day of exploring the city.
There is also an outdoor back patio for seating that fronts a busy road. We noticed folks going out to take tables there and then coming back in. Maybe the traffic or maybe the heat. Regardless, inside would be our choice every time.
While this is not a shorts and flip flops kind of place, diners did arrive in jeans and casual attire as well as dressed up.
SERVICE
From greeting at the door to confirm our reservation to seating at the table to every step of order and eat, service was impeccable. We felt welcome and well cared for but not hovered over.
The restaurant was not busy that evening and we told our server, Kerry, that we'd like to order and share dishes as courses and linger. She answered our questions about the items on the menu with the enthusiasm of someone vested in the food, she could make recommendations and she timed every single dish to arrive at perfect intervals and temperatures. We enjoyed dinner and dessert over two hours, our choice for timing, and felt welcome every moment. Brava. 6 star service.
CHEF & MENU
Chef Richard Langston has been in the Boise food scene for many years and at the forefront of cooking that takes top quality, sustainably raised ingredients in preparations that lets the food speak for itself. In a restaurant that walks the "loyal to local" talk, much is sourced locally and either so named on the menu or shared via serving staff comments. Wonderful.
The Italian, Spanish and French influenced dinner menu had options to make omnivores and vegetarians happy and was divided:
Starters ($4 - $12)
Soup & Salad ($4 - $6.50)
Pasta & Risotto ($13 - $17)
Entrees ($23 - $30)
Sides ($3 - $6)
Dessert menu offered at meal's end.
Keeping in mind celiac relatives, I was pleased to note Gluten Free options are marked on the menu.
FOOD
Starting our meal with two scallop appetizers ($4.50 each) in which a perfectly cooked scallop was nestled on sweet potato puree and dolloped with cilantro pesto. Fantabulous.
The next dish was less successful. Calamari fritti was served with a garbanzo bean salad with a wonderful vinaigrette ($10) that seemed to also have been ladled over the calamari turning the crispy coating into a mushy mess. Good flavors. Not so good execution.
We shared pasta carbonara ($14) as the next course. One of our favorite dishes, we were disappointed to find the egg was scrambled in the pasta. A "rookie" mistake in execution of this dish. But the flavors were good and that they used guanciale was a wonderful thing.
We seldom order chicken since we are choosy about the source of poultry given the state of poultry farms. (We don't consider that infamous "Tell me about the chicken" Portlandia bit so much of a joke. :-) ) But we were happy to order it here. Local chicken breast was wrapped in prosciutto ($23), full of flavor and simply delicious as served with crispy polenta and Grappa golden raisin sauce.
Dessert was hazelnut tart ($7.75) and great coffee by a local roaster ($2.50). No espresso service available.
LIBATIONS
A good if spendy list of wines by bottle. A good number of options by glass (including a sparkler which I always appreciate). Our by glass choices (@$8.50 each) were generous pours served in quality stemware.
VALUE
Delicious dinner for two, with take away at meal's end, including wine was $90.00. More restraint on our part in ordering would have kept this around $75.00 for two.
THIS N THAT:
1) PARKING: In lot of strip mall and ample.
2) ACCESSIBILITY: Level in and throughout with standard table height seating.
3) NEIGHBORS: Boise Food Co-Op across parking lot. The Co-Op Wine Shop next door is worth a visit. http://www.yelp.com/biz/boise-co-op-wine-shop-boise?nb=1 | 2positive
| 844 |
Management! Please read this and get this girl a hand on thursday nights or someone else. honestly- we want to go back- the service needs improvement.
Poor service all around. The server spent all night like a deer in headlights with every table.
Food- over priced, mediocre and slow.I have been here several times in the last few years with my husband and friends.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Last night we went in for their pirogi night with about 8 people at 6:30 (30 left of happy hour.) We sat on the first floor and had a tall, thin woman in her 20s with long black hair as our waitress. My husband and i were first to arrive and our friends trickled in over the next 40 minutes.
When we were first greeted (and it was just the two of us) my husband asked what was on draft and the server rattled off the list, but wasn't able to answer questions about the beers. I ordered a pitcher of water a few glasses and some limes- i wasn't drinking and i knew a few of our friends would also appreciate having water on the table- she looked at me like i was crazy. when it arrived it had a handful of limes in it ( so am i supposed to put my hand in the pitcher to get one?- gross) and one plastic cup. we had to ask for cups 2 more times.
We tried to order food but she cut us off, saying that she would take our order when everyone arrived so no one would "feel bad' that they were eating last. HUH? Stunned, she walked away before we could reply. As more guests arrived they had to either go to the bar or flag her down to order drinks- two others were hushed when they tried to order food. Finally, I was able to tell her we wanted to order food regardless.
At this point she brought us paper order forms and one pen for us to write down what we wanted. OK- I understand that when you have a special night it is helpful for the kitchen to have chits to clearly mark who ordered what specially including our names, but if you have us do this part of your job at least know who got what! It is so annoying to have food auctioned off at the end of the table when the server doesn't know what she is holding. Please don't touch or put your face in my food in front of me to see what you are serving.
It is worthwhile to note at this point it took over 40 minutes for our perogies to hit the table while their was only one other table ahead of us that had ordered food. Two of us also ordered a salad and wings. Also, the salad was ordered as a first course and came out after the hot food. The wing were a hit on taste but were over priced at $9 for tiny guys. The house salad was served on a smallish plastic plate (why?) with huge chunks of onion, tasteless pink tomato and dried up sliced mushrooms. Rip Off - $6.50. The perogies? decent for the price.
After the table was cleared was the first time our server asked if we needed anything. she continued to ask every five minutes as one by one we finished drinks and were waiting for others to as well. It was as if she was rushing us now that we were winding down and finishing our drinks. When i asked for a refill on the pitcher of water she returned with it just half full.
After we ate- and guess what no one cried from eating while others weren't- a few of our friends had to leave and asked for their part of the bill bc the rest of us were going to continue to drink. The waitress told them she wouldn't give them a check and to just figure out what they owed- but then left before they could ask any of the drink prices. They left us cash- to settle up later.
When it was time for the check we were handed an illegible hand written two sided stapled together chit with our prices for any of the drinks- just a total. when we inquired after the drink prices so we could split our checks - the waitress pointed to one column with slash marks where she tallied the drinks ordered and very rudely told us to look at the drink column- and again walked away before we could point out our question was about the price of the drinks - not how many- also there was no distinction between the drinks during happy hour and those not.
I wuold like to state that we and our friends are not cheap people when it comes to half way decent service- we frequent other bars in the city for nights like taco night and believe it tipping on the menu price of food not the special and we normally tip in the 25-30% range. This was- bar none- the worst tip we have ever left for the worst service. | 0negative
| 870 |
Gracious serves fresh baked items in a mostly French style but with some welcome concessions to being in New Orleans (as opposed to Paris or the original Orleans).
For example, the Bananas Foster Danish comes with the distinctively Crescent City flavor of cooked bananas, sugar, and alcohol that, incidentally, beats the hell out of plain white icing. This baked disc had a crisper, more crossaint-like crust and consistency than most Danishes. (Would that make it more of a French, rather than a Danish?) For those who never could and never will understand sweet at breakfast time (not me, but I'm married to one), there are savory breakfast goods with ham, cheese, herbs, bacon, etc. If you will pardon the bun--PUN, I mean--I plan to "savor" one of those in an upcoming visit.
There is a range of coffee drinks, including espresso and fresh brewed plain old coffee in three sizes, but without refills.
Many customers were coming in to buy baguettes, which looked exactly like French bread from France, a little crustier and narrower than New Orleans french bread. The steady stream of baguette-buyers must know something, so I'll have to try one of those next time, too.
The cafe's bright and contemporary space is located on the first floor of a sleek but business-like new building. The Gracious is not in a quaint converted 100 year old house or set in the shade of live oaks, but the location does provide a long awaited reason to linger in this neighborhood and ponder its deep but overlooked heritage. While enjoying my French-Danish and coffee, that's exactly what I did; let us digress from food and service into a bit of historical context:
The forlorn surroundings that might seem only to define the backside boundaries of Uptown, Mid-City, Gerttown, and the CBD, actually hold as rich a history as the more illustrious historical quarters and faubourgs around town.
One block down from the Gracious, fenced-off I-10 plays dual roles as roaring speedway and traffic-choked parking lot, but all those low brick and Quonset hut warehouses weren't put there for the highway. They instead comprise one of the few surviving legacies of New Orleans' geography for a century, the New Basin Canal.
Dug out from the swamp in the 1830s at great human cost (mostly Irish immigrants who died by the thousands from yellow fever), the canal supplanted Bayou Saint John as the major commercial waterway from Lake Pontchartrain to the city's center. The canal made its way through what is now the wide park down Pontchartrain Boulevard and the Pontchartrain Expressway portion of I-10, ending at the docks and turning basin where the Mercedes Benz Superdome and Smoothie King Arena now sit. (If the city had sold the naming rights to the canal, might we still have it?)
All that was unceremoniously filled in 1947, the same year that major segments of New Orleans' streetcar system were decommissioned. These were not coincidences. Both the waterway and streetcar rails fell victim to the automobile industry's push to build highways and replace public rail transit with bus and personal cars.
Six decades after it disappeared, the canal in its heyday remains a great source of lore and inspiration. The sailing vessels and watermelon boats crowding the canal in old photos are frequent subjects for local artists. Nearly every older New Orleanian alive today seems to have had a grandfather who told stories of keeping cool in the summer by swimming out to a low-decked fruit boat from the northshore, swiping a ripe watermelon, and racing back to shore before the crew noticed. The canal still exists north of Robert E. Lee Blvd. as the waterway connecting the New Orleans Marina to the lake. The lock control structure still exists, solidly landlocked right behind Russel's Marina Grill.
Directly across the street from the Gracious is the former Coca-Cola bottling plant. Many of us born before 1960 remember the row of big windows along Jeff Davis, where our parents would bring us to peer at the rattling rows of glass bottles as they were washed, filled with Coke, capped, and set into crates by a Rube Goldberg line of shining machinery. If we were lucky, we could get one of the Coke-meister attendants inside to wave at us.
In the distance beyond that is the Blue Plate Mayonnaise plant, one of the finest surviving pieces of Art Moderne architecture anywhere and now preserved as an artists' loft.
The Xavier University building across the street hosted the legendary Wise Cafeteria for decades as well as the offices for Esso (now Exxon) during the heyday of petroleum exploration and production in South Louisiana.
I have long been fond of this quirky, neglected backwater for its history. Now Gracious gives me a reason to stop here. | 2positive
| 798 |
At first glance, LM is an unexpectedly nice little place in a store-strip in the middle of nowhere. We had a group of about 16 people, and we'd heard this place was good for large groups. As soon as we were shown to our table, an older man who seemed to be the owner started being a real busybody. We had a large booth, but he kept getting overly concerned with how many more people would show up. We had plenty of room, and being adults, would have figured out where everyone would sit. Instead, he kept telling us to move our coats and bags somewhere else and where we could and couldn't sit, which really disrupted the mix of people at each table.
The leader of the group ordered sultan's feast for the "table" (which was, in fact, made of three separate circular brass tray tables. At the time there were about 8-10 people who were going to eat, and we explained to the waitstaff that the rest of our group was planning to show up after for hookahs and not food, so we should have had a fixed amount of food. But as some latecomers trickled in, the annoying old busybody kept asking "how many more? when are they coming?" etc. We kept telling him that the late people weren't eating, and even if they were, we'd figure it out. I thought the whole thing was odd until we got the bill and I realized that we were charged by person, not by quantity of food, or who actually wanted to eat, but I'll get back to that.
I took a while after ordering, but the food started out well enough, with a platter of hummus, roasted eggplant and carrot and cucumber salads. For the enormity of the plate, they only gave us about 2 pita triangles per person and they never refilled them, and just took away the hummus for the next course, the bastilla. I'm not a huge fan of bastilla to begin with, but this was way too dry- like eating some sort of mummified, fruit-stuffed animal, bandages and all. Towards the end of the course, the waitress brought out another basket of pitas--not sure how pita and dry pastry covered meat go together. After a very long wait, our 3rd course, a chicken tagine arrived. It too was way more food than we needed--3 whole chickens for fewer than 12 people. The chicken was overcooked to the point of being a mushy, fibrous paste. To make it worse, there was absolutely no salt and very little underlying flavor. They just pressure cooked the hell out of a chicken threw some oregano it, and placed it in a pool of oil in a tagine. I was glad to see it go until our next course came out--couscous. I like couscous, but this was literally a giant plate of plain, unsalted couscous, boiled in water with some caramelized onions and some chickpeas in the center of it. It would have made sense to serve the previous terrible chicken on this bed of unflavored couscous, but instead we got a bland giant dish of grains no one wanted. After that, they took our order for kebabs, which ended being just about the only good thing we ate the whole night.
