Ever seen the movie? Not the animated series or any of a number of similar titled films, but the one at that we linked to here at IMDB?
Well, don't.
Showing posts with label annoying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label annoying. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Legacy Suites hotel
From a friend:
STAY AWAY. Front desk is not staffed at night. Rooms take forever to get cleaned. If your room key fails, or something is broke, or you really truly need assistance from someone on the staff, YOU'RE OUT OF LUCK.
Our friend paid for a room, showed up at 3pm to check-in. Room wasn't cleaned yet, come back at 4.
They went back at 4, still not clean. But they can drop they're luggage in the room and go to dinner. Hours later, the room is completely clean, but there are no linens in the room.
After hours of trying to find someone to help them, they found a hotel staff person to finally get them some linens (which the people just left in the room, didn't make the beds or provide complete sets of linens or anything).
Our friend called it the worst stay ever, the equivalent of 'Hotel Nightmares'.
STAY AWAY. Front desk is not staffed at night. Rooms take forever to get cleaned. If your room key fails, or something is broke, or you really truly need assistance from someone on the staff, YOU'RE OUT OF LUCK.
Our friend paid for a room, showed up at 3pm to check-in. Room wasn't cleaned yet, come back at 4.
They went back at 4, still not clean. But they can drop they're luggage in the room and go to dinner. Hours later, the room is completely clean, but there are no linens in the room.
After hours of trying to find someone to help them, they found a hotel staff person to finally get them some linens (which the people just left in the room, didn't make the beds or provide complete sets of linens or anything).
Our friend called it the worst stay ever, the equivalent of 'Hotel Nightmares'.
Monday, November 22, 2010
Fogo de Chão
Grade: C
We went here for her birthday thinking it be like a similar restaurant we'd previously dined at in Las Vegas. Both are similar in that the salad bar is your appetizer, and then servers constantly come around offering a variety of meats prepared in a few different fashions until you signal that you don't want anymore.
Fogo did that, but not very well. For starters this place is listed as fine dining, but the plethora of persons in jeans and t-shirts says otherwise. And the noise! My god, we couldn't talk to each sitting at the same table without having to regularly repeat ourselves. And our reservation! We actually arrived just a few minutes late (we had called ahead to let them know we'd be just a few minutes late) and still had to wait 20 minutes in the bar because they were over booked. Annoying, and not entirely understandable, but I'd have guessed that with this style of restaurant you'd have people dining longer as they're waiting for more food to brought around, and since it's basically all-you-can-eat people would take advantage.
I'd hoped the food would make up for some of these negatives, but actually it didn't. Some bits of meat were quite good, the rest tasted like they came off my backyard grill. Now that's not saying its bad, but if I can do that same kind of cooking and get the same kind of flavors by cooking at home, why would I go there and pay 4-times more for the food? We also had to settle on the champagne side of things. They don't carry Dom! What fine dining establishment doesn't carry on of the beverage standards for fine dining?!? We went with White Star instead (same vineyard as Dom) and all they had were splits (small bottles for those not familiar with the term) as there was a wedding reception happening in another area and apparently they drank all the larger bottles.
The salad bar was not at all impressive, and in fact they were out of a few items when we walked through. I waited around for a few minutes for the ceaser salad to get replenished, but the empty bowl just sat there with all these employee's walking back and forth around it.
I was very disappointed with the whole experience, and Maryanne wasn't much happier than I. She enjoyed all the food of course, but we both had similar issue with the atmosphere and other clientele.
Still, if you've never been to a Brazilian style restaurant, then give it a try. I'd suggest going during the week instead of a weekend, and make sure you arrive hungry (and are a meat eater of course). I wasn't at all impressed, but Maryanne overall enjoyed herself and that's what counted.
We did decide on the way home however that we're now on a mission to find the best fine dining establishments in the Twin Cities. We've dined at too many places that call themselves fine dining to not notice a sorry trend: they aren't fine dining. Armed with that knowledge we're going to search for the top 5, best of the best that the Cities has to offer.
We went here for her birthday thinking it be like a similar restaurant we'd previously dined at in Las Vegas. Both are similar in that the salad bar is your appetizer, and then servers constantly come around offering a variety of meats prepared in a few different fashions until you signal that you don't want anymore.
Fogo did that, but not very well. For starters this place is listed as fine dining, but the plethora of persons in jeans and t-shirts says otherwise. And the noise! My god, we couldn't talk to each sitting at the same table without having to regularly repeat ourselves. And our reservation! We actually arrived just a few minutes late (we had called ahead to let them know we'd be just a few minutes late) and still had to wait 20 minutes in the bar because they were over booked. Annoying, and not entirely understandable, but I'd have guessed that with this style of restaurant you'd have people dining longer as they're waiting for more food to brought around, and since it's basically all-you-can-eat people would take advantage.
I'd hoped the food would make up for some of these negatives, but actually it didn't. Some bits of meat were quite good, the rest tasted like they came off my backyard grill. Now that's not saying its bad, but if I can do that same kind of cooking and get the same kind of flavors by cooking at home, why would I go there and pay 4-times more for the food? We also had to settle on the champagne side of things. They don't carry Dom! What fine dining establishment doesn't carry on of the beverage standards for fine dining?!? We went with White Star instead (same vineyard as Dom) and all they had were splits (small bottles for those not familiar with the term) as there was a wedding reception happening in another area and apparently they drank all the larger bottles.
The salad bar was not at all impressive, and in fact they were out of a few items when we walked through. I waited around for a few minutes for the ceaser salad to get replenished, but the empty bowl just sat there with all these employee's walking back and forth around it.
I was very disappointed with the whole experience, and Maryanne wasn't much happier than I. She enjoyed all the food of course, but we both had similar issue with the atmosphere and other clientele.
Still, if you've never been to a Brazilian style restaurant, then give it a try. I'd suggest going during the week instead of a weekend, and make sure you arrive hungry (and are a meat eater of course). I wasn't at all impressed, but Maryanne overall enjoyed herself and that's what counted.
