See it in the theater.
Maryanne really enjoyed this one, I thought it deviated slightly form the feel and theme of the first movie, but it was still plenty enjoyable and it had my attention all the way through.
This is only the first week of the movie run, so I don't want to give anything away, but you can count on the now customary Holmes-like twists and long running thought processes that we saw in the first movie, things like how they have Holmes anticipating things to come and thinking a few moves ahead. Not just over the next few minutes mind you, but even one day to the next (and in one case, starting from the beginning of the movie to the near-end of it). Many characters from the first movie make appearances (though most are very brief), and couple of them are even killed off this time around. It makes for an odd way to tie two movies together, but if you assume there will be future movies in the franchise, then a regular method of removing and replacing characters from one movie to the next keeps things fresh and new I guess.
There was plenty of action, the near-trademark Holmes slo-mo thought process makes an appearance a couple times, and there is plenty of wit, intelligence and cunning sprinkled throughout. It was as I said, an enjoyable film.
I hope they make a third film in this line. I also thought they could've done more with marketing this movie.
I'm glad we caught it on the big screen, and was pleasently surprised to find that the theater we choose to see it at (Marcus Theater in Rosemount this time around) wasn't very busy at all for a Saturday evening during new movie releases.
We arrived at the theater with minutes to spare, and still had time for consessions and seats before the previews started. We were a bit annoyed at the consession stand however. Who in their right mind takes 30 minutes to cook a hotdog? What theater doesn't have all of their consession food prepared and ready to sell on the opening weekend of a big movie during prime-time hours?? Apparently, this one. We kept asking after different food items (besides popcorn, drinks and nachos) and were told repeatedly that it would be 10 minutes for this, or 15 for that, or 30 for a hotdog, that kind of thing.
That's a bit ridiculous don't you think?
Showing posts with label bad service. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bad service. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
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'.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
St Claire Broiler - July 18
Rating: C-
We were seated pretty much right away, but the table had not been wiped before we sat down and the host put my menu on top of some syrup. I asked him to wipe the table and he got a towel immediately and wiped the table and my menu.
Our server seamed nice enough, but we soon learned that she was overwhelmed; she had at least 5 tables. The server that delivered our meals was a little rude. He set the plates down and asked if we needed anything else and I mentioned that I had ordered milk to be served with the meal. He said that our server probably had that and walked away. His demeanor was surly and almost beligerant.
William ordered the Iron Lake omelet, which has ham and wild rice in it, served with hash browns and toast. The hash browns were only cooked on one side. While this is the current trend, it runs the risk of being cold/undercooked in the middle, which was the case today. The omelet was overcooked on the bottom and all the toast was burnt.
I ordered the french toast with bacon. Our server asked if I wanted the cinnamon roll french toast or the regular, then proceded to explain what the cinnamon roll french toast was. I ordered the regular, but ended up wishing I had ordered the other. The slices of bread were over an inch thick, and were not dipped in the batter long enough to soak into the middle. They were also barely warm, so when I saw our server, I asked her to heat them up. When I got them back, it was obvious they had been microwaved and the crust of the bread was very tough and rubbery. William finished my french toast (I was too full) and it took him almost 30 seconds just to cut through the bread with his knife.
Our server did bring my milk right after the food was delivered and she did check back after my reheat came back. She asked if it was better and when I told her that it was hotter, she walked away. She never apologized for the food being cold or delved further to see how it was other than the temperature. William had to wait for quite a while for a refill on his soda and after our plates had been cleared, we waited for more than 10 minutes for our check.
What a disappointment! Our last visit here was great and this one was was pretty bad. We'll have to wait a while before we go back.
We were seated pretty much right away, but the table had not been wiped before we sat down and the host put my menu on top of some syrup. I asked him to wipe the table and he got a towel immediately and wiped the table and my menu.
Our server seamed nice enough, but we soon learned that she was overwhelmed; she had at least 5 tables. The server that delivered our meals was a little rude. He set the plates down and asked if we needed anything else and I mentioned that I had ordered milk to be served with the meal. He said that our server probably had that and walked away. His demeanor was surly and almost beligerant.
William ordered the Iron Lake omelet, which has ham and wild rice in it, served with hash browns and toast. The hash browns were only cooked on one side. While this is the current trend, it runs the risk of being cold/undercooked in the middle, which was the case today. The omelet was overcooked on the bottom and all the toast was burnt.
I ordered the french toast with bacon. Our server asked if I wanted the cinnamon roll french toast or the regular, then proceded to explain what the cinnamon roll french toast was. I ordered the regular, but ended up wishing I had ordered the other. The slices of bread were over an inch thick, and were not dipped in the batter long enough to soak into the middle. They were also barely warm, so when I saw our server, I asked her to heat them up. When I got them back, it was obvious they had been microwaved and the crust of the bread was very tough and rubbery. William finished my french toast (I was too full) and it took him almost 30 seconds just to cut through the bread with his knife.
Our server did bring my milk right after the food was delivered and she did check back after my reheat came back. She asked if it was better and when I told her that it was hotter, she walked away. She never apologized for the food being cold or delved further to see how it was other than the temperature. William had to wait for quite a while for a refill on his soda and after our plates had been cleared, we waited for more than 10 minutes for our check.
What a disappointment! Our last visit here was great and this one was was pretty bad. We'll have to wait a while before we go back.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
IHOP, Maplewood-July 11, 2010
Rating: D
Before we even sat down, we were waiting 5 minutes for a table (which I have no problem with) and William noticed that the entry area was very dirty. The windows, floor and counter had obviously not been cleaned in some time, including snot on the wall.
At our table, it was again obvious that it had not been cleaned properly. the syrup dispensers were sticky and had a build up of old syrup sticking to the bottom. The salt and pepper shakers also had not been cleaned in some time.
We waited more than 5 minutes at the table to even be greeted and it was apparent that our server was overwhelmed.