Ok so the food was terrible, but the service was even worse. I already mentioned the busybody owner, but the servers tended to ignore us. Since our party was so large, there were 3 mini tables within the booth. They only bussed and served the first table and not the rest. It was not until we piled a bunch of bottles on a plate (fortunately, it is a BYO) that they realized they should take some stuff away. The gaps between courses were up to 15-20 minutes and got worse through the evening. Before dessert, everyone wanted a hookah (making the order 3). Yet again, only table 1 received a hookah while the rest of us waited around. Since my husband and I own and use a hookah, we knew it should take just a few minutes to pack a bowl and light a coal. We waited almost 30 minutes while the waitstaff sat around in the back smoking their own hookah. We complained to the owner, who reminded the waiter. Even after the waiter was reminded to go and "make it" we still had to wait another 15 minutes for it to appear. The end of the night wasn't any better. It was then I learned that they were charging by person and not by how much food we actually wanted/needed. We had a $100 gift certificate and a comped hookah yet it still ended up being $30 a person. Considering the huge amount of food that wasn't eaten I was pretty pissed, but at least we had some leftovers boxed up. I did not look at the 4 boxes until I got home and realized that the ONLY thing they boxed was the couscous!! There was literally an entire uneaten chicken on the table and 2 huge plates of vegetables, but all they could manage to box was the flavorless grains. | 0negative
| 866 |
I've been in love with the food from Amans since they only had their East Norriton location. I'd get take out for lunch when I worked in blue bell at least once a week and the food was always delicious and the staff was ways accommodating of my requests (even when I just wanted Tikka Masala curry sauce and basmati ).
So, fast forward a few years, I was THRILLED to find out that Amans was opening a location in a strip mall right around the corner from my house.
I've eaten at this location for their lunch buffet, which is fresh, replenished frequently and will make you want to eat enough to forget how to move, or breathe for that matter. I've also eaten in for dinner on more than a dozen occasions and ordered take our even more.
Their wait staff is friendly and approachable without having a sense of superiority or with the coldness which can often come with restaurants in this area.
A lot of times, when I'm in a restaurant specializing in the cuisine of a different ethnic group/country and I order something "extra, extra spicy", most servers raise their eyebrows, while looking down their nose and asking me if I'm sure. While I may be on the tinier side, and I may have silvery blonde hair, I'm not mindlessly asking for spice or heat. I know what I'm doing. Growing up, my best friend was Indian. Her mother, cooked using some of the most beautiful combination of spices and made traditional meals, sauces and curries, and she made them hot. HOT. I learned by age 6, how to eat sauces made with bhut jahlokia (forgive my spelling) peppers, ghost peppers and otherwise lethal combinations of chilis and spices. What I love about Indian cuisine is the flavor profile and the unique ability for the spices to come together and play off of each other, working to elevate each dish making the spice and heat something completely different from Texas Pete hot sauce and red pepper flakes. The staff at Amans in Chalfont did verify that I had experience with Indian food (which was the nicest I've ever had a waiter ask if I was sure I knew what I was asking for) and then left it at that, fulfilling my request. That tingle in my lips and tongue were greeted as my tongue danced with flavor, I a team happily and without complaint, gasping or dabbing my fave. Ever since, there's no questioning or sideways glances, and when I eat in the waiters just know that I like it extra spicy, and it goes without saying.
With that being said, if you're familiar with Indian food, you're also familiar with the price tag. The serving sizes aren't ginormous super-sized schmorgasboards, but there's usually more than enough for one reasonably balanced helping or meal and the quality of the ingredients are obvious in each dish. Never, have I received a separated or unblended or rancid curry/sauce, I've never received chicken which tasted off, of fish that was overly fishy. The lamb is always spot on, and is never overpowering in flavor, making me willing to spend my money here.
Even when using a restaurant.com offer, I've always received wonderful service and great food. The suggestions of the waitstaff have transformed my initially unwilling man into a HUGE fan who is willing to try new things and loves the flavors of Indian food despite his misconceived notions of yester year.
They ARE a BYO, so if you want to enjoy a little alcoholic beverage with your meal come with the bottle in hand ! Their lassi is always fresh, refreshing and flavorful (they can also help cool you down if maybe you're in over your head spice wise! )
They're always hosting larger sized groups, and continue to seat smaller parties simultaneously making for a lively and energetic atmosphere.
My ONLY criticism, perhaps originates for my LOVE of carbs and my NEED to pick up a majority of the food up with my naan while engulfing it in its pillow-ey goodness .. please give a bit more naan per order. For my boyfriend and I NOT to silently stare at the last piece of naan or rip the last piece in half forceably sharing it (the worst when your a Carboholic/naanoholic like myself )we order two, separate orders of naan. . It'd be nice to not necessitate such things. It'll make me feel less gluttonous and save me a few bucks (though this is hardly a make or break ) | 2positive
| 764 |
I hate that I can only give this place 2 stars. Since I grew up in Tampa, Carmine's, Malio's and Ivaronne's were local go to places. Malio's has always been high end, while Ivarrone's is in the middle and Carmine's little more causal.
This was my second time there within six months and it will be my last. I do love their Cuban sandwich and chicken soup, but even the previous time it wasn't as good as it used be and what they were once known for.
This particular experience was so disappointing. My dad and I met here for dinner on a Thursday night. The place was not crowded, 2 two-top tables and party of 8 when we arrived. It took several minutes for our server to greet us. At that time, we ordered a pitcher of Sangria and Cuban bread. The Sangria came out fairly quickly and our server put the glasses and the pitcher on the table and was about to leave without offering to pour. I asked if he could pour our first glass since the pitcher was so full and noticeably heavy, and I could tell he didn't want to. We ordered our food at this time as well. I ordered the baked chicken with black beans, yellow rice and the house salad. My dad ordered the Chicken Parmesan.
Here's how the dinner went:
1. The first salad brought to me was not the right salad, ok no biggie until...
2. The second salad, the one I ordered, came without dressing, ok no biggie, except....our server didn't return to the table and wasn't even visible to get his attention for a long while. Once I did get a glimpse of him, he never looked our way and I ended up somewhat shouting his name across the, thank goodness, almost empty restaurant. When he came over I said, I don't think this salad has any dressing and I felt he didn't believe me, because he questioned me.
3. When he brought the dressing, I asked if we could have the bread since the table right next to us had just received theirs and he acted as if I had never asked for it initially.
4. Before I could even get the dressing on my salad, he brought our food, which took an unreasonable amount of time since they were not busy. So the salad can now wait or will be taken home.
5. Bread finally arrived.
6. My chicken was so dry and overcooked it was close to inedible. Since it was overcooked, even though, I was using a knife and fork, I continuously was picking bones and cartilage out of my mouth, lovely right? The rice was cooked well and had a nice flavor as well as the plantains. I don't like black beans so I ordered those on the side to take home to my husband along with salad now. I dipped the Cuban bread in the dressing and it was very good.
7. My dad's chicken had a nice flavor, but I felt the red sauce was a little bland (I mean all 3 establishments pride themselves on their Italian food as well and is the first restaurant the family opened.) The pasta was cooked a little more than I would have liked.
8. Our server did check on us once during the meal and then again after we had been done for quite some time and asked if we were finished. I replied yes and asked for 2 boxes and lid for the little cup the dressing was in. He came back with the boxes but no lid. He claimed it was in the top box. I quickly flipped over both boxes to show him there was nothing in them. At this time I ordered a devil crab to also take home for my husband. I ordered the jumbo size, but received the smaller one (and was only charged for the smaller). The devil crab was tasty and full of crab according to him.
9. When the server brought the lid back, with the crab and check, I asked for a bag for the boxes.
10. The server came back to pickup the check, still no bag.
11. He came back with the check for me to sign, still no bag.
Needless to say, I was frustrated with my service experience and the quality of the food. I ended up asking the other server for the bag and she brought it promptly. I tipped him $10 on a $52 tab which I later regretted. I also wrote a note on the restaurant's copy of my receipt for our server. It read "His name, you really need to step up your level of service." My husband questioned why I tipped almost 20% when I was so unhappy and wrote the note on the check. To which I replied I didn't want to be a jerk...next time I get this type of service, I will be a jerk. | 0negative
| 834 |
Go to Coquette (or anywhere else) instead!!!!!!!!!
I dined here last night for the first (and last) time. Dawn L was our waitress (this is important if you read this entire review). I have a 3 month old baby and rarely get out of the house for girl time with my friends, so I was really looking forward to it. The experience was like a scene from a sitcom about a rude waitress!! I literally felt like we were in one of those ironic restaurants where the waitstaff is rude to you on purpose.
Our group was: one Muslim (no pork), one vegan celiac (no gluten or animal products), one pregnant lady, and one vegetarian. We ordered a bottle of champagne off the bat which usually makes a waiter or waitress happy- makes the bill and therefore the tip much more. We apologized profusely for our dietary restrictions, only to have Dawn L. roll her eyes at us- literally. I'm the most annoying of all (Celiac vegan!) and I always apologize- and I've never ever seen service like this- especially in a "nice" restaurant- and in a hotel, no less, so you expect a level of hospitality and sophistication. I did my usual- just asked for an array of veggies (as there were many on the menu as sides for entrees, so I figured it would be easy to throw some on a plate together), and when I asked for this, she stared at me and let out a sigh and said she didn't think it would be possible. Embarrassed (and confused because who tf screws up veggies??), I ordered what I thought would be a good dish for me, and the waitress got visibly annoyed, snapping at me that the pasta was ravioli and not gluten free. (How was I supposed to know, as it didn't say it on the menu??)
So I just meekly asked if it would be possible to have a gluten free pasta (which I knew they had) with veggies. Literally takes 10 minutes to make. I know I have restrictions but I'm not asking for the world- and she made a face at me. Then, my Muslim friend ordered a pasta dish, and asked what meat was in it. The waitress replied that it was pork. So then my friend asked which pasta dishes didn't contain pork (as the menu did not specify!!) and the waitress became more and more agitated with her- but all of the pasta dishes except for the vegetarian option had frickin pork!! Is pork that universal of a meat? Finally my friend said, "I'll just have pasta with veggies like my (gluten free vegan) friend, but I'm not gluten free so you can use regular pasta." She was trying to make life easier for our waitress who was very bad at hiding how much she hated us. Instead of being relieved to write "x2"next to my order, this waitress said to my Muslim friend, "DID YOU EVEN READ THE MENU?" Like...what??? Who does that? My friend said, "Yes I did and I would appreciate some professionalism. I'll have what my friend is having, just not gluten free." It was ridiculous. She then said "ok well the kitchen is really busy so I have to see." Newsflash- if you are a waiter reading this- do not tell your guests about whatever the hell is going on in the kitchen!! A) we don't care. B) we are here to enjoy ourselves and it's not our problem. We are literally paying for the experience of a nice evening and to be fed. What is so complicated about that? Every time Dawn came around, she had an attitude, and our waters were refilled by another woman, who I suspect was the manager as she was super sweet and asked- with a smile- how we were doing.
Contrast this with how I was treated at Coquette recently by their waitstaff- when I told them I was a gluten free vegan they said "the chef will be happy to prepare something for you!" It was wonderful- and I really enjoyed my meal with my family. When you are a guest in a restaurant you shouldn't be wasting time thinking about your waitress being angry at you, I'm sorry but it's a perfect way to ruin the experience. I was with my friends so now we have a good story to tell, but it was such an unprofessional mess.
We tipped her because everyone has bills to pay and we didn't want to punish her financially for being a huge jerk- maybe she was having an awful day, I don't know, but if you eat here you'd do well to request anyone but Dawn L! Personally if I ever come back it'll be for a drink, as the ambiance is awesome but the service was a literal joke. | 0negative
| 812 |
"This is my second review of Prep because my first, in all honesty, was boring. Here is the real deal..."