We did decide on the way home however that we're now on a mission to find the best fine dining establishments in the Twin Cities. We've dined at too many places that call themselves fine dining to not notice a sorry trend: they aren't fine dining. Armed with that knowledge we're going to search for the top 5, best of the best that the Cities has to offer.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Peter's Grill
Her perspective: C
Honestly, I have never gotten good service here, but it had been several months since my last visit, and I had people with me this time.
My friends were running late, so we were in a bit of a time crunch by the time we got settled. Our server did not come back for 20 minutes after my last friend got there. When she finally came back, she was not very pleasant. She circled the items we ordered on her pad, but still had to look at a menu to see what we were ordering.
We did get our food rather quickly, and the food was the only redeeming quality. I had the gyro plate. I would have ordered a side of ranch for my fries, but I knew that she wouldn't remember it and that would just irritate me more. She did forget to bring out my friend's milk, which she did apologize for, but then started making excuses for why she had forgotten. We had been finished eating for quite a while and were actively looking for her so we could get our checks. We finally got them and left. I don't think I will go back as this is the third bad experience I've had in as many visits. I would be willing to do take-out, but not eat-in.
Honestly, I have never gotten good service here, but it had been several months since my last visit, and I had people with me this time.
My friends were running late, so we were in a bit of a time crunch by the time we got settled. Our server did not come back for 20 minutes after my last friend got there. When she finally came back, she was not very pleasant. She circled the items we ordered on her pad, but still had to look at a menu to see what we were ordering.
We did get our food rather quickly, and the food was the only redeeming quality. I had the gyro plate. I would have ordered a side of ranch for my fries, but I knew that she wouldn't remember it and that would just irritate me more. She did forget to bring out my friend's milk, which she did apologize for, but then started making excuses for why she had forgotten. We had been finished eating for quite a while and were actively looking for her so we could get our checks. We finally got them and left. I don't think I will go back as this is the third bad experience I've had in as many visits. I would be willing to do take-out, but not eat-in.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Bonnie's - April 11
Her perspective: C
We have gone to this diner many times for breakfast on the weekends and is one of our favorites.
However, this visit was an exception. They were busier than when we usually go, so it took a few minutes for our server to come over. She took our drink order and brought back our two Mountain Dews, asking if we were ready to order.
We were. I ordered the Buttermilk special with bacon and the eggs cooked over medium. William ordered the 2x2x2 with eggs basted and added a side of toast. We had waited for about 12-15 minutes when our server came over and asked if we had ordered and what we had ordered because she couldn't find our ticket. She tried to assure us that the kitchen probably had it almost done, she just couldn't find the ticket and wanted to check.
Our food arrived a couple of minutes later and she went back for William's side of toast. I tried the bacon and found it was cold, so I touched the eggs, which were also cold. The pancakes, however, were nice and hot. When she came back with the toast, I told her that my eggs and bacon were cold and she said that she would have them remake it.
What actually happened, though, was that they put the eggs and bacon back in a pan and reheated. I could tell it was the same bacon and the eggs were exactly the same, just with a bit more color. Not to mention that my eggs were still over easy, not over medium.
When she dropped off my reheated food, she said she would get us refills, but never did. She never checked back on the food after that either. She finally dropped off the check while I was still eating and pre-bussed the table.
She was pleasant enough, but didn't really know what she was doing. I overheard her say to another table that she was new and they were busy, but that doesn't explain her forgetting if we ordered, then the kitchen messing up my food.
We'll have to let some time pass before we try to go back to this one.
We have gone to this diner many times for breakfast on the weekends and is one of our favorites.
However, this visit was an exception. They were busier than when we usually go, so it took a few minutes for our server to come over. She took our drink order and brought back our two Mountain Dews, asking if we were ready to order.
We were. I ordered the Buttermilk special with bacon and the eggs cooked over medium. William ordered the 2x2x2 with eggs basted and added a side of toast. We had waited for about 12-15 minutes when our server came over and asked if we had ordered and what we had ordered because she couldn't find our ticket. She tried to assure us that the kitchen probably had it almost done, she just couldn't find the ticket and wanted to check.
Our food arrived a couple of minutes later and she went back for William's side of toast. I tried the bacon and found it was cold, so I touched the eggs, which were also cold. The pancakes, however, were nice and hot. When she came back with the toast, I told her that my eggs and bacon were cold and she said that she would have them remake it.
What actually happened, though, was that they put the eggs and bacon back in a pan and reheated. I could tell it was the same bacon and the eggs were exactly the same, just with a bit more color. Not to mention that my eggs were still over easy, not over medium.
When she dropped off my reheated food, she said she would get us refills, but never did. She never checked back on the food after that either. She finally dropped off the check while I was still eating and pre-bussed the table.
She was pleasant enough, but didn't really know what she was doing. I overheard her say to another table that she was new and they were busy, but that doesn't explain her forgetting if we ordered, then the kitchen messing up my food.
We'll have to let some time pass before we try to go back to this one.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Matty B's - October 14, 2008
Her perspective: D-
We hadn't been back here in a while and wanted a good meal. We couldn't have been more wrong.
There was not another customer in the restaurant, but plenty in the bar. They were all dressed very casually in what is supposed to be a fine dining restaurant. After standing at the host stand for several minutes, we were finally greeted and seated in a booth as we had requested in our reservation.
We were not given a wine list, but asked if we wanted something from the bar. I had happened to see a wine list up front, so I ordered a glass of Riesling and William ordered a coke.
We noticed that the menu was severely limited from the last time we were there. Apparently, they have cut back the menu quite a bit. William asked about it and was told that this was the menu each day. We thought it might have been a weekday menu as we could still see other menus up front.
Our server didn't seem to want to stay when we wanted her to. We were going to order crab cakes as an appetizer, when she abruptly stated that she was going to get our bread and walked away before we could say anything.
When we were mostly ready to order, she stopped by and I ordered the appetizer and my steak. William wasn't quite ready, but instead of asking if she should give him a minute, she said that she would order the appetizer so he would have a couple of minutes to decide and left. However, even though he had set his menu down, she proceeded to cloth and set another table.
William ordered a small caesar salad with chicken and we both ordered the NY Strip steak done medium.
