Shamrock's aka The Irish Nook

My god man, can it get any worse.

We went to The Nook previously, and had a very poor experience. Unfortunately, this time round at the second location wasn't any better.

If you read the previous review, we had food problems (under cooked meet, over cooked fries) that were EXACTLY the same here. Further that with this: after being seated by the hostess, we waited while three other tables seated after us were visited by servers, orders taken, drinks delivered before we were greeted by our server. I thought the unwritten rule was first come, first served. In this case, they went to the tables with more people first, then came to the two of us.

The short of it:
Burgers were undercooked
Fries were actually burnt (tasted that way anyway) and chewy
cheese curds here were actually well cooked and tasty

Oh, if the menu says Coke, I expect a Coke when I order one. I don't know what soda they were actually serving, but it doesn't taste at all like Coke. Maybe the syrup was low or the dispenser is mixing it wrong with the water or something, but it was definitely off.

Based on this visit to their second location, we won't be coming back to either one. That decision was made in part by comments from my co-workers. I told them we went there, and two of them referred to this place as a 'dive'.

I think that says it all.

Landmarc Cafe

Her perspective: C-

I go to fine dining restaurants on my own for lunch for two reasons. 1. To treat myself once in a while. 2. To see if service is different for a party of one rather than two or more. Usually, service suffers when there is only one person at the table. Given the proper motivation, I will order 2-3 courses and tip generously. In this case, I was not impressed.

Let me start with a positive. The decor was beautiful. It was a fine dining restaurant in the sense that it was decorated like the traditional fine dining restaurants of the 60's. Gorgeous dark wood surrounds you and it has an air of class. There is even a white baby grand piano by the host stand.

I entered through the bar and there were a couple of tables occupied there. As I walked through the bar and restaurant to the host stand, I noticed there was only one table of businessmen seated in the restaurant. Since there was no host, it gave me a chance to look around and I was surprised to see that, with as empty as the restaurant was, there was still a dirty table in the middle of the room. I noticed the bartender come out from behind the bar and he seated me in the dining room without a word. I even had to ask if I could get a table for one. He showed me to a very private table, which I was grateful for, but the businessmen were on the opposite side of the partition wall that I was sitting next to.

The bartender left, again without a word, to give me time to look at the menu. I decided quickly and waited for him to come back. He did ask me if I was ready to order, but that was the first time he spoke to me. I ordered fried calamari as a starter, Steak Frites for my entree and a side of steamed seasonal vegetables. Up to this point, I was not given an opportunity to order anything to drink besides my water. Even after I finished ordering my food, he took my menu and silently walked away. When he brought my bread, I asked for some hot tea, then had to ask for sugar when he brought the tea set out. At least he gave me a spoon that I didn't have to ask for.

I could hear the kitchen calling for service when my food came up, which kind of ruins the "experience" or "show" of fine dining.

My calamari was served with marinara and garlic mayo, which is a very good thing because it was so bland. It had only been dredged in flour and fried with no other seasonings and it was more chewy and tough than I have ever had. I was not given any indication that the bartender was going to give me a new fork for my entree, so to ensure that I would get one, I left my fork on the appetizer plate and pushed it to the end of the table.

The bartender came out a couple of minutes before he served my entree and side to set my fork and steak knife. The steak came with a bearnaise sauce, which was way too heavy on the vinegar. That was almost all I could taste, but the meat was so flavorless that I kept using the sauce. I had ordered the meat medium, and, although it looked like it was cooked perfectly, it wasn't very warm and ended up downright cold by the time I was halfway through eating it. The steak was served with frenchfries, which were honestly the best part of the meal. Nothing special, just fries seasoned with regular salt, but the best taste and texture of the entire meal.

My vegetable side was much smaller than I expected for $4: eight green beans and 3 carrots. They were steamed and crisp, but not very warm and not seasoned in any way.

I was very disappointed in this meal and the bartender said less than 15 words to me the entire time I was there. I'm not sure I even want to try this place again. If it were just the service, I would definitely try again, but with the food and service being poor, it gives me pause.