Oh Prep, my sweet and savory Prep, how I love you so. This gem serves a transcendent breakfast; a marvelous piece of Heaven. The Best in our Desert City.
This love affair started about a year ago; my wife and I were looking for something special for the day's first meal. We had been curious about this place-- good reviews whispered in our ears.
We entered this cozy establishment to be greeted by a friendly hostess who uttered the words we all want to hear, "Sit anywhere you'd like". The scents were a magical bloom of bacon and other fine meats, fresh bread, pastries and biscuits, gravy and butter.
A friendly server quickly greets us with water and a half carafe as back up; takes our drink order. For myself, always an Arnold Palmer; my wife, a spectacular looking Mimosa. The menu was quite a feat as everything sounded amazing. We chose a "Steak" and Egg Croissant and a Breakfast Sammie. So here's where it gets out of control.
This work of art arrives at the table. Scents of well-prepared, garlic infused beef fill my head. Layer upon layer of perfectly prepared items topped by this aioli...oh the aioli. Others say "aioli" this and "aioli" that; this almost hurt it was so... don't have words to describe.
My wife and I share everything; in this case I said to her before I took the first bite, "Babe, I'm going to have to this whole thing". She replied," It's OK I'm loving the Breakfast Sammie". So I slowly demolished this masterpiece, enjoying each flavor and nuance.
I ordered this wonderfulness every time since (along with their sweet treats that I'll get to shortly).
______________
Jump to last Sunday...
My parents just fully moved to The Desert City; foodies as well. They could not wait to dine at this marvelous establishment after the words of praise from my wife and I. Also, they love Commoner & Co (same owners) but that's an upcoming review.
So now Prep is the "goto" breakfast spot, especially on the weekends; deservedly so. The trick now is using the Yelp Waiting List. From the comfort of your home you can gauge the wait time against your preferred dining time. For me, we wanted a table for 4 at noon and the wait was 96 minutes; so I got on the List at 10:44am with a check in of 11:55am. Waited until 12:15pm and we were seated.
This fine place has the feeling of a home away from home--even when busy. We were ushered to our table and it was perfect. My father uses a small wheelchair when dining out; my wife mentioned this upon check in and they delivered. Our server quickly comes to the table with water; she knows we've been waiting a little to get into Prep. Did I mention the service is ALWAYS phenomenal? She takes our drink orders; 3 key lime Mimosas with a graham powder rim and my Arnold Palmer. She asks me about food allergies at the table and proceeds to bring out this mind-blowing pastry; their last one! A divine cinnamon roll covered in pecans and this gooey, rich caramel sauce. We devoured within minutes while in a food trance.
On to the mains (apologies for the long review but I had to release some serious emotions about this place). My father and I ordered the Biscuits and Duck Fat Gravy with Fried Chicken, mom the Poblano Verde Beni with Carnitas, and my wife the All Hail The Omelette with Turkey Sausage. Everyone was thrilled with their dishes, but for me it started my second culinary bromance at Prep & Pastry.
The Biscuits and Gravy were exceptional; my father and I wanted extra gravy which was brought out by our server in about 30 seconds. But this Fried Chicken... oh my Lord. I don't like to curse in reviews but my first words out after tasting this crunchy jewel were "Oh Sh*t". I've had a lot of Fried Chicken around the country and this not only measures up to the Greats in the South but is the best in Arizona. Very crispy with a perfectly seasoned crust; supple chicken within. As excellent as the Biscuits and Gravy were, I was on another plain of existence with the Chicken. Wow!
We wrapped up Breakfast with a cup of coffee for the parents, my mother proclaiming that it was "really, REALLY god". That mean a lot coming from her. The bill contained Great Prices as usual.
Conclusion: Everything Prep & Pastry creates is top-notch. Must tries are the "Steak" and Egg Croissant, the Biscuits and Gravy or French Toast with Fried Chicken and any of their pastries or donuts to start--all spectacular!
Best Regards and Culinary Dreams,
Bryan | 2positive
| 816 |
I'm a die-Shipley's fan. In my hometown of Alexandria, we have 3 locations because they're just that good. It's a tradition for someone to pick up a couple boxes of glazed donuts and the free bag of donut holes every Sunday for the church congregation. That being said, I was ecstatic when news broke that we were getting one in southern Louisiana, meaning that I didn't have to wait til a visit home to get my fix.
Now, I have a couple of complaints. First off, what really pisses me off are a few of the cashiers/ servers. On three of my visits, I've been served by these two young ladies who are frankly rude and seemingly incapable. I don't understand what their deal is. Yes, this is a new location. Sure, there can be a rush but hell, I've served crowds double in size at 6 AM, and didn't need an assistant to make the donuts. I've worked at Shipley's in high school, and it's just like any friendly service job, be peppy, be kind, and be quick. Simple as hell, but every time they've waited on me, they are extremely rude, and take more than 15 minutes to gather a 3 item order which is sitting right behind them.
The second thing that really bums me is how it never fails, no matter what time of day, they never have the donuts I want. I'm always waiting. When I worked at Shipley's. We'd get there at 2 AM and start the day. I've been there when they've just opened, and there was nothing I wanted. How does that happen?
Short story: Last time I was in there, I was waiting for my kolache, which when I ordered, the nice young man said it would be 15-20 minutes. I waited that amount of time before asking about the kolaches, and they still weren't ready. No big deal. Waited another 20 minutes and then finally the kolaches were done and were being placed on the rack. My server was busy since it was National Donut Day and extremely busy, so I asked the two girls who I mentioned previously if they would get my order because A. They were standing around, and B. They were the closest to get access to. After asking me twice if I paid and me offering my receipt, they refused and told me to wait. Okay, now after an hour of waiting for 1 kolache and 1 chocolate filled donut, I asked again because they were once again doing absolutely nothing. I watched her go talk to my original server who was super busy, and then she went up to the older woman who must be the team leader. My sister was in line for a second time to get a coffee, after that, she told me how the girl told the woman she was annoyed by me and wanted her to do something because I wouldn't stop bothering her. At that point, the older woman came over with my order, and even added a second kolache for my trouble which wasn't necessary at all. I just wanted better service. I reported that incident, and they're still there. The girl, I swear rolled her eyes at me when I came in. Because of that, I let the couple behind me go ahead and I waited for a different server.
Prices- what do you expect, rent ain't cheap in New Orleans so expect the prices to be more expensive here than other locations. I sure miss my 6.99 box of a dozen filled donuts. At other location, you also get a free bag of donut holes if you buy two dozen. Here, prices are a little inflated.
Now on the donuts & kolaches. Twice I've gone and both were undercooked, which happens. They are very busy. They replaced my order of course. Any other day, you can come here for the freshest hot glazed donuts that just melt in your mouth. I wouldn't go to any other donut shop in my life if I had it my way. Forget those gourmet, fancy donuts they serve anywhere else. Shipley's makes donuts like they should be made. Y'all don't have competitors in my eyes.
Anyways, to wrap it up. Great donuts. I swear by the chocolate filled and the sausage and cheese Kolache. The service on the other hand, get some harder working teenagers. I busted my ass in high school to make minimum wage. No job is easy, but there are more diligent and deserving workers. So please re-evaluate. But forget the service you guys, just come here for he donuts. No matter how sh*tty of an experience I might have had, I'm sure going to keep coming back for more. | 2positive
| 794 |
I wish Bastion the restaurant had a different Yelp page from Bastion the bar, because they're so different and I have a lot to say about both. So here's the big thing to know: Bastion is a bar - "The Big Bar" and a tiny 24-seat tasting menu restaurant (with a small bar in that area called "The Little Bar."
I've been to The Big Bar a few times (but not since COVID). There are some things I like about it - cool space, great music, good drink options, and food options as well (meat or veg nachos). However, I'm just not big on really crowded bars where it seems like you're packed in so tight that you're basically always in line for your next drink (the line kind of just blends into where you inevitably stand). The Big Bar has some seating, but I'm pretty sure the ratio of seats to people in the bar is about 1:50, so you're not getting a seat unless you got there when they open. Basically, The Big Bar makes me feel old and uncool. I guess I'm an old square now, but I admit I like to be able to sit or at least stand in a space that doesn't give me sardine can feelings of anxiety and claustrophobia. (How crowded Bastion is would definitely depend on what time/which day you are there, but I have never enjoyed going on a Friday or Saturday evening; just too crowded for my taste.) If Bastion were just The Big Bar, this review would probably be three stars. But it's not just The Big Bar.
We had dinner at The Restaurant this past weekend as part of a Goodbye Tour as we are moving away from Nashville next month. We had never eaten at The Restaurant before, but several people told me it was a must try. We made our reservation on Tock (you must have a reservation and they go really fast - the restaurant only seats 24 people!). By the time I looked for the weekend we wanted to go, I could only get an 8 pm or later. We took the 8 pm, which worked out fine. I heard from friends that they had only paid a deposit per person when they made the reservation and that you could order a la carte. That may have changed with COVID, but we paid for the entire meal (including tax and tip) up front when we made the reservation, and a la carte was not an option. The pre-paid dinner was $90/person plus tax and tip, but it did not include beverages, so we paid for that at the end of our meal.
The food at The Restaurant was interesting and creative and still tasty (sometimes I think a really cerebral chef can get so bogged down with interesting and creative that they forget it should be delicious, but that wasn't the case here). Our meal was a set 8 courses. The first course was four small bites (1 oyster, 1 puff, 1 mini tart, and 1 play on a chocolate bonbon); the second was a cured salmon tartare; the third course was a duck course; the fourth was a chicken and agnolotti dish; the fifth was a steamed halibut dish; the sixth course was a tri-tip dish; the seventh was a dessert/palate cleanser; and the eighth was another dessert. (They gave us another small dessert to go.) Service was great; each dish was described to us in more detail than on the menu as we received it (the menu just listed the main three ingredients or so in each dish). Everything was good, but we definitely had our favorites! Each course is very small, so I don't feel like it was an overwhelming amount of food! All of the dishes were creative and interesting and had some really great sauces. That halibut dish was one that will really stick with me! And that play on a bonbon that was chicken liver mousse and huckleberry jam!?
We sat at the chef's table, so we had a great view into the kitchen of some of the dishes being prepared, which was really great. The chefs were really open to our asking questions about the dishes they were making as well as questions about the restaurant more generally. I did the wine pairing - about a half glass of 8 different wines with each course. The sommelier came by and described each wine before I received new course. My husband is more of a cocktail guy so he had 2 or 3 cocktails from their drink menu.
The Big Bar isn't my favorite place to have drinks in Nashville, just too crowded and scene-y for me. But behind that other wall is really fun, creative, tiny restaurant that is well worth a visit on a special occasion! Two very different businesses! | 2positive
| 815 |
Visited Primitivo last night (12/8/2015) with a party of 5 to celebrate my girlfriend's birthday. A reservation was made about a week and a half prior. I understand why New Orleans Magazine awarded Primitivo their "Concept of the Year" award. In theory this should be a fine restaurant. In practice, there are some kinks that need to be worked out, as ours was definitely a visit with highs and lows.
As we entered the the restaurant, we were pretty promptly greeted by a server who asked if we had a reservation(they don't seem to have a dedicated host on staff.). I was in the back of the group so one of our friends nearest the server gave her my name. A gentleman not with our group walked in behind us and was waiting as well. The server went to the other side of the restaurant to look at the reservations(no host stand at the entrance) and had our server start putting 2 tables together. Keep in mind that as far as I could tell, every table in the place is either a 2 or 4 top. The server who first greeted us says "we thought you were going to be a party of 5 so just let us put these 2 tables together" to which we replied oh he's not with us, referring to the gentleman who walked in behind us. He says "yeah I'm a party of 2." Our waiter says "oh, ok. Well you guys will just have a little extra room then!" But in my mind I'm thinking, so you guys were just planning on cramming a party of 5 into a single 4 top?? That was oddity number 1.