My wine glass had stuff stuck to the outside. I had to scrape it off twice. After I had drunk several sips, I noticed some sort of sediment at the bottom. When the server came back, I requested another glass of wine. When she brought a new one, she said that the bottle was frosted, so it was difficult to tell if there was any sort of sediment in that one. However, both glasses of wine were warm and I had to put ice in them to cool them, which made them diluted.
I was surprised when the server brought out the appetizer and William's salad at the same time. She just assumed that we wanted both courses together. The appetizer was for both of us.
The chicken on William's salad was grilled, sliced and... brown and crispy? When I spoke with the server later about it, she said that she thought they might have finished cooking it in the deep fryer. That would explain the color. The chicken was also extremely hot and they had put it on a cold salad. He also said the croutons were stale.
The crab cakes were decent, but a little overcooked and black on top.
Both steaks were undercooked. William sent his back to be cooked longer, and when it finally came back, it was charred and burnt on the outside and still medium rare to rare on the inside. Mine was medium rare, but I ate a little bit and took the rest home.
The mashed potatoes looked old, perhaps cooked, then stored, then recooked. They were very bland. The asparagus was quite overcooked and wilted besides.
William visited the rest room and stood for a full minute trying to decide between the two stalls. One of them, the seat was cracked and broken. The other was very dirty and had toilet paper all over. He finally chose to clean off the dirty seat and use that one. He was appalled at the condition, though.
They did take the salad and William's steak off the bill, but we were severely disappointed and will think twice before trying this place again.
We hadn't been back here in a while and wanted a good meal. We couldn't have been more wrong.
There was not another customer in the restaurant, but plenty in the bar. They were all dressed very casually in what is supposed to be a fine dining restaurant. After standing at the host stand for several minutes, we were finally greeted and seated in a booth as we had requested in our reservation.
We were not given a wine list, but asked if we wanted something from the bar. I had happened to see a wine list up front, so I ordered a glass of Riesling and William ordered a coke.
We noticed that the menu was severely limited from the last time we were there. Apparently, they have cut back the menu quite a bit. William asked about it and was told that this was the menu each day. We thought it might have been a weekday menu as we could still see other menus up front.
Our server didn't seem to want to stay when we wanted her to. We were going to order crab cakes as an appetizer, when she abruptly stated that she was going to get our bread and walked away before we could say anything.
When we were mostly ready to order, she stopped by and I ordered the appetizer and my steak. William wasn't quite ready, but instead of asking if she should give him a minute, she said that she would order the appetizer so he would have a couple of minutes to decide and left. However, even though he had set his menu down, she proceeded to cloth and set another table.
William ordered a small caesar salad with chicken and we both ordered the NY Strip steak done medium.
My wine glass had stuff stuck to the outside. I had to scrape it off twice. After I had drunk several sips, I noticed some sort of sediment at the bottom. When the server came back, I requested another glass of wine. When she brought a new one, she said that the bottle was frosted, so it was difficult to tell if there was any sort of sediment in that one. However, both glasses of wine were warm and I had to put ice in them to cool them, which made them diluted.
I was surprised when the server brought out the appetizer and William's salad at the same time. She just assumed that we wanted both courses together. The appetizer was for both of us.
The chicken on William's salad was grilled, sliced and... brown and crispy? When I spoke with the server later about it, she said that she thought they might have finished cooking it in the deep fryer. That would explain the color. The chicken was also extremely hot and they had put it on a cold salad. He also said the croutons were stale.
The crab cakes were decent, but a little overcooked and black on top.
Both steaks were undercooked. William sent his back to be cooked longer, and when it finally came back, it was charred and burnt on the outside and still medium rare to rare on the inside. Mine was medium rare, but I ate a little bit and took the rest home.
The mashed potatoes looked old, perhaps cooked, then stored, then recooked. They were very bland. The asparagus was quite overcooked and wilted besides.
William visited the rest room and stood for a full minute trying to decide between the two stalls. One of them, the seat was cracked and broken. The other was very dirty and had toilet paper all over. He finally chose to clean off the dirty seat and use that one. He was appalled at the condition, though.
They did take the salad and William's steak off the bill, but we were severely disappointed and will think twice before trying this place again.
Friday, June 13, 2008
TGIFriday's - Maplewood
Her perspective: C-
I always find it very interesting to review a place where I have previously worked. Usually unfortunately for the servers and staff, I know what the standards are and when they are not being met. Just for background: I opened this store as a server, became a shift lead, trainer, and key employee (which is a server/bartender that does managerial shifts). There is a four table per section maximum and I knew immediately by where we were seated, which tables were in our server's section. I had helped divide the dining room into the sections that they now use.
The door was held open for us by the host and she was very upbeat and happy. Perfect. The host that was behind the podium seemed to be concentrating very hard on the seating chart and never looked up at us or the other host. She also was not in a recognizable uniform. I saw other employees as well that it was hard to tell they were employees by the way they were dressed. It's possible that this standard could have changed since I worked there, but I think guests should at least be able to tell who the staff is. We were seated immediately in a half booth.
On the way to our table, I waved to a guy that had opened the store with me (Justin) and he waved back and came over and sat down with us. We had just started to catch up when our server came over to greet us. He excused himself and went back to taking care of his tables. He always was a good guy.
Our server was pleasant enough, but extremely inattentive. William ordered a Jack & Coke and I ordered a Cherry Coke. He said his drink tasted funny when it arrived and it seemed to me like the syrup on the Coke was low or out. Later, at one of the incredibly few times that our server actually checked on us, she asked him if he wanted another Jack & Diet. Maybe that's why it tasted funny.
Lisa, our server, gave us a couple of minutes to look over the menus, but when she asked if we wanted an appetizer, she didn't really wait for an answer, but went to the table next to us three times before she came back to us. At that point she had two tables including us. The other table left shortly after we got there.
