Tonight we went out for dinner as a family to a locally owned, newly opened restaurant and left severely disappointed. I hate it when that happens. The Boy was happy with his burger but my beef dip and Hubby's corned beef left so much to be desired. I even pointed out the problems with the meal and was given what seemed to be rehearsed excuse about being newly opened, still working on the menu, and looking for comments blah, blah, blah...... No apologies or attempts to fix the problem here.
The beef dip was said to be a house made brisket. This brisket had no flavor, a stringy texture, and probably more chewy fatty pieces than anyone should serve. Ever. In all honesty, the garlic toasted bun was the best part of the sandwich.
The corned beef was touted as house made and seemed to not only be the same shitty cut as the brisket but seriously lacked flavor as well. The fries were really the only things that seemed to be a winner here, but that's no reason to go back now is it?
The service we received was good and the food arrived quickly but this happens in a mostly empty restaurant. While we chatted about our disappointing dinner experience we realized that there were warning signs even before we ordered. For instance, when I walk into a BBQ joint, I should be smacked in the face with the aromas associated with BBQ! That should have been our first hint that things were amiss! The lack of customers should have been our second hint. I think our true disappointment came from the fact that we have eaten the food from this company at catered events before and it was quite good. If you are going to work so hard to build a reputation on a BBQ business then don't rush into a hastily put together restaurant venture. Take the to make the space yours. The previous restaurant's decor is still prevalent and just doesn't speak BBQ. As it were, I have no desire to return.
FYI: we are toying with grinding our own ground beef and have learned our lesson about going to the big chain store for such a product. Stupid thing is, Hubby even suggesting grinding our own but were low on time (and energy)so weren't with the store shit. Stupid stupid stupid!!!!!!!
Sorry about this disappointing review but I felt you should know.
To cheer us up, here's a picture of the fabulous tomatoes we got from put CSA this week!
Until next time, stay warm and eat well.
So sorry the restaurant was a disappointment, but what gorgeous tomatoes! I must join you on that CSA next year!!
ReplyDeleteAugh! Lori, that was so awful. Yeah, those guys should have done a lot more work before they opened for business. This kind of thing is really bad. And that beef recall, what a bummer! All your hard work and money spent gone to waste. Hope better days are ahead for you, dear!
ReplyDelete"still working on the menu" and "looking for comments" that's the kill shot of new restaurant openings. My biggest problem working with restaurateurs is that they don't vet their menus or standardize their recipe cards BEFORE they open their doors to the general public... that's what soft opening are for - and unfortunately, these days very few operations utilize them. As for the brisket - eh, brisket in general is a crap shoot. Unless you've set standards with your purveyors as to what you'll accept, generally, you're going to be disappointed - the fat cap varies too greatly for untrained people to know how to handle it. The bigger problem was they didn't cook it long enough. End Rant...
ReplyDeleteI'm still looking for a viable CSA in my area where I don't have to drive an hour for a pick up location... I guess I'll stick with curb markets for the time being.