Oddity number 2 comes with the food. It's very hit or miss. We started with the Smoked Mullet and Field Pea Puree. Which is actually a field pea hummus with chunks of cold smoked mullet topped with not quite crudite vegetables as the menu describes. Also, why don't they just call it a hummus on the menu? Our server says they all refer to it as a hummus and that it even rings in their POS system as "hummus." I think calling it hummus on the menu would be much more explanatory. But that's not important in the long run because the dish is delicious. The mullet had a wonderful smoked flavor that really worked with the smooth hummus. One of the best dishes of the night. After that, I ordered the famed pork cheeks and dumplings, my girlfriend and another friend both ordered the Smoked Beef Coulette with pimento cheese grits and Scallion Jus, and the other 2 members of our party ordered the Roasted Shrimp with Boudin Dirty Rice and Catfish Aioli. Beginning with the best, the shrimp dish was pretty great. Shrimp was well cooked and complemented the strong flavors of the dirty rice and aioli well with its light char. In the middle was the steak dish. My girlfriend's was fine. Steak was pretty tender and well seasoned. Grits were good, and the Jus really tasted of roasted vegetables. Our friend who ordered the same dish however? Well her's was 80% fat and gristle. We tried getting her to send it back but she is the type who really doesn't like doing that sort of thing in restaurants. Instead she ate the grits and and about 20% of the meat that she could find. My pork dish was a pretty major disappointment as well. It seemed to be the only dish of the night that for whatever reason the kitchen seemed to feel didn't need to be touched with any salt. I HATE when chefs and cooks feel that pork doesn't need to be seasoned. NOT ALL PORK IS BACON! SEASON IT AS YOU WOULD ANYTHING ELSE!! I will say that the pork was expertly cooked. The cheeks as tender as any that I've ever encountered and the butt containing a nice char in spots but also tender. But in New Orleans, not seasoning food is just inexcusable. See both Cochon and Delmonico for better cheeks. The dumplings were just as bland and I THINK they were a bit underdone. I'm by no means a dumpling expert but I assume that's why they were a bit floury. This dish would benefit immensely from better seasoning of the pork and perhaps lacing the dumpling with an herb of some type. Rosemary or Thyme perhaps. Because as is it's just a bit one note. We also had 2 orders of biscuits which were baked nicely and my girlfriend got a side of peas and bacon which I didn't try but she seemed to enjoy. We ended with 2 orders of the s'mores dessert which my girlfriend and I found a bit meh as they're using semi sweet chocolate(we prefer a lighter, sweeter milk chocolate for s'mores) but the other members of our party liked them as they're a bit more into darker chocolates.
The last things that I'll mention are just some other things I found odd with the service. There was ZERO mention of the dinner being a birthday dinner even though I said it was in the reservation(truth be told I don't think they looked at our reservation at all until the moment we walked in). And, this is a big one, when they packed up our leftovers they decided that there must be no way my girlfriend actually WANTED the half plate of grits that she left. So as we discovered when we got home to only find 3 pieces of steak in the to go box... | 0negative
| 935 |
Vegetarianism. Veganism. Some things I swear I can't get behind (sorry, life's too short!). But if forced to, there's one place I would be - Vedge. Since opening in Fall 2011, Chef Rich Landau & Kate Jacoby have been winning acclaim from across the nation for their creative and bold approach to cooking vegetables.
There's plenty of seating at this Midtown village hotspot. Replete with a busy bar scene during Happy Hour, all the seats were filled during a pre-theater dinner service earlier this year. A testament to the number of non-carnivorous Philadelphians or just the quality of the dishes at Vedge, I was excited to see if it were the latter.
Planet Caravan [$12]
D'usse, Elijah Craig 12, Luxardo maraschino, grenadine, lemon
This was smooth drinking, with some understated sweetness from the cognac. It lent itself nicely to the backbone of my favorite every-day bourbon. Nice.
Pickpocket Soda [$6]
Thai basil beet shrub, lemon
The GF went with this creative soda-based tipple. It was so delicious, I'm pretty sure I pried it from her sweet fingers. It was nicely earthy, with some sweet undertones from the beet and herbaceousness from the Thai basil. Some bright acidity from the lemon helped to create some balance. I couldn't get enough.
Bread Service
The soft house-baked bread was nicely yeasty and was accompanied by some olive oil and pumpernickel seeds, which offered some nice rye notes.
Rutabaga Fondue [$12]
Soft pretzel, rutabaga salad, charred onion, pistachio
One of our favorite dishes was the incredible rutabaga fondue. If this is on the menu, I dare you not to get this dish. This was unbelievable cheesy. Not in a "for a vegan-vegetarian restaurant" kind of way. In an all things cheese kind of way. The fondue was slightly sweet and savory with charred onion on top. The buttery and salty pretzel roll was beautifully baked and offered the perfect vessel to drown into the dip. The rutabaga salad was studded with pistachio and was well-dressed. A must-order.
Stuffed Avocado [$10]
Pickled cauliflower, romesco, "fried rice", black salt
The stuffed avocado was a fresh take on some classic flavors. The nutty romesco and pickled cauliflower brought some brightness to the richness of the fresh avocado. The fried rice cracker offered some texture.
Smoked Carrots [$11]
Kimchee "reuben", white bean puree, pumpernickel
Kimchee is the new pork belly. Oft-used in a variety of preparations extending beyond traditional Korean cookery, it added some fermented pungency to the slaw, which featured a single beautifully pickled carrot atop. The white bean puree was studded with roasted, sweet-and-savory carrots. The "dirt" of pumpernickel crumble helped to add texture and impart the essence of rye to each bite.
Roasted Maitake Mushroom [$16]
Celery root fritter, smoked leek remoulade, pea leaf puree
The roasted hen of the woods were appropriately meaty and I appreciated that it wasn't overly seasoned, allowing the pure umami flavors to shine. The crisp celery root fritter was freshly fried, with a smoked leek remoulade imparting some additional seasoning to each bite.
Braciole [$15]
Smoked & roasted eggplant, Italian salsa verde, cured olive puree
A gorgeous plate showcased technique to great effect here. A braciole of smoked and roasted eggplant lay atop salsa verde, which imparted additional flavor and seasoning.
Fingerling Fries [$8]
Creamy worcestershire
The fingerling fries were well-roasted and had a slight crisp on the exterior. But really, the best part was the creamy sauce, through which the acidity of the worcestershire really shined.
Crispy & Creamy Sunchokes [$9]
Truffle, "trail mix"
Another must order was the sunchoke dish. Featured two ways - the crisp and sweet chips had a great crunch, with the "trail mix" of creamy roasted sunchokes were interspersed with the sweetness of raisins and the slight hint of truffle. Sweet, savory, and salty - each flavor really played well together.
Sweet Potato Arancini [$9]
Lime sorbet, halva, pho spice-orange supremes
The dessert wasn't overly saccharine in nature. The halva was understated in its sweetness, with classic Middle Eastern-Asian flavors coming through, along with the essence of sesame. The sweet potato arancini were gluttonous within with a slightly crisp texture on the outside. The tartness of the lime sorbet was really needed with the somewhat savory essence of the sweet potato arancini.
Service was exceptional as well, with all of the servers being extremely knowledgeable about each dish. And while the front of the house is up to snuff, Vedge's success truly lies in its kitchen. Philly's vegetarian and vegan scene is definitely more than just seitan. The cooking is top notch and it's no surprise that Chef Landau was recently nominated for a James Beard Award. While Philly as a whole didn't ultimately pan out this year, I wouldn't be surprised if Chef Landau and Vedge brought home an award in the near future. | 2positive
| 802 |
Philadelphia has become a mecca for the restaurant scene, and because of that it wasn't long until the imports started to show up. "Shake Shake" is a New York chain and I'm sad to admit that being from New York is already a strike against it. This is not because I have anything against a place filled with so many delicious bagels and deli meats. Its is because I have city pride and want do what I can to support local operations. I think our city has great potential and I want to see how far we can take. The problem is that resources are finite and if we want to see what Philadelphia can do we need to support locals. I understand live by the idea that "variety is the spice of life," but interesting things are happening here and to see them through I will support local over foreign restaurants. I don't like to admit to bias, but I will not lie to you. With this in mind I will continue on to the review.
To start with "Shake Shack" oozes style. I talked in a previous review of how I enjoy the steel and wood look that modern restaurants set up. The "Shake Shack" has mastered it, they understand how to compliment the look with solid flat colors. The interior is perfectly proportioned. With everything from the tables, plates, chairs, food containers and food designed to match the room. Nothing is gaudy and the concept of burgers and fries as well as where to order and sit is conveyed through the use of simple shapes and designs. I don't know what the style is, but it is similar to the stark cartoon images we use on road signs. In addition the lay out is superb, they have an understanding of how lines of people move and flow. A large menu placed is placed above the waiting area of the line in such a way that it can be seen in its entirety no matter where you are. This serves double duty in providing light entertainment and, hopefully insuring that when someone does get to the front they know what to order. They have an extra line dedicated solely to those people ordering milk shakes and custard. Which helps to cut down the main line and insure that people who want to pop in and out can do so. After you've ordered they give you a buzzer that tells you when your food is done. Its about the size of cell phone and lets you can prep your table or go for a walk while you wait. All these little things show that a lot good ideas went into this place and its construction.
The food is what you would expect from a burger place. Fries milk-shakes and burgers dominate the menu. The only way that they veer off the the beaten path is by also selling a variety of hot dogs. Hot dogs and hamburgers have a strange relationship. They are always bought together but any griller worth his salt will buy double or triple the number of burgers to dogs. I understand that hey have shared history, but people just don't eat them like they used too.
The plain burger that "Shake Shack" serves comes with its own special shake sauce. While I can't tell you what actually is in it. Judging by the color and consistency I assume it is a mix of mustard, mayo and some other spices. The burger was fine, nothing wrong with it, but nothing that wowed me. The patty was very flat and well done with a nice crisp on its base showing a cook who understands the maillard reaction. If I have time to go back I would want to see if I can cooked in way other then the USDH certified guidelines for cooked meat though.
The fries were good, but a little too thin. This cut sometimes called the "shoe string fries" is pretty popular right now. A thinner cut means more of the surface area can be cooked by fry oil and creates crisper french fries. It also cuts the heat retention of the dish in half, so you have cold fries on top before you even sit down. The fires were also over salted a little bit, but that is just nit picking.
As for the milk shake, perfect. I don't drink milk shakes very often, but when I get a hankering for one I get so desperate I will stop at Mcdonalds to buy one. After the first sip I'll promptly throw it out in disgust at both myself and Mcdonalds, but I want to show you how desperate I get for these things. "Shake Shack" Despite any thing else I said earlier makes a damn fine milk shake. They know how to make it thick, but not so viscous that you'd pull out your fillings trying to suck it through a straw. The flavors are mellow, which is how I think a milk shake should be. I drink milk shakes not because Ilove ice cream or milk. I drink them because I enjoy a smooth velvety texture with a light sweetness set off by chill. I this way shack lives up to its name by giving me a place to go whenever I'm in deperate need of a shake.
Over all (), they look great, but the food isn't great. If you want to see how a restaurant should look and act. I recommend that you go and learn what you can from them. | 1neutral
| 931 |
Let me just say, I grew up literally a quarter mile or less up the road from this Walmart. It's in a nice area, low crime rate compared to the surrounding area, you just have to pray you miss the train that goes along the nearby tracks and blocks traffic for up to an hour or more at a time if coming from Newport or Boxwood Road. If you're coming from the direction of the Acme and Prices Corner, you're fine with no worries with the train (there is a 141 on ramp on each side of the train and an off ramp on each side of the train if you know how to navigate the area, so you can avoid the train if it decides to "break down" on the tracks).
The prices are good, if the items are actually in stock, which usually the cheaper ones are not... it is seemingly a bait and switch in some cases. many times, these cheap items are out of stock for weeks or months at a time. Most of the time, the cheapest stuff you have to wait a few days in order to pickup at the store.
If you have a bad experience and ask to speak to management, workers WILL NOT allow you to speak to the manager. You can ask until you are blue in the face. I have done this in store and on the phone. It usually amounts to having to go up there and call while in the store to speak to a genuine manager, or you have to call corporate to get in in touch with a GM or an assistant GM. Supervisors are not the same thing as a manager. Close, but not quite the same thing. I always ask for the GM or AGM for various reasons including the fact that the Corporate Offices will usually come down on a GM or AGM for failure to do their jobs, whereas a Supervisor it's usually the GM or AGM that comes down on them.
I just spoke to management on the phone - she had a bad attitude. It sounded like the same girl I was speaking to about my order instead of someone different, like she put it on hold and picked it up to impersonate a manager.
I hung up and called Corporate who got in touch with an AGM who is handling the issue. She's investigating it as I type this on why my orders are not ready.