When we were finally able to order, I oredered the Fried Mac & Cheese appetizer and the Sizzling Chicken & Shrimp. William ordered the Jack Daniel's Flat Iron Steak, medium, and a side caesar salad to start. His salad came out quick enough, but the breadstick was deep fried ( I know how to tell) and he said the salad wasn't very good. He only ate about half of it, then put it on the edge of the table. The standard is that whenever anyone walks by a table and there is a dish or empty glassware on the edge, they are supposed to take it back to the dishroom. Servers and hosts walked by about 15 times and noone even looked at it. It was the same when William finished his drink.
Our server was nowhere to be found at this point and we were her only table. We started wondering where our appetizer was, and I was thinking that if Justin walked by, I'd ask him to check on it for us. However, he never did and during the 20 minutes we were waiting for our entrees, I started to look around and noticed that they hadn't done any dusting of the artifacts, much less our lampshade, lately.
Lisa brought out our entrees and asked us if we needed anything else. I told her that she could just forget the appetizer as we had never gotten it. She seemed surprised and insisted that she rang it in, but that they would take it off the bill and we would get a card for a free appetizer on our next visit, too. The manager that dropped off the appetizer card informed us that the appetizer was never rung in, so someone was lying to us, but I'll bet it wasn't the manager. She was very sincere and apologetic.
Getting back to our entrees, William's steak was cooked perfectly in the middle, but overdone on the outside, which seems to indicate that the grill temperature was set too high. The mashed potatoes on both our plates were mushy, but I seem to remember that was how the consistency was when I worked there. My entree came out sizzling all right. Too much. It was spattering everywhere, which I know was a problem when I worked there, but I would never put it directly in front of someone, rather off to the side so they wouldn't get burned. It was also steaming and smoking so much that I couldn't see. This is unusual. By the time I was able to finally start eating, the bottom of the mashed potatoes and part of the bottom of the chicken were burnt, stuck to the skillet, and smelling horrible. I usually order this dish with a request to put the cheese on top of the chicken and shrimp, but I decided not to do any special instructions with this one because it's rare that I order something as is. The inherent problem with this dish is that the cheese gets put on a very hot skillet first, then the onions/peppers, then the chicken/bruschetta shrimp, then the mashed potatoes. The cheese ends up getting burnt to the skillet every time, so you don't get to eat much of it. That's why I usually order it with the cheese on top.
Meanwhile, another table had been seated in Lisa's section and, again, she was nowhere to be found. We were wishing we had gotten the server in the section next to Lisa's. She was very attentive to all her tables and even looked over at us a couple of times. I think her name was Ashley. Although, I think the next time we go, we'll ask who's working and request a server that I worked with.
Another thing I want to mention (and this could be a change in standards, too) is that our receipt had a Guest Satisfaction Survey on it. These were a big deal when I worked there and we had to present them to the table and explain how the survey works. At one point, the managers were the only ones that were allowed to present them to the table. This is used at many different restaurants and is how they measure performance: how they know where they are doing well and where they need to improve. Perhaps it's not a big deal anymore and if that's the case, that's sad because that means that they don't care how they're doing anymore. Actually, this is one of the reasons I left. Our opening team was great, cohesive, excited, team-oriented and fun. Once we started losing that original team and hiring new people, all that went downhill very quickly. People just didn't care like that opening team did. As a trainer, shift lead and key employee, I tried to coach them and make changes within the system, but you just can't make people care. So I left.
Unfortunately, I believe this happens with every restaurant. There's something special about a restaurant opening. Everyone wants to be there and is excited to make it the best. Once others come in, it's hard to transfer that excitement to them. A lot of times, it's just a job to them and that shows in the entire hospitality industry.
I always find it very interesting to review a place where I have previously worked. Usually unfortunately for the servers and staff, I know what the standards are and when they are not being met. Just for background: I opened this store as a server, became a shift lead, trainer, and key employee (which is a server/bartender that does managerial shifts). There is a four table per section maximum and I knew immediately by where we were seated, which tables were in our server's section. I had helped divide the dining room into the sections that they now use.
The door was held open for us by the host and she was very upbeat and happy. Perfect. The host that was behind the podium seemed to be concentrating very hard on the seating chart and never looked up at us or the other host. She also was not in a recognizable uniform. I saw other employees as well that it was hard to tell they were employees by the way they were dressed. It's possible that this standard could have changed since I worked there, but I think guests should at least be able to tell who the staff is. We were seated immediately in a half booth.
On the way to our table, I waved to a guy that had opened the store with me (Justin) and he waved back and came over and sat down with us. We had just started to catch up when our server came over to greet us. He excused himself and went back to taking care of his tables. He always was a good guy.
Our server was pleasant enough, but extremely inattentive. William ordered a Jack & Coke and I ordered a Cherry Coke. He said his drink tasted funny when it arrived and it seemed to me like the syrup on the Coke was low or out. Later, at one of the incredibly few times that our server actually checked on us, she asked him if he wanted another Jack & Diet. Maybe that's why it tasted funny.
Lisa, our server, gave us a couple of minutes to look over the menus, but when she asked if we wanted an appetizer, she didn't really wait for an answer, but went to the table next to us three times before she came back to us. At that point she had two tables including us. The other table left shortly after we got there.
When we were finally able to order, I oredered the Fried Mac & Cheese appetizer and the Sizzling Chicken & Shrimp. William ordered the Jack Daniel's Flat Iron Steak, medium, and a side caesar salad to start. His salad came out quick enough, but the breadstick was deep fried ( I know how to tell) and he said the salad wasn't very good. He only ate about half of it, then put it on the edge of the table. The standard is that whenever anyone walks by a table and there is a dish or empty glassware on the edge, they are supposed to take it back to the dishroom. Servers and hosts walked by about 15 times and noone even looked at it. It was the same when William finished his drink.
Our server was nowhere to be found at this point and we were her only table. We started wondering where our appetizer was, and I was thinking that if Justin walked by, I'd ask him to check on it for us. However, he never did and during the 20 minutes we were waiting for our entrees, I started to look around and noticed that they hadn't done any dusting of the artifacts, much less our lampshade, lately.