I ordered scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns and pancakes with apples on top. Everything tasted decently, but they put cold apple compote on top of hot pancakes, which cooled the pancakes. It would have tasted a lot better if the apples had been hot.
William ordered basted eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns and toast. The eggs were over hard, not basted. A restaurant that serves breakfast all day and that is what they're known for should be well versed in all the different ways to cook eggs.
At one point, the manager came into the room (we were in a side room) and asked the server in the next section which table he was going to give up because the manager thought he had too many. At that point, he only had 4 tables, and three of them had their check. This was plenty loud enough for all the customers in the room to hear. Conversations like that should be in private, or, at the very least, in the back where there are only other employees. Consequently, if anyone should have been giving up tables, it should have been our server.
Our server was very inattentive and William had to wait a long time for a refill on his soda. I would have notified the manager of the issues, but after seeing his exchange with the server, I felt like he would blow me off.
The main concern, though, was just how filthy everything was. We should have walked out when we sat down - and will do so next time we are presented with the same situation.
William actually sent an e-mail to the company while we were still in the waiting area regarding the cleanliness of the restaurant. He received a reply stating that we should go back and ask for a specific manager. It is doubtful we will go back as we have had a few bad (and no good) experiences at this restaurant.
Before we even sat down, we were waiting 5 minutes for a table (which I have no problem with) and William noticed that the entry area was very dirty. The windows, floor and counter had obviously not been cleaned in some time, including snot on the wall.
At our table, it was again obvious that it had not been cleaned properly. the syrup dispensers were sticky and had a build up of old syrup sticking to the bottom. The salt and pepper shakers also had not been cleaned in some time.
We waited more than 5 minutes at the table to even be greeted and it was apparent that our server was overwhelmed.
I ordered scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns and pancakes with apples on top. Everything tasted decently, but they put cold apple compote on top of hot pancakes, which cooled the pancakes. It would have tasted a lot better if the apples had been hot.
William ordered basted eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns and toast. The eggs were over hard, not basted. A restaurant that serves breakfast all day and that is what they're known for should be well versed in all the different ways to cook eggs.
At one point, the manager came into the room (we were in a side room) and asked the server in the next section which table he was going to give up because the manager thought he had too many. At that point, he only had 4 tables, and three of them had their check. This was plenty loud enough for all the customers in the room to hear. Conversations like that should be in private, or, at the very least, in the back where there are only other employees. Consequently, if anyone should have been giving up tables, it should have been our server.
Our server was very inattentive and William had to wait a long time for a refill on his soda. I would have notified the manager of the issues, but after seeing his exchange with the server, I felt like he would blow me off.
The main concern, though, was just how filthy everything was. We should have walked out when we sat down - and will do so next time we are presented with the same situation.
William actually sent an e-mail to the company while we were still in the waiting area regarding the cleanliness of the restaurant. He received a reply stating that we should go back and ask for a specific manager. It is doubtful we will go back as we have had a few bad (and no good) experiences at this restaurant.
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.
Chili's
Her perspective: D
Our visit was a couple of weeks ago, but we were so upset with this experience, that we needed some time to cool off before we wrote this review so we could maintain our objectivity.
We seated ourselves in the bar area at one of the tall tables. Our server came over quickly and asked if we wanted a drink for Happy Hour. We love the Presidente margaritas, so we ordered two of those. She tried to convince us to order a Happy Hour drink, but that's not what we wanted. She brought them over and we ordered an appetizer of Southwest Eggrolls with chipotle ranch instead of the avocado ranch. She informed us that they don't carry that anymore, but they have an ancho chili ranch. So, we decided to try that. It was actually pretty good.
When our server came to take our order, I ordered the fajitas with both chicken and beef. She asked me if I wanted it for 2 people or 1 person, and I said 1 as it was just for me. She then turned around and left to put in the order without seeing if William was going to share the fajitas with me. He had wanted to order his own entree, but she just assumed that we were going to share the fajitas for one. We were able to catch her before she put the order in, so William was able to order his entree, which was a steak.
While we were waiting for our food, we had to flag down the bartender to get another round of drinks. Once we got our food, she never checked back on us. If she had, she would have known that William's steak was quite undercooked. My fajitas were as I had expected.
We tried to tip the bartender separately for taking care of our drinks, and he wouldn't accept the money.
This is the most disappointing visit we have had to Chili's to date.
Our visit was a couple of weeks ago, but we were so upset with this experience, that we needed some time to cool off before we wrote this review so we could maintain our objectivity.
We seated ourselves in the bar area at one of the tall tables. Our server came over quickly and asked if we wanted a drink for Happy Hour. We love the Presidente margaritas, so we ordered two of those. She tried to convince us to order a Happy Hour drink, but that's not what we wanted. She brought them over and we ordered an appetizer of Southwest Eggrolls with chipotle ranch instead of the avocado ranch. She informed us that they don't carry that anymore, but they have an ancho chili ranch. So, we decided to try that. It was actually pretty good.
When our server came to take our order, I ordered the fajitas with both chicken and beef. She asked me if I wanted it for 2 people or 1 person, and I said 1 as it was just for me. She then turned around and left to put in the order without seeing if William was going to share the fajitas with me. He had wanted to order his own entree, but she just assumed that we were going to share the fajitas for one. We were able to catch her before she put the order in, so William was able to order his entree, which was a steak.
While we were waiting for our food, we had to flag down the bartender to get another round of drinks. Once we got our food, she never checked back on us. If she had, she would have known that William's steak was quite undercooked. My fajitas were as I had expected.
We tried to tip the bartender separately for taking care of our drinks, and he wouldn't accept the money.
This is the most disappointing visit we have had to Chili's to date.
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.
Friday, April 11, 2008
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.
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.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Chili's Maplewood
Her perspective: D
This is the third bad experience we've had at this location, so we will not be returning. We will be trying other locations.