I called because I made two orders last night totaling a pretty penny for stuff I need, including a temporary bed for myself and birthday presents for friends and such. They were supposed to be ready at 7am this morning. I have not yet gotten a confirmation email that they are ready (in fact, one of them hasn't even been started on yet) and it is now 6 and a half hours after the estimated time given for pickup. Still no confirmation email.
I have worked a few retail jobs before. I know how things work with them. Also, you can WATCH the numbers deplete on the website for the number of items in stock so the story they gave was just amazingly fabricated. Yes, they do a count sometime during each day, but those counts only apply to shrink. They have electronic records that sync in the system as items are bought. Most retailers have it, including Walmart which is evident in their online shopping for in store pickup.
They are under renovations.... why did they not hire seasonal workers to pick up the slack that they are supposedly experiencing? it's standard procedure and protocol.
No matter what pay you are given in retail, having a bad attitude is NOT how you move up the chain for raises, full time positions, etc. Yes Walmart pays crappy, but it's no excuse to treat other human beings like crap.
I can honestly say though, the management is pretty good when you can finally get in touch with them. In fact, the actual store manager and assistant managers are amazing... which is why it got two stars instead of one.
Update (after waiting a while to post the original review): Apparently, because I called corporate and corporate called the store to get an actual manager on the phone and I was told the second order was picked from the aisles except for one item. The problem is, all of a sudden the entire second order has been pushed back from being picked up today to being picked up in 3 to 5 days. Illegal retaliation. They are now down to one star. I needed the cot I severely badly. I do NOT like being eaten alive when I sleep due to landlord issues. I am absolutely disgusted with this Walmart. I've been over 20 minutes on hold for a manager (and this is after being hung up on!). I understand he's helping a customer, but if they'd do their jobs instead of doing them halfway and disregarding the customers, the manager wouldn't be busy and I wouldn't be calling! | 0negative
| 855 |
Rating: 3.5
Date: 07/2020
A quick weekend getaway brought us to St. Petersburg and it turned out to be such an easy ride. After a morning visit to the beach, we were hungry. A quick yelp search for brunch had brought us here. Right in the heart of downtown St. Petersburg, The Library is located right by the Children's hospital. I called ahead to make sure they are dining people in and for parking. Thankfully, there's a few parking spots available right behind the restaurant and the parking garage is also in right across the street. WIN! The restroom is located outside the restaurant and is part of the main building lobby.
Restaurant:
Located at the first floor of what looks like a medical/office building, The Library is in a great location for professionals, locals to tourists. From the outside, the building is your typical all glass building. But inside, you will find ceilings that seems to go on forever. It has that traditional, old fashion library feel with its balusters and floor to ceiling wooden shelving that is reminiscent of like the Smithsonian. The "old" is complemented with the something "blue", dark royal blue to be exact, which is the pop of color seen on the seat fabric, the monochromatic rows and rows of books and the employee attire. Something "new" are the contemporary light fixtures that definitely fill accentuate the height and the beautiful ceiling work. Seating is available outside but inside, seating is spacious and are avalaible in for parties of all sizes. There is nice bar space in the middle that provides plenty of seating. And a coffee counter on one end holds their selection of bake goods. The chevron wood floors ties everything together. I love that they took the time to provide hooks for purses under the bar counter and usb ports and electric outlets everywhere!!! That's very cool. Love the simple wood furnitures, down the the simple cloth napkin which is white with simple line of blue. Every detail was thought of. I truly love the concept.
Service:
We arrived around 1:45 pm and was immediately seated by the lovely lady on a podium. The place did not look very busy but there were a good amount of people there dining pairs and in groups. Our server B... was polite but behind her mask, her eyes looked tired. And after taking our orders and bringing our food out, I don't remember her ever checking on us again. Yes, she walked by several times but I could sense that she did not want to be there that day. Thank goodness we had a carafe of water on the table, otherwise we would've died of thirst...lol. My coffee arrived lukewarm and at that point I was reluctant to flag her down to heat it up so I just had to endure.
Food:
The food presentation was, without a doubt, as depicted on many of our fellow yelper's photos. So meticulously arranged together; they paid attention to every details and the plate was clean, not an ingredient out of place. We ordered the Pork Belly Egg Benedict and a double patty Burger for my son. I also ordered a mocha latte with heavy cream and unfortunately it arrived a bit less than warm which is sad because coffee is everything to me and it kinda dampen my excitement about being here. The hamburger looked amazing and we ordered it with truffle fries for and extra $1 but sadly I did not get a chance to try it because my son inhaled it. It must've been really good. The Pork Belly Egg Benedict plate arrived with a side of potatoes that I really did not care for. The hightlight of this dish is the poached egg that sat on thin slice of pork belly (so it's more like a bacon...I was hoping they would be a bit thicker) on top of breaded, fried green tomatoes atop a thick, house biscuit and the entire thing was drenched in creole fondue. The egg and green tomatoes were perfectly cooked and the creole fondue had a lovely flavor. The biscuit was a bit too thick and dense for my liking and it was a little difficult to get it to go down even with my cold coffee.
Overall, as I spend a LOT of time in libraries...discovering The Library at a place I've never been before was truly the highlight of our day. I can definitely see many professionals spend their time here during the work week and on the weekend, it has a more chill and a more time-to-unwind vibe. The price point is a bit high. But the food is good and the ambiance is nice and I hope we can visit again someday to experience their dinner menu. | 1neutral
| 801 |
So I just moved here from Sacramento California and this is my first experience at Silver Legacy. I went there with my boyfriend to play on the games and I spent about maybe 100 bucks at the slots I asked for a drink from the waitress for a Budweiser and I waited and waited and it never came. I went up to another waitress on the other side when I use the bathroom and I just checked my ID and said that she would bring it out or have another waitress bring it out for to me. I was are spending a lot of money and I didn't want to play any slots on that side so I told her I was gonna wait right there for the drink until then I can walk to the other side of the casino and play the games I want to play. They don't go looking for you so I decide to stay please input and just stand there and talk to my family on the phone and I heard the whole thing go down. After still not received my drink I walked up to the bar and talk to the very nice lady behind the bar and she said that I've have to pay for a drink up there but since I've already been playing the slots why would I buy a drink at the bar when I should get them for free so she said she was in the waitress with my drink over to me and I stood over there and waited for about another 15 minutes and no drink. I'm not going to stand there and play games I don't want to play but I know the waitresses don't look for you if you move around so I was not trying move my location so I can actually get the drink I asked for three times now so then I saw this little short thick curvy girl I heard and think her name started with an A. She was kind of short black hair bangs cut off to arm on her face short thick curvy baby a little Hispanic but mostly looks white I politely asked her if I could get a Budweiser in that I've been waiting for a while and that I wanted to go play games on the other side of the casino and not if I left that area they wouldn't bring me the drink so that's why I was trying to tell her until she interrupted me very rudely when I was being polite. She told me that she only serves people playing at the slots well....By recall correctly I just spent a lot of money at the slots and I thought I deserve a drink I told her this and she's like rudely said if you want to drink you can go order it at the bar and pay for it. My question is why would she rudely come at me like that was so much out of two that was uncalled for when I was being polite and saying yes ma'am and all this other stuff tell me to go to the bar and buy a drink when I've already paid a lot of money and lost money at the slot machines and been waiting for a drink by this time for over an hour. I feel really disrespected and for the first experience I had at this casino I don't recommend it to my friends or family at all I put reviews on Facebook and I try to put one on the website but they don't let you do that they make up their own reviews and don't let actual customers post reviews I'm very disappointed in this casino for the the lack of training their waitresses not to be so rude and arrogant and she start talking crap behind my back as I walked away and yelling at me which is very uncalled for when I was polite the whole time so for my experience coming here first time I will not be coming back . If someone wishes to contact me about this experience you number is 9168262266 email is [email protected]. Also I have a witness to how mean and rude this waitress was cause like I said I had a family member on speaker while I was waiting so when I walked up to her he heard the whole thing. I think I will stick with Harrah's just cause there customer service and the way the treat there guests is always held to high standards. I have never been so disrespected in a casino. I just moved here and this isn't starting off on a good foot for them I had family coming to visit me and they put reservations down for silver legacy hotel and I told them they canceled there reservations all of them and went over to Harrah's.
To tell me with so much rudeness to go buy a drink when I spent 100 plus at the slots is so beyond rude and other words I can't describe. Why would I spend more money on drinks when I haven't even gotten one to begin with when I been playing slots the whole time hmmm. Ohh and I just remembered I tried to call her over when I dust got there the same waitress when I was playing on a slot game and she looked right at me saw me rolled her eyes and walked the other way. Hmmm seems like I got picked on by her and her only everyone one else was super nice. She is not a good asset to this company and should be working there or should be retrained on how to treat people or say what she needs to say in a polite and respectful way. Smh seemed like a set up to make me spend more money just saying | 0negative
| 990 |
PRO-TIP:Save the cash and disappointment go down to K&S and get a bag of Black Shin Ramen, a can of soda and go home to enjoy
The negatives:
SUPER LOUD MUSIC plays constantly COMMUNITY SEATING and no options and not informed or asked your preference.No space on small table between you and others, hardly elbow room.
NO CONDIMENTS
NO SUBSTITUTIONS OR EXCHANGING
UPCHARGE only for additional toppings even if you exchange
WEIRD noodles in miso ramen
COLD uninviting egg
BLAND "kimchi"
SODA for $3 bucks served in can
CHECK IN CONFUSING to tell where and how to check in.
The POSITIVES:
CHICKEN BUN is great!!
Soy egg yummy
Ramen noodles in Tennessee is good
Broth is yummy
We visited on a Sunday afternoon about 6:30.
The first thing that I was struck with straight away was super loud music.
It wasn't too busy up front but there were people gathered both on the left and right hand side.
So there wasn't any clear idea of what to do next, as there wasn't a hostess stand, hostess or a clear line one way or the other.
Finally noticed there was a line to the right.. sort of. We, as a party of 4, get in line. See people holding menus, so we look around for those and I notice an area possibly to obtain them and once I got through the people standing there, also saw sign in sheet on a stand of sorts(previously wasn't visible due to all the people standing around it.) I sign us in and return to the line and finally a "hostess" I assume? As she never introduced or greeted us, asked how many in the party and asked me to sign in and I told her I just did that.
We are at this time, second to next in line. As we stand waiting, we are almost under a speaker and will be grateful when our ears aren't being assaulted by the volume.
She takes us about two steps forward to the closest table and in confused because two people are already sitting there, but we are being seated further inside the table.
I ask about sitting outdoors - pointed to a table that seats 4 and asked if that would be cleared soon we would like to sit there.
She straight up says no, it's about to be seated by her with another party, and they can add a chair to the end.
So before I even address this issue- that speaker is now directly next to us. We can't even hear each other. We can't hear the people we are now sitting with, which I wasn't aware it was communal seating but that should be something you are asked if you mind first. We do at least have a chair between us and the other party.
We are greeted with two servers, assuming one was training because our questions were answered all by one. I ask some basic questions like, can I get a soy egg with this ramen rather than a regular one- yes, but it's 2.00 extra. I say, I see I can buy a soy egg, he agrees and says you can keep the other one but we charge for it. Oookaaay, that's not a substitution then is it I was thinking but went on to my next question about the meat, again.... he stated clearly this time so this is the deal, we don't exchange anything, you can request to have something removed or pay to add stuff, that's it.
Since the menu is so limited and ramen is so personal, and one of those things people enjoy it different ways, I just think this is a bad business decision.
Anyway, place our orders and $3.00 for a can of soda that comes in the can was the next disappointment.
I go to the restroom and by the time I come back we are seated with new people and 4 of them.
We are elbow to elbow- it's not generous room, it's very cramped.
So when the food arrives, I was happy to have something to do to relieve the awkwardness-
Hot chicken buns: excellent! Very tasty chicken, slaw awesome and nice pickle on a Asian steamed bun.
Ramen: we ordered one spicy miso and Tennessee tonkotsu.
Spicy miso: positives: pork bone broth and extra pork belly I ordered for $2.00 is good. The kimchi was barely there on top and not flavourful at all- just mushy cabbage, none of the sour, spicy, salty taste expected-Noodles:so sad, I mean- two things should be right with ramen- the noodles and broth, and they were stringy, weird noodles and tasteless.
Stuck and unslurpable- my attempt to grab a good amount with my chopsticks and slurp ended with stringy noodles flopping up broth into my eyeball- I gave up and ate like an American with the spoon which shouldn't be necessary for eating the noodles and drinking broth.