Lisa brought out our entrees and asked us if we needed anything else. I told her that she could just forget the appetizer as we had never gotten it. She seemed surprised and insisted that she rang it in, but that they would take it off the bill and we would get a card for a free appetizer on our next visit, too. The manager that dropped off the appetizer card informed us that the appetizer was never rung in, so someone was lying to us, but I'll bet it wasn't the manager. She was very sincere and apologetic.
Getting back to our entrees, William's steak was cooked perfectly in the middle, but overdone on the outside, which seems to indicate that the grill temperature was set too high. The mashed potatoes on both our plates were mushy, but I seem to remember that was how the consistency was when I worked there. My entree came out sizzling all right. Too much. It was spattering everywhere, which I know was a problem when I worked there, but I would never put it directly in front of someone, rather off to the side so they wouldn't get burned. It was also steaming and smoking so much that I couldn't see. This is unusual. By the time I was able to finally start eating, the bottom of the mashed potatoes and part of the bottom of the chicken were burnt, stuck to the skillet, and smelling horrible. I usually order this dish with a request to put the cheese on top of the chicken and shrimp, but I decided not to do any special instructions with this one because it's rare that I order something as is. The inherent problem with this dish is that the cheese gets put on a very hot skillet first, then the onions/peppers, then the chicken/bruschetta shrimp, then the mashed potatoes. The cheese ends up getting burnt to the skillet every time, so you don't get to eat much of it. That's why I usually order it with the cheese on top.
Meanwhile, another table had been seated in Lisa's section and, again, she was nowhere to be found. We were wishing we had gotten the server in the section next to Lisa's. She was very attentive to all her tables and even looked over at us a couple of times. I think her name was Ashley. Although, I think the next time we go, we'll ask who's working and request a server that I worked with.
Another thing I want to mention (and this could be a change in standards, too) is that our receipt had a Guest Satisfaction Survey on it. These were a big deal when I worked there and we had to present them to the table and explain how the survey works. At one point, the managers were the only ones that were allowed to present them to the table. This is used at many different restaurants and is how they measure performance: how they know where they are doing well and where they need to improve. Perhaps it's not a big deal anymore and if that's the case, that's sad because that means that they don't care how they're doing anymore. Actually, this is one of the reasons I left. Our opening team was great, cohesive, excited, team-oriented and fun. Once we started losing that original team and hiring new people, all that went downhill very quickly. People just didn't care like that opening team did. As a trainer, shift lead and key employee, I tried to coach them and make changes within the system, but you just can't make people care. So I left.
Unfortunately, I believe this happens with every restaurant. There's something special about a restaurant opening. Everyone wants to be there and is excited to make it the best. Once others come in, it's hard to transfer that excitement to them. A lot of times, it's just a job to them and that shows in the entire hospitality industry.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Grand Casino Mille Lacs, Onamia, MN
Actually, it's not in Onamia but it's the closest real postal address I guess. I give this place a low D (would've been higher if they at least made an effort).
Because Maryanne's treatments haven't been going so good for the last couple weeks, and there is a real possibility of her having to take some time off work for sets of more intensive treatments each week, I thought I would take her for at least one night somewhere out-of-town, out of the way maybe, where she can just relax and enjoy herself.
I decided on Grand Casino Mille Lacs. I would've gone to Hinckley instead but two things stopped me: 1) we've had two previous bad experiences at Hinckley, 2) The MS 150 was going through there the same weekend, and they were very booked.
I also decided that I didn't care what it cost, so I went for the biggest suite available and some extras. What I had reserved was the Arrowhead suite (4-person hot tub!) that has a nice view of the lake with the Romance Package add-on (price was about $350 with the package). The Romance package adds two $50 gift certificates (food and gift shop respectively), free valet parking, a whirlpool or fireplace suite, a gift basket full of 'goodies' and a later checkout time.
We arrived at around 2:30pm. I had deliberately kept Maryanne in the dark as much as I could about where we were going so as to surprise her. I was expecting a nice big room with a bunch of extras that would just make her happy.
What I got was a Northwoods Suite (jetted bath-tub for two but only big enough for one) with a nice view of the rear parking lot and street. The Romance Package actually gave us a wicker basket full of popcorn, chocolate covered peanuts, yogurt covered pretzels, a box of crackers and a couple of small tubs of cheese spread (no utensils of any kind were provided for the cheese spread). We did also get the gift certificates and we mostly used them (I'll get to that in a sec). I called the front desk right away about this screw up, and they right away transferred me to the general reservation line.
Turns out they had a different confirmation code than the one I was given (very different, not just one letter off) and said I was booked for exactly what I had. This was just the start of my disappointment for the weekend as it turns out.
Valet parking is free for all hotel guests I was told at the front desk, and I was a bit annoyed since the Package description made it sound as though Valet was free with a Package, not otherwise. The other thing was that I expected to pull up, get our bags from the car and have a valet come out, take the keys and park the car. Instead, I had to go to the front desk, and after checking in they called for a valet attendant (the little valet booth just inside the door was dark and empty) to come get my car.
After all that we went to the casino for a couple hours.
We had dinner Saturday night at the Woodlands, which is their fine dining establishment. The only entry is through the middle of the casino area, and I'd thought that it would be noisy and smelly in the restaurant because of that. I was happy to find that it was quiet and comfortable. Good thing since the food was not very good at all.
We ordered crab cakes for an app, she had french onion soup and I had a Cesar salad for starters. the cheese cover on her soup has burned in a couple spots, but she said it really was very good. My salad had about 2-cups too much vinegar in the dressing, so I only ate a portion of it and set it aside (good thing too). We both order the fillet Mignon; hers with Bearnaise (instead of bordelaise) and mashed potato, mine with mushrooms, bordelaise and baked potato. She had soda to drink and I had a glass of alcohol free wine (they serve no alcohol anywhere at this casino/hotel).
Her steak was bare on the plate, the sauce on the side as she requested. Mushrooms on the plate around it. Bordelaise on her mash potato like a gravy, though she said she didn't want bordelaise. She said her steak was a little undercooked but good. Everything was a bit cold for her taste.