We were seated almost immediately, but it took quite a while for the server to greet us. So long, in fact, that we were both ready to order. I ordered a Cherry Coke, Classic Nachos appetizer and the chicken fajitas. William ordered a Presidente margarita and the Honey BBQ Sirloin with mashed potatoes/gravy and seasonal vegetables.
My Cherry Coke tasted like the syrup was running out on their pop machine, so I had to ask her to check it and get me another one. When we got our nachos, we were given appetizer plates, but no napkins or sliverware. We had to ask for them, and it was extremely hard to get anyone's attention when we needed things our entire visit. William's margarita was pretty tasty apparently, and the only thing they got right in this visit.
When we got our food, my side plate with the fajita fixings on it had hard, crusty cheese and very little of it, and the sour cream was spongy, like it was old. I finally got our server's attention and asked her to replace it. She did so promptly, and it did look better, but she never once asked how our meals were, much less check on William for anything other than another drink.
William's steak was very over-done, which wasn't hard because it was so very thin. His mashed potatoes were crusty, like they were the dried out remains of the pan. By the time the server checked with us to see if we wanted dessert or anything else, I was mostly done eating and William was just so frustrated that he didn't even want to wait for them to cook another steak. Like I said, it was very difficult to get anyone's attention (we were back in a corner) and our server didn't bother to even look our way if she had gone to another table in her section. The server asked if he wanted another steak or if we wanted it taken off the bill or if we wanted her to have the manager stop by and William told her that taking it off the bill would be fine. She went to go do that and we saw her go to another table twice before the manager came over. He offered to buy the steak, another drink, the appetizer... William just told him to take the steak off. The manager came back with our bill and told us that he had taken the nachos off. We were confused since it was the steak that was the problem. The manager tried to make small talk asking us if we had been there before, which steak William usually likes, etc. It was rather annoying. After he left the table, I looked at the receipt to find out that he had taken both the steak and the nachos off the bill.
I appreciate the effort the manager made to try to get us to come back, but, like I said before, after three bad visits in a row, we won't be back to that location.
One more note: William had planned on staying there for a while after we were done eating to continue to drink, so they not only lost the money from the comps on the bill, but the other sales they would have had. We are generous tippers where we get even at least decent service, so the server lost quite a bit of money on her tip, too, much less the additional tip on the additional sales we would have given them had we stayed. This tends to be the case when we are disappointed in the service and/or food.
I hope you stay away from Chili's in Maplewood. We'll update our review with other locations, I'm sure.
This is the third bad experience we've had at this location, so we will not be returning. We will be trying other locations.
We were seated almost immediately, but it took quite a while for the server to greet us. So long, in fact, that we were both ready to order. I ordered a Cherry Coke, Classic Nachos appetizer and the chicken fajitas. William ordered a Presidente margarita and the Honey BBQ Sirloin with mashed potatoes/gravy and seasonal vegetables.
My Cherry Coke tasted like the syrup was running out on their pop machine, so I had to ask her to check it and get me another one. When we got our nachos, we were given appetizer plates, but no napkins or sliverware. We had to ask for them, and it was extremely hard to get anyone's attention when we needed things our entire visit. William's margarita was pretty tasty apparently, and the only thing they got right in this visit.
When we got our food, my side plate with the fajita fixings on it had hard, crusty cheese and very little of it, and the sour cream was spongy, like it was old. I finally got our server's attention and asked her to replace it. She did so promptly, and it did look better, but she never once asked how our meals were, much less check on William for anything other than another drink.
William's steak was very over-done, which wasn't hard because it was so very thin. His mashed potatoes were crusty, like they were the dried out remains of the pan. By the time the server checked with us to see if we wanted dessert or anything else, I was mostly done eating and William was just so frustrated that he didn't even want to wait for them to cook another steak. Like I said, it was very difficult to get anyone's attention (we were back in a corner) and our server didn't bother to even look our way if she had gone to another table in her section. The server asked if he wanted another steak or if we wanted it taken off the bill or if we wanted her to have the manager stop by and William told her that taking it off the bill would be fine. She went to go do that and we saw her go to another table twice before the manager came over. He offered to buy the steak, another drink, the appetizer... William just told him to take the steak off. The manager came back with our bill and told us that he had taken the nachos off. We were confused since it was the steak that was the problem. The manager tried to make small talk asking us if we had been there before, which steak William usually likes, etc. It was rather annoying. After he left the table, I looked at the receipt to find out that he had taken both the steak and the nachos off the bill.
I appreciate the effort the manager made to try to get us to come back, but, like I said before, after three bad visits in a row, we won't be back to that location.
One more note: William had planned on staying there for a while after we were done eating to continue to drink, so they not only lost the money from the comps on the bill, but the other sales they would have had. We are generous tippers where we get even at least decent service, so the server lost quite a bit of money on her tip, too, much less the additional tip on the additional sales we would have given them had we stayed. This tends to be the case when we are disappointed in the service and/or food.
I hope you stay away from Chili's in Maplewood. We'll update our review with other locations, I'm sure.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Applebee's, Maplewood Mall - October 30, 2007
Her perspective: C
His perspective: D
Let me start out by saying that I used to work at Applebee's, several locations, off and on for about 5 years.
We were seated immediately and greeted fairly quickly. William ordered a shot of Jack Daniels and a Mountain Dew. I ordered just a Mountain Dew. Our server brought the sodas and made a separate trip for the Jack. We were ready to order our food for several minutes before our server noticed.
William had ordered a caesar salad as an appetizer. It came out on a warm plate, which ended up making the salad warm, so he didn't really enjoy it. He also ordered the Bourbon Street Steak done Medium and I ordered a Chicken Finger Basket with broccoli instead of fries.