The dashi and egg was just okay. Again, barely noticeable.
The Tennessee: my son really liked, I enjoyed very much a bite of his and his noodles were much better! I also enjoyed his soy egg very much. (The two items I wanted to exchange on mine but wasn't allowed with upcharge was the egg and type of ramen.
Ramen should be fun and individual. You shouldn't have to beg for a stinking condiment- there's not a soy sauce, chilli oil, etc to be found!
If this is all you do, you shouldn't be so stingy with toppings and condiments for this price point.
Ask if someone minds community seating. And turn down the music. | 0negative
| 941 |
My husband and I are big fans of The Pour House a couple blocks away from Keg and Kitchen but we kept seeing it so we tried to give it a shot. Online the menu seemed nice and the beer list seemed really good.
The hostess that sat us was very nice. Then a manager came over and poured our water and asked us how we were tonight. Then we waited for our server. We had enough time to go over the beer on tap menu, the restaurant week menu, the cocktail, wine and bottled beer menu, the dinner menu and had decided what we wanted on all before our server had even come over. Which was an awfully long amount of time. The server then came over to our table and didn't really greet us, didn't explain the numerous menus on the table, didn't ask us if we had ever dined there before, nothing he just asked us if we knew what we wanted to drink.
I told him I wanted to try a pale ale and he asked me if I'd like to sample it which I thought was really nice. So he brought my husband back his drink and me my sample.
I had very long since finished the sample by the time he came back. I told him I wanted to have the beer I sampled and after another 5 minutes or so he brought it back, dropped it on the table and left. By this time we had been sat for at least 20 minutes and had long ago decided what we wanted to eat. And mind you it was a Wednesday night and it wasn't very crowded so there was no excuse that maybe they were just busy. So finally he comes back and we placed our dinner order. Our apps were dropped but no side plates. Eventually our sever came over and just dropped the side plates. And we had already starting digging into the apps and he said nothing no "how is everything, can I get you anything" just dropped the side plates and sort of rushed away and by this point my husbands beer was very empty.
The apps were just ok. We got asparagus "fries" and mixed olives. The asparagus was incredibly over battered and was served with what seemed like just plain hellmans mayonnaise.
So still our server hadn't come back to ask us if we needed another drink or if everything was ok. My husbands beer had been empty for about 10 minutes by this point and I saw a few other servers notice it being empty but did nothing. Not really there fault though, they have their own tables to take care of. Our server however touched the tables next to us two times each and still never came over to us. So eventually we were so annoyed and my husband wanted a beer so badly that he just got up and went to the bar.
That's when our server finally noticed us. We weren't rude to him or unpleasant in anyway so we don't understand why he was just ignoring our table. I actually saw him many times just hanging out talking to other severs and chatting with the bartender, when all we wanted was to order a drink. When my husband went up to the bar he came over and asked if everything was ok. I said "actually I'm sorry but my husbands drink has been empty for a really long time and you've touched the other tables around us numerous times and acted like we don't exist".
Now, I'm never rude when I go out. In fact I've worked in restaurants my whole life and I know how much it sucks sometimes and how weeded you can get. But this guy was not weeded. He just didn't care.
Eventually our entrees came out and they were ok. Same as the apps. Nothing special..
But maybe at this point our server felt awkward cause I called him out. Cause he still kept his distance from us. Occasionally he would come to the table but never noticed when our drinks were empty he mostly just quickly cleared empty plates and ran off, we had to stop him if we wanted something else.
Like I said the food was ok. Not bad enough that I wouldn't go back. But service is an important part of your dining experience and bad service puts a bad taste in your mouth so maybe if he treated us nicer the food would have seemed better. But I'm not sure we'll be back anytime soon. I think we'll just stick to the Pour House. | 0negative
| 782 |
If you are an experienced rider, SAVE YOUR MONEY; you will be VERY disappointed with their parody of trail riding. First of all, TVGR misrepresented themselves in telling my husband and I that (as previous guests that were returning within a one-year period) we would not be required to retake the lope test. The old bait & switch! It was not until we checked in that we were told "sorry, our policy has changed." At first, this did not seem like too big a deal since both of us had passed on the first attempt in Feb. of 2105 and we reasonably expected the test to be just a minor inconvenience.
As background, I am an Arizona native that has been riding Western (in addition to English, Dressage and POLO!) alone in the desert (loping and-gasp-galloping) by myself since childhood (since I was 6 years old; for 44 years). My husband, (who ironically is English) on the other hand, has ridden all of ten times in his entire life and admits he has barely a clue what he's doing. Well apparently, we all need to sign up for lessons from him because he passed on the first time and I failed twice. I refused to take the test a third time and give the twisted barn manager a chance to fail me again after it became quite clear that there was nothing I could do to pass.
TVGR says they are extra diligent because "safety, safety, safety, yahta, yahta, yahta," but the ultimate irony in that statement is that guests are NOT required to wear helmets, which is undeniably the most surefire way to prevent injury or death when falling off a horse. (I know this because, yes, I have fallen off a horse and that's what helmets are for....) Anyway, after doing a little online research, it is all over the internet that this Dee apparently has problems with "a certain kind of woman." So be sure to kiss her ass and pretend you don't know what your doing. If you go into the test with confidence and, GOD FORBID, are wearing English riding clothes, trust me: you are screwed!
In conclusion, TVGR is not a "dude ranch," but a "dud ranch." Be especially careful to hide it if you have ridden English or Dressage. Dee lives to try to take you down a notch or two. The guy wranglers (Jake, Travis, Chad) are all pretty cool but I think they are afraid of her and cowtow to her; they won't dare oppose this power-tripping chick to pass you so don't thing just having guy wranglers for your test will help. In my case, she galloped out to personally fail me in my second test even though she had not seen ANY of it and I rode at least as well as the eight to ten other individual that passed. She gets a really weird satisfaction out of failing "a certain kind of woman," which apparently, I am.
I talked to the Assistant General Manager Rich Lopez as well as the Head Wrangler JR and, while somewhat sympathetic, they really don't care what you say; they ain't gonna go mano a mano with this chick. But please don't take my word for it. Do some research and google "Lope Test Tanque Verde" and see for yourself. Apparently, it's a common thing for this little miscreant to split people up and ruin their vacations. Several guests that had been there previously told me stories about past times when she wouldn't "give the nod" to experienced riders who were penalized for having riding experience in other disciplines. I could have taken the test bareback, at a full gallop, using my horse for breastworks while shooting arrows into a moving target and she would have failed me. "Sorry Geronimo, you suck, you need to ride a Shetland pony while your mama leads you around the arena." Sitting Bull? "Let's start you on a mini, and see if we can get you up to speed with one of our Intermediate Horsemanship Lessons."
Did I mention that we spend nearly $1,000 on this vastly unpleasant trip (lured there under false pretenses by the one year guarantee), which was supposed to be a Birthday Celebration Trip as well as a Victory trip for my husband surviving metastatic ocular melanoma? Did I enjoy this money sucking disappointment of a vacation? Not even once did we get to ride together outside the arena, therefore spending almost NO time together on what was supposed to be a trip to relax, celebrate and make happy new memories. The only high points were "Peanut," the Mountain Bike Guide, who is a little serious but very sweet and ultimately a good guy and a wonderful female wrangler, JW. JW was a breath of fresh air, sweet and sincere-sans weird jealousy hang-ups or funky power trips. She was pure light and positive energy. Probably won't last long in that environment.
Remember, you have choices. I'd look into the White Stallion Guest Ranch, where the Yelp Reviews are pretty stellar and there is probably a lack of ARBITRARY BS lope tests.
And TVGR, if you really care about your guests safety as you say, have them use helmets. Total no brainer! | 0negative
| 878 |
I am happy to say that the experience at Brazikat was 100% excellent. If that's all you needed to know ... stop here! From other reviews, I discovered that Brazikat gives you a free feast on your birthday month!
When we arrived for our 6:30pm reservation, the polite hostess took us to our table where our waiter (Mark) promptly took over. He really helped to make the experience spectacular. He was eager yet courteous. We never felt left alone or rushed. He was quick to explain that the $39.95 value of the free birthday offer (good Sunday through Thursday one time during your birthday month) could be applied to any other feast if I wanted to upgrade. I decided to stick to my original plan and go with the feast of meats. I think it is important to note that my dining companion (a vegetarian) ordered the vegetable feast. More on that later! Mark took our drink orders (I had a delicious Malbec blend) and returned promptly with toasty bread drizzled with seasoned olive oil and a side of Brazilian friend cheese balls. Delicious. He encouraged us to sample the buffet (included with the feasts) while our selections were being prepared.
I was quite surprised at the variety of buffet offerings. They had lentil soup, a variety of salads, hummus, couscous, tabouleh, stuffed olives, smoked salmon cream cheese bites, hearts of palm, and various other delicious (mostly vegetarian) treats. By the time we got back to the table, Mark had returned with some sides to get us started (Brazilian mashed potatoes, caramelized bananas, Brazilian rice balls, and a Brazilian pico de gallo which complimented the rice balls nicely. Everything from the buffet had a good flavor and tasted fresh. The sides were flavorful as well. So far, so good!
Before I talk about the skewers of meats, I want to first reference the courtesy that was given to the vegetarian at the table. Veggie sides were brought out FIRST, and the servers were always sure to update the veggie-lover on his next round of treats. The chef even came out twice to inquire if there was any way that he could prepare another round of veggies that would please the veggie feast participant. After a plate of pasta in red sauce, which was somewhere between a traditional spaghetti sauce and an arrabbiata, plus two heaping full plates of mixed grilled veggies in sauces, the vegetarian threw in the towel and cried uncle. He was so full! I didn't want my companion to suffer because of my birthday choice and he certainly did not. He had broccoli, asparagus, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini, squash ... I'm probably forgetting something ... I was really fixated on the meats. I snuck a taste of his veggies and I can say that that the lemon-pepper butter sauce was fantastic and the broccoli was cooked to perfection!
So on to the meats. In case you are not familiar with the Brazilian steakhouse way of doing things, the servers bring out skewers of various meats to your table and you are given a postcard with a red light and a green light on opposite sides to indicate your meat-readiness status. As you might have guessed, green side up means "keep the meats coming" and red means "no more meat for now ... but maybe later".
The selection of meats completely exceeded my expectations ... and they just kept coming. About once every five minutes, more meats would arrive. I tried the top sirloin, Picanha (house sirloin), slow-roasted, turkey, Linquica (Brazilian sausage), sugared pineapple, pork spare ribs, parmesan chicken, and bacon-wrapped chicken. I am probably forgetting something. It was all so amazing! Each uniquely prepared meat skewer was a taste sensation. I had at least two full rotations of the meats, which were served in 1-2oz slices. As the server carves the meat, you use your personal tongs to grab the slice and place it on your plate. Fun! The meats came at a nice steady pace throughout the evening and I was never left feeling like too much time had passed before another round began. Again, attentive but not overbearing was the theme all night.
When our waiter sensed that I was just about ready to flip the meat card to the red side, he popped over and said "is there anything that you really enjoyed that I could bring around for another serving?" How could I resist? I had one more serving of the top sirloin and then called it quits on the meats before I was too painfully full.
Throughout the meal, our waiter, servers, and even the chef kept checking in regularly and were eager to accommodate any special requests. It never felt like an intrusion. This was five-star service (on an idle Tuesday night) and a real birthday treat! I found nothing negative about the whole evening. From start to finish, it was a fantastic birthday feast. I even tried a delicious brownie a la mode dessert with my after dinner coffee (both were delicious). I will definitely be back and I will be encouraging my friends to try out Brazika | 2positive
| 858 |
Oh, NoRTH. This could have easily been a 5-star review, but there were two slightly gaping holes that just could not be ignored. Overall, a nice experience and I would definitely come back. But, for the details...
Made reservations tonight an hour before we wanted to come in. The girl on the other end of the line was very friendly and made for a smooth process. She asked if we were dining for any occasion, and we actually were: an anniversary was on the agenda for the evening. She took note of that and confirmed our reservation for 7:30.
I had dined at other Fox Restaurant Concepts, and had superb experiences at all of them (see my reviews of Zinburger, Wildflower, and Sauce).