My steak was also undercooked and quite tough. It *looked* as though it had been cooked quite well though on the outside. Lots of charred bits and burned patches. Inside was slightly warm and rare. My baked potato was plain (butter and sour cream provided) and uncut, and nicely warmed to the touch though it was also undercooked (it was almost crunchy in the center like a raw potato or apple).
I ended up eating less than half the steak, all of the potato and finishing with my salad. Our server asked us shortly after delivering the food how things were. I hadn't cut my steak yet (was still working on getting my potato set to eat) so I said I don't yet, haven't had a chance to try my steak yet. She said she'd come back in a few minutes and check again. She didn't.
When our server did come back it was to offer refills, clear our plates and ask about dessert. It was at this point that I became quite offended instead of just annoyed. She asked us what we would like, mentioned a couple things not on the menu and we were discussing options. I was going to get a plain cheesecake (not a fan of any berry sauces) and Maryanne ended up getting the Tiramisu that wasn't on the menu. The funny part is that after Maryanne ordered her dessert, our server walked away. She didn't ask me if I wanted anything, and didn't wait for me to say what I wanted. So, no dessert for me.
The Tiramisu was almost completely frozen anyway, and Maryanne only had a little bit of it.
I left a small tip. Maryanne took what was left of her steak back to our room (we had a mini fridge).
We also had a little incident with the host that seated us. He came by after we had been mostly finished eating our meal to check on us. He asked if I needed a refill on anything, and I said no. He then turned to my wife and asked if she needed anything to which she said she would like a box for her steak. He then waved his hand as if to dismiss her and walked away (he didn't say anything, just waved). She thought this was very rude behavior, and it was.
We spent a few hours in the casino before dinner, and I went back again after we'd spent a bit of time in the pool area (had to stop and get suits first, so we used our Gift Shop certificate for those). The air in the pool area was so full of chlorine and that chemical smell that we didn't stay long, maybe 30 minutes. She was feeling a bit tired after that and went to bed early. I went back to the casino for awhile, returning to the room around 1am and went to bed.
The bed mattress was so hard, I wouldn't have noticed if I accidentally ended up on the floor. I'm not kidding, it was almost rock hard. Maryanne commented on the exact same thing that next morning when I ran into her again. It was so terribly uncomfortable that I only got a couple hours sleep in the bed. I ended up napping on the couch in the sitting area for an hour.
I ended up waking a few hours before Maryanne (which has been the norm for the last few months) so I went back to the casino for a couple hours (not much else to do here as it turns out). I went back to the room at 9am only to find that she wasn't there. I found her in the casino near where I had been playing for the last hour, and we went to the Grand Northern Grill for breakfast. We'd forgotten to use our $50food gift certificate for dinner, so used it on breakfast instead.
I ordered the Ranch Breakfast - 2 eggs (over medium), hashbrowns, toast and sausage. She had eggs Benedict with hashbrowns, toast and bacon. I also ordered some pancakes, and (forgive me) CHEESE CURDS! I love those things, and there's were pretty good with ranch or seasoned sour cream.
The rest of the food was less than good. Her eggs were undercooked, both of our hashbrowns were burned on one side (the bottom, go figure) as were parts of my pancakes. My eggs were nicely cooked on one side and almost burned on the other, so they ended up being very tough. The toast was also quite tough and chewy, almost like old (not dried) bread.
I ate half the pancakes, the eggs, the toast and part of the hashbrowns. My sausage was almost raw so I didn't touch it. She ate the eggs, ham and one piece of toast. Most of our food was cool or cold when it was brought to the table anyway.
We paid with the food gift certificate, and ended up getting the whole meal free since the price was less than the certificate (about $34).
We went back to the casino for another couple hours after that (we had a later than normal checkout time as part of our Romance Package). Right about noon we decided to go back to the room, pack up and relax for a bit before checking out.
We couldn't get back into our room. Someone had turned off our key cards, and housekeeping had to let us in (after the housekeeping people harangued us about letting them know when we had left so they could clean our room). When the hell did it become the guests job to tell Housekeeping when they were checking out? Didn't the Front Desk do that??
That was it for me, and I told her to pack it all in cause we're leaving right now.
About 15 minutes later we were at the front desk being told that we had additional charges to pay for our room and the Grand Northern Grill.
After a few minutes speaking with the girl (same girl that checked us in as I recall) she went and got a guy who looked at things a couple minutes, said we didn't owe anything other than the room and package charge, and apologized for locking us out of our room before our checkout time (she was calling Valet to get my car during this exchange). He said something about how the front desk clerks are supposed to change the checkout time in the computer when people with a Package check in and that they've been having a lot of problems with that lately. I didn't care, and I still don't. It shouldn't have happened in the first place, and what angered me is that they made attempt to remedy the problem. Actually, NO ONE ANYWHERE attempted to remedy any problem that we experienced anywhere in the hotel.
We had to wait outside for another 10 minutes for my car to show up (after spending between 12 and 15 minutes at the Front Desk). I think the Valet guy was waiting for a tip, and I didn't care. I was quite angry by this point and didn't give him a thing.
We left, driving back to the Cities hours earlier than I had planned to. We were going to stay and play in the casino for another couple hours after checking out, and maybe get a late lunch before leaving. Instead, we got fast food on the way home.
Grand Casino (either of them!) at this point is one of the last places I want to go for an evening or a weekend. We've had bad experiences now at both locations (overnight stays) and I won't be giving them anymore of my money. We haven't been back to Hinckley since the giant screw up they had on 7/7/07 and our weekend stay last year (which we've previously commented on), and I still have no intention of going back there. Now Mille Lacs is on my no-fly list too. The Mille Lacs casino was kinda tight anyway. We were up a few hundred at one point, but ended up down overall as Maryanne had no luck at all.
I'm beginning to think that the only way to get a real casino experience is to go to a real casino, like in Vegas. Either way, we're done with Grand Casino. We are players club members, but other than cashing in our session points for money I doubt we'll be back anytime this year.
One other thing I noticed here is that the casino employees, especially those involved with cleaning the casino, quite simply do not look where they are going. I lost count of how many times one of these people bumped me, backed into me, turned into me or just got right in my way as I was walking at the last possible second. Not once was any of them actually watching where they were going or looking to see if someone was coming or anything, and at no time did anyone of them apologize, ask to me excused or pardoned (most never even looked up or said anything). What happened to simple common sense and common courtesy?