We waited over a half hour for our food and there were three other tables that were seated after us that got their food before we did. William's steak was, once again, overcooked. He ate his sides and we were both almost done by the time the server finally got around to check on us. She wasn't very attentive. She offered to put another steak on, but we both didn't want to stay that long, so he declined. She abruptly took the plate off the table and said that she would have the manager take it off. When the manager dropped off the check, she apologized and I took that opportunity to explain how long we waited. She apologized again and stated that she was in the kitchen at that time and that they had gotten backed up. It wasn't very busy and, even so, that doesn't explain how three other tables got their food before ours. My chicken fingers were good, but the broccoli was bland and under-cooked.
We have decided that should we decide to go to an Applebees, that we will go to the one in Apple Valley, since we have never had a problem there and have had problems at every other store.
His perspective: D
Let me start out by saying that I used to work at Applebee's, several locations, off and on for about 5 years.
We were seated immediately and greeted fairly quickly. William ordered a shot of Jack Daniels and a Mountain Dew. I ordered just a Mountain Dew. Our server brought the sodas and made a separate trip for the Jack. We were ready to order our food for several minutes before our server noticed.
William had ordered a caesar salad as an appetizer. It came out on a warm plate, which ended up making the salad warm, so he didn't really enjoy it. He also ordered the Bourbon Street Steak done Medium and I ordered a Chicken Finger Basket with broccoli instead of fries.
We waited over a half hour for our food and there were three other tables that were seated after us that got their food before we did. William's steak was, once again, overcooked. He ate his sides and we were both almost done by the time the server finally got around to check on us. She wasn't very attentive. She offered to put another steak on, but we both didn't want to stay that long, so he declined. She abruptly took the plate off the table and said that she would have the manager take it off. When the manager dropped off the check, she apologized and I took that opportunity to explain how long we waited. She apologized again and stated that she was in the kitchen at that time and that they had gotten backed up. It wasn't very busy and, even so, that doesn't explain how three other tables got their food before ours. My chicken fingers were good, but the broccoli was bland and under-cooked.
We have decided that should we decide to go to an Applebees, that we will go to the one in Apple Valley, since we have never had a problem there and have had problems at every other store.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Romano's Macaroni Grill - September 19, 2007
Her perspective: F
His perspective: F
We do not give out an F lightly. The experience has to be truly horrible for us to give out an F.
That being said, let's start with how we were seated. The only wait we had was that the hosts could not seat the tables fast enough; no big deal. As we were waiting in line, William noticed that the bar area was not as crowded as the restaurant, so it would be a bit quieter. When the manager came to seat us, we asked for a table in the bar and were seated immediately. However, we noticed that the manager, in telling the bartender that he would help him out if need be, they got into an argument. We're not sure if they were arguing because the bartender was too busy with 5 tables to take another one or if the bartender was upset that he wasn't getting to take another table. Either way, we had a server named Erin. Until we got greeted, we were thinking of leaving and going somewhere else if it was such a problem for us to be seated where we were.
Looking at the menu, I noticed that they carry Asti Spumante. It is extremely rare to find a restaurant that serves sweet sparkling wine, much less my favorite, so we ordered a bottle. The server was attentive at this time and gave us plenty of opportunity to decide. We both ordered caesar salads, but mine had a lot of the white part of the lettuce, which I don't like, and didn't have much dressing. William ordered a combination dinner called "Mama's Trio" which includes chicken parmesan, nine-layer lasagna and canneloni. I ordered a filet with broccoli substituted for the asparagus. Let's start with the positives, of which aren't much. My steak was cooked perfectly and had a tasty sauce. Now for the negatives. My potatoes were very bland for being garlic mashed potatoes and my broccoli was cold by the time it got to the table. William's whole meal was horrible. The chicken parmesan was like it was chicken pieces pressed together, breaded and frozen. The meat in the canneloni and the lasagna tasted burnt and the cheese was the consistency of snot. He stopped eating and pushed the plate to the end of the table where it sat for at least 15 minutes before the server came over to ask if he wanted a box. He explained what was wrong with it, and, rather than taking the offending plate away, she left to get a manager. The manager came over and William had to explain it all again. She apologized several times and agreed to take his meal off the bill. She then asked me how my meal was and I replied with my issues. She told us she would adjust the bill accordingly. Considering my restaurant management experience, the manager did everything she should have. Unfortunately, the damage was already done.
The server dropped off the check and explained that the manager had taken William's meal and both our salads off the bill to compensate for both of our problems. As I was figuring out the tip, the manager returned to make sure that the server had explained the comps. Even though we replied that she had, the manager still felt the need to explain it again. In doing so, she was keeping us from finishing with our credit card slip so we could leave. Since William wasn't feeling well by this point, all we wanted was to get home.
We have been to this location before, and I have been to other locations in the past as well. I have never had a problem at other locations, but I now refuse to go back to the Rosedale Mall location. Our last visit wasn't exactly problematic, like this one, but it just wasn't very good. I would go to other locations if friends or family want to go, but not this one.
All in all, a very bad experience. Like I said, we don't give out an F lightly, but this visit deserved it.
His perspective: F
We do not give out an F lightly. The experience has to be truly horrible for us to give out an F.
That being said, let's start with how we were seated. The only wait we had was that the hosts could not seat the tables fast enough; no big deal. As we were waiting in line, William noticed that the bar area was not as crowded as the restaurant, so it would be a bit quieter. When the manager came to seat us, we asked for a table in the bar and were seated immediately. However, we noticed that the manager, in telling the bartender that he would help him out if need be, they got into an argument. We're not sure if they were arguing because the bartender was too busy with 5 tables to take another one or if the bartender was upset that he wasn't getting to take another table. Either way, we had a server named Erin. Until we got greeted, we were thinking of leaving and going somewhere else if it was such a problem for us to be seated where we were.