We arrived at La Encantada, had no problem parking, and found our way to NoRTH. We were greeted by a very sweet hostess-- my guess is that she is the same one who made our reservation! Anyway. She gave us a fantastic table against the window...bonus points.
The restaurant has a very classy, modern, yet pleasant atmosphere; it wasn't snobby or pretentious. It has an open kitchen for the most part and the pizza oven is visible from any part of the interior. The bar seemed very capable, complete with two TVs on either end tuned to sports/ESPN. I would definitely hit this place up for their happy hour!
We were promptly seen by our waiter and were brought our drinks in a timely manner. TIP: The iced tea is flavored, possibly mango and/or peach? It was delicious and my mom really enjoyed it.
The table also received an assortment of 5 olives...nice touch! Our waiter, while seemingly indifferent to be there, was very accommodating (gave us a more in depth explanation of items, obliged to split our starter salad, brought us more of their bread and butter right away, etc). Speaking of the bread...
The bread was worth the calorie intake! It was fluffy and not overly dense inside. Good flavor and had a little bit of flour dusting on the outside (I like this for some reason). It came with a sun-dried tomato infused butter. YES, PLEASE. We scarfed one of those down before our waiter could even react.
Starters:
Farmer's Market Salad ($10): This had an incredible array of vegetables in it. Kale, some Romaine, beets, cranberries, almonds, and more. There were also dates in here-- not my favorite-- but if you love dates...this is the salad for you! I squeezed some lemon on mine and I liked this twist.
Italian Wedding Soup ($8): AVOID. I was so excited for this, and it was a let down. While hearty and presumably healthy, it really missed the mark for taste. It was really bland, even with the surplus of veggies in it. Its only saving grace was the duo of meatballs in the broth.
Main Courses:
Chicken Parmigiana ($17.50): Served with tomatoes and some buttery spaghetti, this was better than average. It had an excellent coating, sauce, and flavor, but the chicken itself was a tad dry. The pasta on the side was delicious.
Strozzapreti ($19): This is one massive dish-- unless you're dying of starvation, definitely split this one! The strozzapreti is a fun pasta, kind of curly in nature. The dish was complete with chicken, mushrooms, pine nuts, and spinach, tossed in a light creamy sauce. This was an excellent dish, all three of us enjoyed it. The pieces of chicken were very small but in abundance throughout the mix of pasta.
Pappardelle ($17): Another star at the table! I would definitely get this again, except for one thing...WAAH, NO CAPERS!! The menu didn't say a word about capers, and I'm not a fan at all. And it isn't like there were a few of them...there was at least 60 of them. Oh well. Besiiides this, the dish was fantastic. The wide noodles were slightly al dente (mmmm) and the oven-roasted tomatoes were AMAZING. I could just eat those! The red pepper ragout in the dish was also tasty. Try this out for sure!
Well, at this point, we were full. However, I just figured that since we decided to go there on a special occasion (the anniversary), they might do a little something special in return. Maybe a scoop of ice cream with a candle, it doesn't even have to be a big deal!
...Nope. The check was brought to us. Uh...why ask on the reservation if we're celebrating anything if there wasn't a single mention of it from any of the staff? I know this might sound picky, but at a restaurant of this caliber in Tucson, this should be a no-brainer. Read my review of The Keg ( http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-keg-steakhouse-and-bar-oro-valley#hrid:N-FRW2SpPjHOQO3iXwskXA ) for an example of the above & beyond a restaurant can go for celebrations.
So, I docked a star (generous...) for disregarding our celebration and for the subpar soup. Overall, good pastas and service. | 2positive
| 824 |
I want to say that it's with a heavy heart that I have to write such a review, but as a woman who just got married I feel like I owe this information to other brides in the future. Yes it's long, but you don't have to read the whole thing, if it helps just one engaged couple that's enough for me.
Let my cut to the point, in order to have time for photos we opted for a signature cocktail hour, and despite being reassured many times by staff that this was an impossibility, we ended up paying almost $6,000.00 for it! Yes you read this correctly, almost $6,000.00 for at most, one hour of beer and wine.
I want to make it known, I generally liked these women charged with assisting with our wedding, but now having had this experience I can honestly say my husband and I feel abundantly taken advantage of. They knew the amount we wanted to spend and what we didn't, as there were multiple meetings just to discuss this. We even tried to get out of the contract. If they had any past experience whatsoever, which one would hope, they should have informed us that this was a chance, rather than garneting us that it was an impossibility. We changed from a designed cocktail to beer and house wine to stay within budget. We paid more and gave our guests less. We could have had a six hour long cocktail hour with food and all varieties of drinks elsewhere for what we paid. To say we are unhappy would be an understatement. Most people go on a honeymoon for what we paid. I can't state enough, this hour was constantly stressed and made lavishly clear that it was not to break the bank. It was merely for our out of town guests to have something/somewhere to do and be while we took our wedding photos. I cannot express my disappointment enough. I will never recommend this hotel or speak highly of its staff. Let this serve as a warning to any bride who is considering this location or currently being feed pretty lies by the staff. Beware Brides! If you would like to read in more detail as to how this happened to us read on, but honestly the moral of the story is there are plenty of other hotels in the area - shop around and do your homework and hopefully our loss is your knowledgably gain.
Yes, you read that right, $6K for a cocktail hour that we did not even attend. Initially we wanted to offer our guests a signature drink, but when we learned that we would be charged per beverage ($15.00 per drink) rather than a flat rate, we saw this as our first red flag. It seemed odd to us that despite having our wedding there, and bringing so many out of town guests whom where purchasing rooms for more than one evening that we would be charged the same premium cost for a drink as someone who was just going up to the lobby bar for one or two drinks.
Needless to say, this warranted a trip to Philly. We live about an hour and a half outside of the city, on a good day with no traffic, and I made a trip just to come into the city and meet with the two ladies who were in charge of my wedding just to discuss how unhappy we were with this. They gave me the options of allowing just one cocktail per person, for an hour long cocktail hour, or water as they were also going to charge us $4.25 if anyone dared to order a soft drink. Then, they suggested just beer and wine, while it would not be as glamourous they could GUARANTEE that the price would stay down. "$6.00 for a beer, and $10.00 for wine." They kept saying. Literally holding my hand and telling me that paying any more than what we were planning on was an absolute impossibility, yes I know I keep repeating that but I can't drive this fact home enough. While my husband and I did not love this idea we went along with it for the budget. Which any bride knows, it doesn't matter if you are planning a humble wedding or an extravagate one there is always a budget.
Our reception was at the Crystal Tea Room which I cannot rave more about. Kind, caring people a room that commands your attention and food that will make your mouth water even at the memory of it. Now, when I called CTR and told them of what was going on, they were shocked and equally appalled at how we were being treated. They offered us a cocktail hour with food, wine, beer and cocktails for what it would cost them - they would make zero profit- they just cared about us as clients and assisting us. We tried to do that, but the Marriott would not let us out of the contract, which stated we needed to spend a minimum of $1,500.00. Needless to say this was all we were willing to spend, and this was made copiously clear to both women involved with our wedding.
Regardless of all this, and not being able to be released from our contract we went along with the beer and wine signature drink hour at the Marriott. Our wedding was a stunning, beautiful and unforgettable day BUT this has cast an incredibly expensive dark cloud over it. A few days after the wedding we were called by our planner, whose name I will not mention publicly, and who was returni | 0negative
| 950 |
So far the first restaurant week of 2013 is proving to be the best yet! I had a fantastic meal here last week for restaurant week. It was snowing, and the traffic reports seemed nightmarish, so even though my husband and I left early, I thought we might still be late for our reservation. However, traffic was fine, so we arrived at the restaurant one hour before our reservation time. The hostess took our name, and told us we could wait at the bar, and she would come get us when the table was ready.
The service was excellent starting with the service we received at the bar. I started off with a tequila based cocktail with tamarind in it. It was good, but not amazing. I then got the El Jefe Mojito (the difference from the standard mojito being the rum used), which was much better, well muddled, and contained the right amount of sweetness and was garnished with sugarcane. I usually walk away disappointed when I order a mojito from a bar, because often the mint isn't properly muddled, but no complaints here. The bartender keep our water glasses full and came back to check on us to make sure we were enjoying our cocktails.
When our table was ready the server offered to get a tray and carry our drinks up. That wasn't necessary, but I thought it was nice that they offered.
The restaurant is a lot bigger than it appears as there is an upstairs area, and possibly another floor on top of that (there was another staircase, but I didn't go up it). I love the dimly lit orange lights and the white modern furniture and tables. As others have said, this place has a loungey feel, but in a classy way. It would be a great place to go on a date.
We were brought fresh yuca bread, which I didn't know we were going to get. Lots of times with restaurant week, the restaurant makes cut backs like the free bread. Not here though. It was hot, doughy, and starchy and served with a chimichurri sauce, which is basically oil, parsley garlic, and spices. It wasn't what I was expecting when I bit into it, but I liked it.
For the first course of my restaurant week meal I had the bass ceviche. It said it was corvina online, but they must have ran out. I was a bit disappointed since I'd eaten this fish while in Panama and fallen in love with it, but the bass was tasty, and I liked the hints of vanilla in the sauce. Maybe I can get the corvina next time.
For my main course, I ordered the tilapia with chimichurri sauce. When the food was dropped off by someone who wasn't our server, mine didn't look like fish. I stared at it for about five seconds before our waiter said, it wasn't the fish and was in fact some kind of beef and took it away. She immediately brought me out the crab and vegetable salad appetizer on the house, the one my husband and I hadn't ordered, to tide me over while they worked on correcting my entree. It wasn't her mistake, and that was excellent service on her part. I wasn't bothered that I had to wait, as I got the chance to taste another dish. The crab was really good, but the salad tasted a lot like coleslaw. I tasted my husband's shrimp and grits. I usually hate grits because of the texture, but these were smooth and delicious. The tomato sauce was rich and savory. I thought for a minute that maybe I'd made a mistake in ordering the tilapia.
My fish came about about ten minutes later, and let me tell you, it was so worth the wait. Usually tilapia isn't impressive, but it was the whole fish and the sauce was so good, and the fish itself was really quite flavorful. I can't stop thinking about it! The potatoes it came with were really tasty too. I was getting full though, and I was worried we would leave hungry. Usually that's what happens when I go to Steven Starr restaurants, with the exception of some dishes at the Dandelion. Thankfully, that was not the case this evening.
Dessert came and I was full, but ate the Cuban cookies filled with dulce de leche and with a scoop of banana ice cream on the side anyway because there is always room for dessert! The ice cream was full of banana flavor and not too sweet. The cookies surprisingly tasted like my mom's Christmas cookies, which wasn't a bad thing. They were very buttery. I tasted the flan, and it was well, flan. It's hard to go wrong. The red berries made for a pretty and colorful garnish.
I can't wait to go back here and try other dishes and drinks. Alma did not disappoint with food or service. I will be back! | 2positive
| 832 |
So, we had a large group checking into this hotel, which I completely understand is a huge undertaking (I worked in a hotel for 2 years), BUT this was not a surprise visit, they have been booked for months so the hotel was well aware of how many rooms would be used. We were checking in in the mid evening, 6-8pm timeframe and rooms still weren't ready! Many in our group were sitting in the lobby at 7pm waiting for their rooms to be ready so they could put their luggage away.
Our room happened to be one of the lucky few that were ready, however where the room was pre-paid they said that taxes hadn't been applied and a company card hadn't been left on file so they needed our personal credit/debit card to place a hold for taxes and to have on file for incidentals. We gave them our card for that and it was a fiasco for the girl trying to get it right in the first place and then we find that she put a hold for the ENTIRE WEEK'S STAY on our card (even though the actual cost of the room was already paid for!!) instead of just the room tax. It took approximately 24 hours, but they did get it straightened out, but then we have to wait for the bank to release the hold.