Maryanne was not involved with the planning of this trip in anyway. I specifically wanted to surprise her with our destination, and I didn't want her to stress over any part or detail that ended up not meeting expectations. This resulted in my being extremely stressed and annoyed at check in, upon seeing our 'suite' (I hate calling it that cause it wasn't), upon seeing the extras the Romance Package gave us (room was just $172, package made it $350!!!) and at how poorly we were treated overall and at how poorly run the hotel and casino in general are.
Basically, I was very disappointed in the whole thing. Not remotely close to being worth what I spent; the room, the food, the extras are simply just very over-priced for what you actually get.
Maryanne was happy though. She wasn't happy about me being upset over everything that had gone wrong, but she was still happy to be away from the Cities with me for a couple days.
Next time we feel the need for a weekend get-away, we won't be doing it at Grand Casino (either of them).
UPDATE
June 10, 2008 0640:
Just got done looking at my credit card and bank statments (all online). I just found out that Grand Casino charged me twice for the room and package. So, our weekend at Grand Casino Mille Lacs wasn't just $350 but instead was $700! I've already called them and they '...don't understand why it would be charged twice." Gee, human error? They're going to call back at some point and let me know when they've taken care of it.
Because Maryanne's treatments haven't been going so good for the last couple weeks, and there is a real possibility of her having to take some time off work for sets of more intensive treatments each week, I thought I would take her for at least one night somewhere out-of-town, out of the way maybe, where she can just relax and enjoy herself.
I decided on Grand Casino Mille Lacs. I would've gone to Hinckley instead but two things stopped me: 1) we've had two previous bad experiences at Hinckley, 2) The MS 150 was going through there the same weekend, and they were very booked.
I also decided that I didn't care what it cost, so I went for the biggest suite available and some extras. What I had reserved was the Arrowhead suite (4-person hot tub!) that has a nice view of the lake with the Romance Package add-on (price was about $350 with the package). The Romance package adds two $50 gift certificates (food and gift shop respectively), free valet parking, a whirlpool or fireplace suite, a gift basket full of 'goodies' and a later checkout time.
We arrived at around 2:30pm. I had deliberately kept Maryanne in the dark as much as I could about where we were going so as to surprise her. I was expecting a nice big room with a bunch of extras that would just make her happy.
What I got was a Northwoods Suite (jetted bath-tub for two but only big enough for one) with a nice view of the rear parking lot and street. The Romance Package actually gave us a wicker basket full of popcorn, chocolate covered peanuts, yogurt covered pretzels, a box of crackers and a couple of small tubs of cheese spread (no utensils of any kind were provided for the cheese spread). We did also get the gift certificates and we mostly used them (I'll get to that in a sec). I called the front desk right away about this screw up, and they right away transferred me to the general reservation line.
Turns out they had a different confirmation code than the one I was given (very different, not just one letter off) and said I was booked for exactly what I had. This was just the start of my disappointment for the weekend as it turns out.
Valet parking is free for all hotel guests I was told at the front desk, and I was a bit annoyed since the Package description made it sound as though Valet was free with a Package, not otherwise. The other thing was that I expected to pull up, get our bags from the car and have a valet come out, take the keys and park the car. Instead, I had to go to the front desk, and after checking in they called for a valet attendant (the little valet booth just inside the door was dark and empty) to come get my car.
After all that we went to the casino for a couple hours.
We had dinner Saturday night at the Woodlands, which is their fine dining establishment. The only entry is through the middle of the casino area, and I'd thought that it would be noisy and smelly in the restaurant because of that. I was happy to find that it was quiet and comfortable. Good thing since the food was not very good at all.
We ordered crab cakes for an app, she had french onion soup and I had a Cesar salad for starters. the cheese cover on her soup has burned in a couple spots, but she said it really was very good. My salad had about 2-cups too much vinegar in the dressing, so I only ate a portion of it and set it aside (good thing too). We both order the fillet Mignon; hers with Bearnaise (instead of bordelaise) and mashed potato, mine with mushrooms, bordelaise and baked potato. She had soda to drink and I had a glass of alcohol free wine (they serve no alcohol anywhere at this casino/hotel).
Her steak was bare on the plate, the sauce on the side as she requested. Mushrooms on the plate around it. Bordelaise on her mash potato like a gravy, though she said she didn't want bordelaise. She said her steak was a little undercooked but good. Everything was a bit cold for her taste.
My steak was also undercooked and quite tough. It *looked* as though it had been cooked quite well though on the outside. Lots of charred bits and burned patches. Inside was slightly warm and rare. My baked potato was plain (butter and sour cream provided) and uncut, and nicely warmed to the touch though it was also undercooked (it was almost crunchy in the center like a raw potato or apple).
I ended up eating less than half the steak, all of the potato and finishing with my salad. Our server asked us shortly after delivering the food how things were. I hadn't cut my steak yet (was still working on getting my potato set to eat) so I said I don't yet, haven't had a chance to try my steak yet. She said she'd come back in a few minutes and check again. She didn't.
When our server did come back it was to offer refills, clear our plates and ask about dessert. It was at this point that I became quite offended instead of just annoyed. She asked us what we would like, mentioned a couple things not on the menu and we were discussing options. I was going to get a plain cheesecake (not a fan of any berry sauces) and Maryanne ended up getting the Tiramisu that wasn't on the menu. The funny part is that after Maryanne ordered her dessert, our server walked away. She didn't ask me if I wanted anything, and didn't wait for me to say what I wanted. So, no dessert for me.
The Tiramisu was almost completely frozen anyway, and Maryanne only had a little bit of it.
I left a small tip. Maryanne took what was left of her steak back to our room (we had a mini fridge).
We also had a little incident with the host that seated us. He came by after we had been mostly finished eating our meal to check on us. He asked if I needed a refill on anything, and I said no. He then turned to my wife and asked if she needed anything to which she said she would like a box for her steak. He then waved his hand as if to dismiss her and walked away (he didn't say anything, just waved). She thought this was very rude behavior, and it was.