Looking at the menu, I noticed that they carry Asti Spumante. It is extremely rare to find a restaurant that serves sweet sparkling wine, much less my favorite, so we ordered a bottle. The server was attentive at this time and gave us plenty of opportunity to decide. We both ordered caesar salads, but mine had a lot of the white part of the lettuce, which I don't like, and didn't have much dressing. William ordered a combination dinner called "Mama's Trio" which includes chicken parmesan, nine-layer lasagna and canneloni. I ordered a filet with broccoli substituted for the asparagus. Let's start with the positives, of which aren't much. My steak was cooked perfectly and had a tasty sauce. Now for the negatives. My potatoes were very bland for being garlic mashed potatoes and my broccoli was cold by the time it got to the table. William's whole meal was horrible. The chicken parmesan was like it was chicken pieces pressed together, breaded and frozen. The meat in the canneloni and the lasagna tasted burnt and the cheese was the consistency of snot. He stopped eating and pushed the plate to the end of the table where it sat for at least 15 minutes before the server came over to ask if he wanted a box. He explained what was wrong with it, and, rather than taking the offending plate away, she left to get a manager. The manager came over and William had to explain it all again. She apologized several times and agreed to take his meal off the bill. She then asked me how my meal was and I replied with my issues. She told us she would adjust the bill accordingly. Considering my restaurant management experience, the manager did everything she should have. Unfortunately, the damage was already done.
The server dropped off the check and explained that the manager had taken William's meal and both our salads off the bill to compensate for both of our problems. As I was figuring out the tip, the manager returned to make sure that the server had explained the comps. Even though we replied that she had, the manager still felt the need to explain it again. In doing so, she was keeping us from finishing with our credit card slip so we could leave. Since William wasn't feeling well by this point, all we wanted was to get home.
We have been to this location before, and I have been to other locations in the past as well. I have never had a problem at other locations, but I now refuse to go back to the Rosedale Mall location. Our last visit wasn't exactly problematic, like this one, but it just wasn't very good. I would go to other locations if friends or family want to go, but not this one.
All in all, a very bad experience. Like I said, we don't give out an F lightly, but this visit deserved it.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Day by Day Cafe - August 5, 2007
477 7th Street West
St. Paul, MN 55102
Ok, I know the blog title is An EVENING in the TC, but sometimes you just gotta write a place up regardless of the time or location.
In this case, we stopped in for breakfast at the Day. We've been here a few times previously (and recently) but today was an exception.
I used to rate this place as one of my top 5 favorite places to eat (not always the best places). In the last year it moved to the top 10. Today it got bumped off the overall top 25 (and I really do have a list).
His Perspective: D
Where to start...
There is usually a line on Sunday mornings. Some days the line is shorter than others and you get seated rather quickly. Today was short, and we were seated perhaps 10 minutes after arriving. We ordered drinks right away.
The drinks arrived a few minutes later, and we placed our orders. Maryanne specifically asked for peanut butter with her meal when we ordered. She ordered a short stack of french toast, I ordered my fav meal there called the Heart Stopper: 3 eggs, 4 bacon or sausage, hashbrowns with cheese and toast. Got mine this time with sausage.
25 minutes later our food was delivered... They were busy but not overly so, and the food we ordered was generally rather quick to prepare, so I can't figure out why we had to wait 25 minutes for food. Other people arriving and being seated after us were served their food before us, so maybe there was just a mix up in the kitchen. Regardless, that generally shouldn't happen.
Food was delivered, Maryanne had to ask again for peanut butter.
Being a general gentleman, I waited to start eating until she had everything she needed and started eating her meal.
10 minutes later, she was angry enough to go find someone to get her peanut butter for her. She started asking two different waitresses, but they both turned and walked away while being asked. That's rather rude in my mind, and very poor customer service regardless. Maryanne ended up walking over to the cashier and asked. They walked back into the room we were seated in and Maryanne was given two cups of peanut butter from the cabinet in our room, not 15 feet from our table.
She had to ask 5 people for something that was already in our room, easily within reach.
Now I understand that by waiting for her my food got cold, but I can still tell if something is under or overcooked. My eggs were overcooked, sausage and hashbrowns were undercooked.
Her short stack of french toast was more like a loaf of french bread (more the shape of the loaf actually) sliced horizontally down the middle. She had two of these slices, one half the size of the other. I thought the menu said 'stack'.
I had to wait for a drink refill more than 15 minutes.
We had to wait 20 minutes to pay our bill (pay at the table, but the neither the waiter or waitress that were serving us seemed interested in stopping back, not even to check on the food). He asked if we needed change, and I said 'Absolutely yes we need change.' Our bill was $19.05, and we paid with a $20 bill. He counted out our change and walked away.
To be honest, I wouldn't have minded the long waits for things if the service was even close to spot-on. Instead the service only highlighted all the other flaws in our meal, and actually made us both rather angry and quite eager to leave.
If you're a regular, you'll get better service because the wait staff knows your face or knows you by name, and tends to serve you better. If your an infrequent customer or first timer, try not to go during regular meal times when they are busy. That perhaps might get you adequate service. Also, we always sit inside the building instead of the outdoor area in back of the restaurant, and I've always noted faster service outside than in. Perhaps in a few months we might go back again, and if we do I'm sitting outside weather permitting.
If you like the food, then go to Mickey's instead. Same food (or better), faster service.
St. Paul, MN 55102
Ok, I know the blog title is An EVENING in the TC, but sometimes you just gotta write a place up regardless of the time or location.
In this case, we stopped in for breakfast at the Day. We've been here a few times previously (and recently) but today was an exception.
I used to rate this place as one of my top 5 favorite places to eat (not always the best places). In the last year it moved to the top 10. Today it got bumped off the overall top 25 (and I really do have a list).
His Perspective: D
Where to start...
There is usually a line on Sunday mornings. Some days the line is shorter than others and you get seated rather quickly. Today was short, and we were seated perhaps 10 minutes after arriving. We ordered drinks right away.
The drinks arrived a few minutes later, and we placed our orders. Maryanne specifically asked for peanut butter with her meal when we ordered. She ordered a short stack of french toast, I ordered my fav meal there called the Heart Stopper: 3 eggs, 4 bacon or sausage, hashbrowns with cheese and toast. Got mine this time with sausage.