We then go up to our room and found that the comforter cover had make up or some type of fresh stain on it and was dirty (at the top by your face), the first day we were here our room was not cleaned so we had to go down and get towels that evening after being out all day and being tired, the following day it was cleaned but the bath towel that was left had some type of crusted food or vomit or something on it (which I found when I grabbed it to dry off the following morning...ewww!), our coffee area routinely wasn't stocked each day, the mattress is HARD and horribly uncomforable and has a huge hole/indent in the center of the bed (the mattress has caved in), pillows don't have any loft. Security wise, I was a dumb dumb and didn't take my purse out one night and had my room key, ID, etc in my pocket, was tired when I came back and put my shorts in the laundry and never thought about the cards...until the next day when I was out and came back and oops, no room key or ID. So, I went to the front desk hoping maybe a security question would work. Now, on one hand she was very nice and I was glad I could get into my room, however on the other hand, it seems anyone could get into my room. I explained and she said oh sure, asked my room number, name on the room (my husband, not even mine mind you), and asked for my ID, which I explained I didn't have because I left it in my pocket the night before, so she said don't worry about it and gave me the room key. So, like I said, where I was glad to get into my room, it was a little scary knowing you could get a key that easily and all you needed to know was the room number, name, and have a belieable cover story. Another oddity is that you can watch streaming TV through Netflix, Hulu, etc on the hotel TV as long as you have a Netflix, etc account (at no charge), however they charge you $12.95/day for wifi usage if you want to connect your phone, laptop, etc to the hotel wifi. And I have tried to go to the in hotel restaurant 3 different times during times that my room book says they should be open, only to find them closed. I have been here 6 days and have yet to see that restaurant actually open in the hotel. And last but not least, there is no hot tub/jacuzzi at this hotel and the pool is super tiny.
I will say I was very excited to stay in a full service hotel, as when we travel on our own we usually stay at cheaper places, however, this has not been a positive experience at all and I would not choose to stay at a Sheraton again. Cleanliness and security obviously aren't priorities, no food available that I could find, overall it's just not been great which was very disappointing. I have had FAR better service and ammenities at a Super 8 or Fairfield Inn to be very honest. | 0negative
| 780 |
Oh. My. God!
Worst service I've ever experienced. My husband and I went for the Sunday brunch buffet. We're always looking for good places to eat and were excited at the idea of having another option for breakfast in Newtown Square. We were seated immediately and the omelet station smelled amazing, so we really had high hopes when we arrived. After we were seated, the bus boy brought us water, took away the extra place settings...so far so good and then....nothing. We sat for a full 5 minutes waiting and watching two servers move around the dining room to various tables around us smiling and bringing drinks, etc. No one approached us to say that they would be right with us or anything (the dining room was not even half full at this point). When the manager brought another table in that was greeted right away by a server, my husband and I decided to go ahead up to the buffet and hope that the waitstaff could get it together while we were gone and approach us to offer coffee/beverages when we got back.
The buffet set-up was problematic as well. There was only one person working the very popular omelet station and it was placed at the end of the buffet that contained all of the other hot options, which meant that the line moving along the whole buffet was held up waiting for one person to cook omelets to order at the end even if they had no interest in an omelet. It was a very slow moving line - it probably took us 15 minutes to get from the end of the line to having full plates and we decided not to bother waiting for omelets and got the already prepared scrambled eggs instead.
Upon returning to our table, we noted that the dining room had filled up more since we left it, but when we sat down, a server came over and asked us if anyone had offered us coffee. We said that no one had and she told us that she'd be right back. She never came back. After another 5 minutes of trying to catch someone's eye, we asked the busboy who was cleaning the table next to us to please send someone to take our drink order. He nodded and proceeded to finish cleaning the table where he was working. When he finished cleaning that table, he moved to another table to clean it, which took several more minutes. I have no idea if he ever told anyone to come over, but finally the other server (not the one that said she'd be right back) came and took our drink order (coffee and OJ) which took another 5 minutes. When our drinks were finally brought, we were more than halfway finished our meals - and we had slowed our pace trying to wait to have something besides water to wash it down. To top it all off, my husband poured cream into his coffee from the little pitcher that was sitting on the table when we arrived only to watch it curdle in his coffee. Getting our check to leave involved a similar ordeal of having to go to extraordinary lengths to get any attention - no one ever came back to check on us. Even the manager walked by several times to seat people and give orders to the busboy, but ignored diners who were trying to get his attention as he walked by.
I worked my way through college and graduate school in restaurants at various levels. I know what is involved in serving a dining room full of people both off a menu as well as buffets. My husband and I were not ill mannered or ill kept. We could think of no reason that could explain this set of circumstances other than the incompetence of the staff and management. We were literally surrounded by tables that were obviously getting better service than we were - or at the very least were being acknowledged and given drinks. We were eventually joking to each other that we must have been in some kind of blind spot or that we had gone invisible to everyone but each other.
Ultimately though, it is not funny at all to pay $32 for breakfast for two people and to have such a poor experience. And after all of that, the food really was just mediocre. We've had much better food and experiences at Hot Spot diner for half the price.
Never again. | 0negative
| 757 |
Wow, what a pile of shit this place is. Or rather, what a complete asshole Tony, the owner of the store, is. I have owned a music store in Tucson, and I will say upfront that other employees of this place are kind, knowledgeable, and do a good job. But after months of being dicked around with, and then only later coming to find that the depths of douchebaggery are apparently limitless, I find myself writing this review encouraging anyone and everyone to stay as far away from this place as you possibly can, and know especially that if you deal with Tony, you will be ripped off, lied to, and treated with less care than the fecal matter on the bottom of his shoe.
It all started about 9 months ago now, when I decided that it was time for me to upgrade my current bass rig to my dream rig which included an Epifani UL2 4x10 cab. My current cab at the time had a blown speaker and sounded terrible. Epifani is a very small company and had only one dealer in Tucson: Sticks n strings. So I went down there to see what they had, and there wasn't much. A single performance series (Epifani's lowest end line) 4x10 cab marked down to $650. I played through it and was not very impressed. I was quite familiar with the line and knew that I wanted something from their top line.
I began speaking to Tony, he said that he could order it, and that he would give me a really good deal on it because he knew me and my store (he quoted me at about $1000). He told me it would take between 2 and 4 weeks to arrive. I asked him if I could make a down payment of $200 to get the ball rolling. He said that would be fine. I handed him the cash, he shook my hand with a smile, told me he'd order it that day, and I left the store with a grin on my face that I very soon was going to have the first piece of my dream rig!
Over the next few weeks, I kept feeding Tony more and more money and he began to tell me about strange things going on with Epifani. You see, they were fresh out of UL2s in their warehouse, so they were having to build one for me...was going to take an extra week or two. You see, they're coming out with their new line of UL3s, and they're really trying to fill those orders right now...may take an extra couple weeks.
Literally 3 months go by. Tony has $900 of my money, and I don't have a cab. I'm extremely distrustful of Tony at this point, but stupidly am still believing that the problem is still at least somewhat on Epifani's side.
Finally, Tony tells me that he spoke to the people that morning and that the cab has been shipped and its on its way! HOORAY!!! I ask him to get me a tracking number, he never does. He tells me it should be in by the end of the week. I figure, even if he's been lying to me this whole time, the cab has to be here in a week, right? He can't stall any more...if the cab isnt here, the jig is up and Ill know 100% without a doubt that Tony is the problem, and Ill raise hell. So I feel comfortable enough with the situation to sell my previous cab (now leaving me without an amp to play on) in preparation for my new cab arriving in a week.
Sure enough, come end of the week, guess what!?!? The cab was delivered COD, and Tony claims to have paid them up front for it. He tells me he had to send it back to the factory to have them re-ship it NOT COD. As a store owner, I know that this is horseshit. If there is a problem with a COD, the company can correct that with UPS and the package can be redelivered the next day. However, he tells me its already gone back and now im pissed. I have waited for MONTHS, and now its going to be another 2 weeks or some shit and I don't even have a cab?!?! WHAT THE FUCK?!?
Tony tells me that he knows, its all fucked up...Epifanis a bunch of shit heads...but he maybe has a solution for the time being: he'll let me borrow the performance series cab while Im waiting on my UL2 to come in for the next two weeks, so at least ill have something to play through. I say fine, but 2 weeks and thats the end of this nonsense.
2 weeks go by...then 3...then 4...at which point I called him and told him that I either wanted all my money back or Id take the performance cab for 300, and I wanted the rest back. He agreed to sell me the cab. After trying to dick me AGAIN on getting my money back, I got the assistant manager to write me a check for what he owed me while Tony was out on lunch, and I left pissed off, but at least with a working cab.
Until just last month a speaker blew on the performance. Not wanting to deal with Sticks N Strings, I contact Epifani directly and speak to the owner, who tells me that they dont deal with SnS anymore because they had lots of problems, and that over a YEAR ago, Tony was trying to get the speakers on my performance replaced. In other words, TONY KNEW HE SOLD ME A BAD CAB! What a fucking asshole!!!
So, NEVER EVER AGAIN will I shop here. Absolutely deplorable and I will be contacting the BBB as well. What a shit stain on the Tucson community. | 0negative
| 988 |
My quest for the evening started as an adventure by taking the risk of asking someone on the street where to eat, so I asked one of the hosts at the front of one of the local bars: "where is a great place to eat, that does not serve bar food, and I can set and relax for a couple of hours comfortably". The response was (without a second breath) their choice would be Café Alma.
The directions were "over there" along that "brick building somewhere". So my adventure continued. They were not far off, as I traveled about a block and sure enough I saw the sign for Café Alma. Even more intriguing was the actual location; this was not a street front restaurant, as you passed the sign you took a ramp down into the lower section of the building. A very quaint location; the entrance did not have much "fan fair" but very distinct. As I entered I was surrounded by the feeling of charm that only wood can provide; an impression of exclusiveness and wealth, a place of sophistication exactly what I was looking for. I was immediately greeted by a friendly smile stating they would be right with me. In a "blink of an eye" they were with me asking how I could be helped. They were not that busy (yet) and I was asked if I had a reservation; I jokingly pulled out my cell phone and offered to call for a reservation suggesting I could go outside and do that. The humor of the moment was met with a smile. The different seating options were explained to me. The bar was an obvious choice; they had community high tops; tables with sofa style seating along the wall; seating that could be more intimate for conversation; along with, the tables that were in the middle of everything. I picked a place that allowed me to enjoy everything and soak up the environment. I had found a place to be comfortable.
Shortly after I was seated the waitress showed up with two menus and took my drink order. I started the evening with their Special Margarita that was absolutely delightful and hit all the right chords expected for a margarita. One menu was a typical menu salad, appetizer, entrée, and dessert menu with individual prices; the other menu was a selection menu at one price for all. As I pondered the menu warm bread with butter was brought to the table. I made some inquiries about the menus and decided on a coconut shrimp appetizer, tomato bisque, the Alma Trio, and mousse for dessert.
The bread that I started with had a pleasant surprise as it was a cheesy bread that was absolutely perfect and did not over power with a combination of soft warm bread that invited the butter with an afterthought of cheese. The coconut shrimp was properly battered with fresh crisp taste that allowed the coconut flavor to compliment the shrimp. The tomato bisque took my breath away with delight; it was so good I had stop and ask more about it. It was accented with rosemary and basil along with other spices that danced to a symphony on your tongue. In my inquiry I learned that not only did this delightful bisque taste fresh but it was "on-location" fresh as they grow many of their herbs there. The Alma Trio was a combination of shrimp and scallops on a skewer, steak, and crab cake accompanied by potatoes, with a green bean and carrot combination. The steak was very good with a complimentary sauce that accented the beef. I did not read the menu very closely (too busy enjoying myself) so the scallops were a pleasant surprise I was not expecting. Both the shrimp and scallops were delicately grilled that allowed the succulent natural flavors to flaunt. The crab cake was a beautiful combination, not to hardy and not too much fluff, which allowed for a nice robust taste of crab offset with the filler; all accented with the spicy sauce drizzled on top.
The dessert was a nice finish with a small cup of chocolate mousse with a hot cup of decaf coffee. The mousse was just the right amount of smoothness and sweetness to provide an accent along with a palate refreshing. I cannot claim to have an opinion about coffee but this was good and satisfying. Fitting with the ambience the coffee service was garnished with a quaint little (tiny) metal pot of cream along with all the sweeteners.
I will be back. The food was great but I believe it does not matter how great the food is if the service does not follow. Throughout the evening I was greeted with friendliness and thoughtful query; along with anecdotal conversation from time to time, which was equally met with timeliness of service and responsiveness. This place thoroughly demonstrated that they believe in the quality of food and service backing it up at every turn.
This place had other features to experience that are worth noting. There was plenty of space around the bar and surrounding seating areas to enjoy drinks with friends. The coziness of the place also leaned toward that intimate evening out. Also, in the back there seemed to be an area for private seating for a larger party. | 2positive
| 892 |
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