We spent a few hours in the casino before dinner, and I went back again after we'd spent a bit of time in the pool area (had to stop and get suits first, so we used our Gift Shop certificate for those). The air in the pool area was so full of chlorine and that chemical smell that we didn't stay long, maybe 30 minutes. She was feeling a bit tired after that and went to bed early. I went back to the casino for awhile, returning to the room around 1am and went to bed.
The bed mattress was so hard, I wouldn't have noticed if I accidentally ended up on the floor. I'm not kidding, it was almost rock hard. Maryanne commented on the exact same thing that next morning when I ran into her again. It was so terribly uncomfortable that I only got a couple hours sleep in the bed. I ended up napping on the couch in the sitting area for an hour.
I ended up waking a few hours before Maryanne (which has been the norm for the last few months) so I went back to the casino for a couple hours (not much else to do here as it turns out). I went back to the room at 9am only to find that she wasn't there. I found her in the casino near where I had been playing for the last hour, and we went to the Grand Northern Grill for breakfast. We'd forgotten to use our $50food gift certificate for dinner, so used it on breakfast instead.
I ordered the Ranch Breakfast - 2 eggs (over medium), hashbrowns, toast and sausage. She had eggs Benedict with hashbrowns, toast and bacon. I also ordered some pancakes, and (forgive me) CHEESE CURDS! I love those things, and there's were pretty good with ranch or seasoned sour cream.
The rest of the food was less than good. Her eggs were undercooked, both of our hashbrowns were burned on one side (the bottom, go figure) as were parts of my pancakes. My eggs were nicely cooked on one side and almost burned on the other, so they ended up being very tough. The toast was also quite tough and chewy, almost like old (not dried) bread.
I ate half the pancakes, the eggs, the toast and part of the hashbrowns. My sausage was almost raw so I didn't touch it. She ate the eggs, ham and one piece of toast. Most of our food was cool or cold when it was brought to the table anyway.
We paid with the food gift certificate, and ended up getting the whole meal free since the price was less than the certificate (about $34).
We went back to the casino for another couple hours after that (we had a later than normal checkout time as part of our Romance Package). Right about noon we decided to go back to the room, pack up and relax for a bit before checking out.
We couldn't get back into our room. Someone had turned off our key cards, and housekeeping had to let us in (after the housekeeping people harangued us about letting them know when we had left so they could clean our room). When the hell did it become the guests job to tell Housekeeping when they were checking out? Didn't the Front Desk do that??
That was it for me, and I told her to pack it all in cause we're leaving right now.
About 15 minutes later we were at the front desk being told that we had additional charges to pay for our room and the Grand Northern Grill.
After a few minutes speaking with the girl (same girl that checked us in as I recall) she went and got a guy who looked at things a couple minutes, said we didn't owe anything other than the room and package charge, and apologized for locking us out of our room before our checkout time (she was calling Valet to get my car during this exchange). He said something about how the front desk clerks are supposed to change the checkout time in the computer when people with a Package check in and that they've been having a lot of problems with that lately. I didn't care, and I still don't. It shouldn't have happened in the first place, and what angered me is that they made attempt to remedy the problem. Actually, NO ONE ANYWHERE attempted to remedy any problem that we experienced anywhere in the hotel.
We had to wait outside for another 10 minutes for my car to show up (after spending between 12 and 15 minutes at the Front Desk). I think the Valet guy was waiting for a tip, and I didn't care. I was quite angry by this point and didn't give him a thing.
We left, driving back to the Cities hours earlier than I had planned to. We were going to stay and play in the casino for another couple hours after checking out, and maybe get a late lunch before leaving. Instead, we got fast food on the way home.
Grand Casino (either of them!) at this point is one of the last places I want to go for an evening or a weekend. We've had bad experiences now at both locations (overnight stays) and I won't be giving them anymore of my money. We haven't been back to Hinckley since the giant screw up they had on 7/7/07 and our weekend stay last year (which we've previously commented on), and I still have no intention of going back there. Now Mille Lacs is on my no-fly list too. The Mille Lacs casino was kinda tight anyway. We were up a few hundred at one point, but ended up down overall as Maryanne had no luck at all.
I'm beginning to think that the only way to get a real casino experience is to go to a real casino, like in Vegas. Either way, we're done with Grand Casino. We are players club members, but other than cashing in our session points for money I doubt we'll be back anytime this year.
One other thing I noticed here is that the casino employees, especially those involved with cleaning the casino, quite simply do not look where they are going. I lost count of how many times one of these people bumped me, backed into me, turned into me or just got right in my way as I was walking at the last possible second. Not once was any of them actually watching where they were going or looking to see if someone was coming or anything, and at no time did anyone of them apologize, ask to me excused or pardoned (most never even looked up or said anything). What happened to simple common sense and common courtesy?
Maryanne was not involved with the planning of this trip in anyway. I specifically wanted to surprise her with our destination, and I didn't want her to stress over any part or detail that ended up not meeting expectations. This resulted in my being extremely stressed and annoyed at check in, upon seeing our 'suite' (I hate calling it that cause it wasn't), upon seeing the extras the Romance Package gave us (room was just $172, package made it $350!!!) and at how poorly we were treated overall and at how poorly run the hotel and casino in general are.
Basically, I was very disappointed in the whole thing. Not remotely close to being worth what I spent; the room, the food, the extras are simply just very over-priced for what you actually get.
Maryanne was happy though. She wasn't happy about me being upset over everything that had gone wrong, but she was still happy to be away from the Cities with me for a couple days.
Next time we feel the need for a weekend get-away, we won't be doing it at Grand Casino (either of them).
UPDATE
June 10, 2008 0640:
Just got done looking at my credit card and bank statments (all online). I just found out that Grand Casino charged me twice for the room and package. So, our weekend at Grand Casino Mille Lacs wasn't just $350 but instead was $700! I've already called them and they '...don't understand why it would be charged twice." Gee, human error? They're going to call back at some point and let me know when they've taken care of it.
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