25 minutes later our food was delivered... They were busy but not overly so, and the food we ordered was generally rather quick to prepare, so I can't figure out why we had to wait 25 minutes for food. Other people arriving and being seated after us were served their food before us, so maybe there was just a mix up in the kitchen. Regardless, that generally shouldn't happen.
Food was delivered, Maryanne had to ask again for peanut butter.
Being a general gentleman, I waited to start eating until she had everything she needed and started eating her meal.
10 minutes later, she was angry enough to go find someone to get her peanut butter for her. She started asking two different waitresses, but they both turned and walked away while being asked. That's rather rude in my mind, and very poor customer service regardless. Maryanne ended up walking over to the cashier and asked. They walked back into the room we were seated in and Maryanne was given two cups of peanut butter from the cabinet in our room, not 15 feet from our table.
She had to ask 5 people for something that was already in our room, easily within reach.
Now I understand that by waiting for her my food got cold, but I can still tell if something is under or overcooked. My eggs were overcooked, sausage and hashbrowns were undercooked.
Her short stack of french toast was more like a loaf of french bread (more the shape of the loaf actually) sliced horizontally down the middle. She had two of these slices, one half the size of the other. I thought the menu said 'stack'.
I had to wait for a drink refill more than 15 minutes.
We had to wait 20 minutes to pay our bill (pay at the table, but the neither the waiter or waitress that were serving us seemed interested in stopping back, not even to check on the food). He asked if we needed change, and I said 'Absolutely yes we need change.' Our bill was $19.05, and we paid with a $20 bill. He counted out our change and walked away.
To be honest, I wouldn't have minded the long waits for things if the service was even close to spot-on. Instead the service only highlighted all the other flaws in our meal, and actually made us both rather angry and quite eager to leave.
If you're a regular, you'll get better service because the wait staff knows your face or knows you by name, and tends to serve you better. If your an infrequent customer or first timer, try not to go during regular meal times when they are busy. That perhaps might get you adequate service. Also, we always sit inside the building instead of the outdoor area in back of the restaurant, and I've always noted faster service outside than in. Perhaps in a few months we might go back again, and if we do I'm sitting outside weather permitting.
If you like the food, then go to Mickey's instead. Same food (or better), faster service.
The Coffee Cup - August 4, 2007
1446 Rice Street
St. Paul, MN 55117
Her perspective: D
I went in for a quick breakfast, but there was almost nothing quick about it. I went in and sat down at the counter. The busser brought me silverware right away and asked if I wanted coffee which he got right away. However, I burned my mouth on it; it was too hot. I decided quickly, but it was like pulling teeth to get the attention of a server. When she finally came over, I asked if I could order. She seemed like she really didn't want to be there. In fact, she paid more attention to the guy sitting next to me, who sat down after me. She also kept trying to fill my coffee cup when I had only taken one or two drinks from it. I also had to ask her for my check.
The food was pretty tasty and cooked properly. The eggs were fluffy, the toast was lightly toasted with a good amount of butter and the bacon was crisp.
We have been to this restaurant a couple of times before and had always had good service. I would like to believe that this was an abhorration and will most likely not get repeated. I'm giving this server the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps she was just having a bad day, but it will make me think twice before sitting in her section again.
St. Paul, MN 55117
Her perspective: D
I went in for a quick breakfast, but there was almost nothing quick about it. I went in and sat down at the counter. The busser brought me silverware right away and asked if I wanted coffee which he got right away. However, I burned my mouth on it; it was too hot. I decided quickly, but it was like pulling teeth to get the attention of a server. When she finally came over, I asked if I could order. She seemed like she really didn't want to be there. In fact, she paid more attention to the guy sitting next to me, who sat down after me. She also kept trying to fill my coffee cup when I had only taken one or two drinks from it. I also had to ask her for my check.
The food was pretty tasty and cooked properly. The eggs were fluffy, the toast was lightly toasted with a good amount of butter and the bacon was crisp.
We have been to this restaurant a couple of times before and had always had good service. I would like to believe that this was an abhorration and will most likely not get repeated. I'm giving this server the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps she was just having a bad day, but it will make me think twice before sitting in her section again.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Chili's, Maplewood - July 21, 2007
Her Perspective: C
His perspective: C
We went to Chili's at 2:30 pm on a Saturday for drinks and appetizers. We went to the rail of the bar, but there was no one behind the bar and we had to wait several minutes until the bartender came back. She seemed friendly enough at first and we ordered two Presidente margaritas, which is one of our favorite drinks. She made them right away, and we were trying to watch her make them so we could figure out what is in them. It was hard to see because there was a partition in the way, but we did notice that she used four different bottles. When she brought us the drinks, we asked her what was in them. Her reply was that she wasn't sure! Considering that she had just made the drinks, it's disturbing that she didn't know what is in them and had to look it up in the drink menu. Not to mention that when she started to read the names of the liquors off the drink menu, she couldn't pronounce any of them. She handed the drink menu to me to read for myself. There are three liquors and we had watched her use four.
William's drink tasted different than mine. His had a distinct whiskey flavor in addition to what was supposed to be in it and mine did not. I think she grabbed a bottle of whiskey by mistake and made his drink with it and mine without.
We ordered two appetizers: Queso and Southwest Eggrolls. The queso came out right away, but didn't taste very good. It tasted a bit burnt like it had been sitting for a while. When the eggrolls came out, I noticed that they looked very light in color like they had just changed the oil in the fryer. When I tasted them, I confirmed that they were cooked in new oil. They were very tasty. We put aside the queso and when the bartender came to take it, she asked if we were done with it since we didn't finish it. She did not ask if we were unhappy with it. We told her that it tasted burnt and she rushed off while saying that she would see if the manager would take it off the bill, which they did.
She made one more margarita for William, this time with three liquors, but then gave us our check. We might have stayed longer and had more drinks, but since we already had our check it seemed like we were being asked to leave. We did not feel inclined to stay in light of that, so we paid our check and left.
The bartender was very inattentive during our visit and seemed stressed and busy even though there were only three groups in the bar area including us. Overall, we were quite disappointed.
His perspective: C
We went to Chili's at 2:30 pm on a Saturday for drinks and appetizers. We went to the rail of the bar, but there was no one behind the bar and we had to wait several minutes until the bartender came back. She seemed friendly enough at first and we ordered two Presidente margaritas, which is one of our favorite drinks. She made them right away, and we were trying to watch her make them so we could figure out what is in them. It was hard to see because there was a partition in the way, but we did notice that she used four different bottles. When she brought us the drinks, we asked her what was in them. Her reply was that she wasn't sure! Considering that she had just made the drinks, it's disturbing that she didn't know what is in them and had to look it up in the drink menu. Not to mention that when she started to read the names of the liquors off the drink menu, she couldn't pronounce any of them. She handed the drink menu to me to read for myself. There are three liquors and we had watched her use four.
William's drink tasted different than mine. His had a distinct whiskey flavor in addition to what was supposed to be in it and mine did not. I think she grabbed a bottle of whiskey by mistake and made his drink with it and mine without.
We ordered two appetizers: Queso and Southwest Eggrolls. The queso came out right away, but didn't taste very good. It tasted a bit burnt like it had been sitting for a while. When the eggrolls came out, I noticed that they looked very light in color like they had just changed the oil in the fryer. When I tasted them, I confirmed that they were cooked in new oil. They were very tasty. We put aside the queso and when the bartender came to take it, she asked if we were done with it since we didn't finish it. She did not ask if we were unhappy with it. We told her that it tasted burnt and she rushed off while saying that she would see if the manager would take it off the bill, which they did.
She made one more margarita for William, this time with three liquors, but then gave us our check. We might have stayed longer and had more drinks, but since we already had our check it seemed like we were being asked to leave. We did not feel inclined to stay in light of that, so we paid our check and left.
The bartender was very inattentive during our visit and seemed stressed and busy even though there were only three groups in the bar area including us. Overall, we were quite disappointed.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Governors Fine Food & Drink, St Paul - June 26, 2007
His Perspective: D for the food, B- for the drinks
Lemme explain... They make some STRONG drinks here, regardless of what drink you order. And they are very well priced to boot, so you can get well lubricated for $20 or $30.
That said, the food and service are terrible. I ordered a simple Hot Turkey Sandwich. It's supposed to be slabs of turkey in thick bread with mashed potatoes and loads of gravy. That's what I got, and a lot of it, but there wasn't any flavor to it. That and the exposed potatoes were crunchy and hard, as if they sat under a heat lamp for too long before being served. Either that or they were instant potatoes and they just didn't have enough water ( I really couldn't tell). This is one of those meals I order at places that I'm not sure about, because you can (at least in part) judge the quality of the menu and staff by how well it is prepared and how it tastes. This is especially the case since it's such a simple menu item to prepare (in my mind anyway). They did a rather poor job overall in my mind.
She got a garlic Swiss cheese burger and fries. She said it was good (and she ate the whole thing, which is unusual for her) but she thought it would have more flavor to it, and it was kinda small she thought, and I agreed.
We've eaten here before (a few months ago) and we both thought the food was much better the first time around. The only reason we didn't go back sooner was that the service sucked before. Tonight was better, but we did spend a lot of time waiting for our server to come back to the dining room, and we had to ask and re-ask for a few things.
I had an empty glass sitting on the edge of the table waiting for a refill for almost 20 minutes (no really, I timed it) and she had to ask and re-ask for dressing. After the server came and got my glass, it sat on the bar for another 5 minutes before the barman washed it. I got my drink (just a Coke) 10 minutes after that. We were about ready to leave at that point, and I was kinda disappointed. Also, When I first got my Coke, I had to ask if it was Pepsi or Coke because it didn't taste right. I thought it might be Pepsi, and she couldn't tell. Our server confirmed it was Coke though. Sure tasted odd at any rate...
This time around, not only was the service bad but the food wasn't all that great either. Still, it was only $26 for the two of us with her drinks. That's a good deal if you don't mind bland to average food and slow service.
I doubt we'll be back for a months (except maybe for Happy Hour) same as last time.
You know, I wonder why they call it Governors Fine Food & Drink since it isn't really fine at all. Oh, and if you note the time of this post you'll see that it's quite early in the morning. I've got a headache and heartburn from dinner and I can't seem to stay asleep. That should give you an idea about just how bad the food was.
Lemme explain... They make some STRONG drinks here, regardless of what drink you order. And they are very well priced to boot, so you can get well lubricated for $20 or $30.
That said, the food and service are terrible. I ordered a simple Hot Turkey Sandwich. It's supposed to be slabs of turkey in thick bread with mashed potatoes and loads of gravy. That's what I got, and a lot of it, but there wasn't any flavor to it. That and the exposed potatoes were crunchy and hard, as if they sat under a heat lamp for too long before being served. Either that or they were instant potatoes and they just didn't have enough water ( I really couldn't tell). This is one of those meals I order at places that I'm not sure about, because you can (at least in part) judge the quality of the menu and staff by how well it is prepared and how it tastes. This is especially the case since it's such a simple menu item to prepare (in my mind anyway). They did a rather poor job overall in my mind.
She got a garlic Swiss cheese burger and fries. She said it was good (and she ate the whole thing, which is unusual for her) but she thought it would have more flavor to it, and it was kinda small she thought, and I agreed.
We've eaten here before (a few months ago) and we both thought the food was much better the first time around. The only reason we didn't go back sooner was that the service sucked before. Tonight was better, but we did spend a lot of time waiting for our server to come back to the dining room, and we had to ask and re-ask for a few things.
I had an empty glass sitting on the edge of the table waiting for a refill for almost 20 minutes (no really, I timed it) and she had to ask and re-ask for dressing. After the server came and got my glass, it sat on the bar for another 5 minutes before the barman washed it. I got my drink (just a Coke) 10 minutes after that. We were about ready to leave at that point, and I was kinda disappointed. Also, When I first got my Coke, I had to ask if it was Pepsi or Coke because it didn't taste right. I thought it might be Pepsi, and she couldn't tell. Our server confirmed it was Coke though. Sure tasted odd at any rate...
This time around, not only was the service bad but the food wasn't all that great either. Still, it was only $26 for the two of us with her drinks. That's a good deal if you don't mind bland to average food and slow service.
I doubt we'll be back for a months (except maybe for Happy Hour) same as last time.
You know, I wonder why they call it Governors Fine Food & Drink since it isn't really fine at all. Oh, and if you note the time of this post you'll see that it's quite early in the morning. I've got a headache and heartburn from dinner and I can't seem to stay asleep. That should give you an idea about just how bad the food was.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Chianti Grill, Falcon Heights - June 13, 2007
Her perspective: C-
We wanted to go someplace a little nicer tonight because it was the anniversary of our first date. We were greeted almost immediately by the host and did not have to wait for a table. She put us back in a corner, which I preferred, but we were right next to a family with a child of about 10. We ordered a bottle of wine, which was served with spotted glassware and the wine chiller had ice in it because it had not been pre-chilled. Our server served the wine properly and maintained a pleasant and professional demeanor throughout our visit. However, she did not write anything down when she took our order. We ordered our appetizer and entrees at the same time and she promptly forgot to order the appetizer.
I commented to Bill that we had gotten our salads before our appetizer, but we thought perhaps they were just being served out of order. The bread was wrapped in a linen napkin, but was not warm. When we received our entrees, I inquired about the appetizer and the server replied that she had forgotten about it. She did apologize and I told her to forget the appetizer, that we had enough food. She brought it out anyway and told us it would be on the house. We would have preferred not to have it at all at that point.
Bill's steak was supposed to be Medium Well and came out Well Done and slightly charred on the outside; his fish had quite a bit more bones than is normal for walleye. My chicken dish was quite good, the sauce was wonderful and the potatoes were good as well. When the server checked on our meals, Bill was almost finished eating the steak, but he did mention to her that it was overdone. The kitchen manager came out and offered to put another steak on the grill, but we declined. It was a good effort.
When we finished our entrees, Bill ordered a mixed drink from the bar, I ordered a shot of a liqueur and asked for a dessert menu. I also asked for the rest of my chicken and the rest of the appetizer boxed up. 10 minutes later, the server came back to inform us that they were out of that particular liqueur despite the fact that several drinks on their drink menu include it. I asked for a drink menu. She brought that, then brought out Bill's drink and we still had yet to get the dessert menu. Bill's drink had some sort of sauce on the inside of the glass.
By this time, we were so put off by the whole experience that we sent her away with the drink to get our check. I double checked it. They had taken the appetizer off, as well as $10 off Bill's meal. His drink was not listed. We just wanted to leave at this point and didn't realize until we got home that we never got our boxed food.
However, as we left, the host inquired about our meal and, with a luke-warm response, actually took an interest in what had happened and offered to get a manager. We had already talked to one, so we declined, but it was nice that she didn't just ask because it was part of her job; she actually seemed interested.
We may go back after a couple of months, just to give it a second chance, perhaps with another server. However, since there were problems in both the service and the kitchen, we are not optimistic.
We wanted to go someplace a little nicer tonight because it was the anniversary of our first date. We were greeted almost immediately by the host and did not have to wait for a table. She put us back in a corner, which I preferred, but we were right next to a family with a child of about 10. We ordered a bottle of wine, which was served with spotted glassware and the wine chiller had ice in it because it had not been pre-chilled. Our server served the wine properly and maintained a pleasant and professional demeanor throughout our visit. However, she did not write anything down when she took our order. We ordered our appetizer and entrees at the same time and she promptly forgot to order the appetizer.
I commented to Bill that we had gotten our salads before our appetizer, but we thought perhaps they were just being served out of order. The bread was wrapped in a linen napkin, but was not warm. When we received our entrees, I inquired about the appetizer and the server replied that she had forgotten about it. She did apologize and I told her to forget the appetizer, that we had enough food. She brought it out anyway and told us it would be on the house. We would have preferred not to have it at all at that point.
Bill's steak was supposed to be Medium Well and came out Well Done and slightly charred on the outside; his fish had quite a bit more bones than is normal for walleye. My chicken dish was quite good, the sauce was wonderful and the potatoes were good as well. When the server checked on our meals, Bill was almost finished eating the steak, but he did mention to her that it was overdone. The kitchen manager came out and offered to put another steak on the grill, but we declined. It was a good effort.
When we finished our entrees, Bill ordered a mixed drink from the bar, I ordered a shot of a liqueur and asked for a dessert menu. I also asked for the rest of my chicken and the rest of the appetizer boxed up. 10 minutes later, the server came back to inform us that they were out of that particular liqueur despite the fact that several drinks on their drink menu include it. I asked for a drink menu. She brought that, then brought out Bill's drink and we still had yet to get the dessert menu. Bill's drink had some sort of sauce on the inside of the glass.
By this time, we were so put off by the whole experience that we sent her away with the drink to get our check. I double checked it. They had taken the appetizer off, as well as $10 off Bill's meal. His drink was not listed. We just wanted to leave at this point and didn't realize until we got home that we never got our boxed food.
However, as we left, the host inquired about our meal and, with a luke-warm response, actually took an interest in what had happened and offered to get a manager. We had already talked to one, so we declined, but it was nice that she didn't just ask because it was part of her job; she actually seemed interested.
We may go back after a couple of months, just to give it a second chance, perhaps with another server. However, since there were problems in both the service and the kitchen, we are not optimistic.
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