Harsh, you might say. No. Just the facts. After the Christmas Tree Lighting on Friday night, the family went to what, many years ago, had been a fun place to go.
There were five of us…a family together for the holidays looking for something good, something comfortable after the Tree Lighting. We should have gone to…well anywhere else. I would guess that everything on our table, except for the lettuce, came from a frozen package. The pizza was tough and flavorless. The hamburger on a stale english muffin was greasy and inedible (even for my 12-year-old!!). The tortellini chardonnay was “gooey” and flavorless that left a clinging feeling in the mouth. My wife’s salad was fresh, there were dried tomatoes in olive oil sprinkled on top and that was the most flavorful of all my family’s entrees. I opted for only the shrimp appetizer. The shrimp had been boiled in Old Bay and then Old Bay was very generously spread, no…better said the Old Bay smothered the shrimp. But, the shrimp were unpeeled so when I peeled them, no Old Bay was left. In fact, the shrimp hadn’t actually been cleaned, that is, the large “vein” was still in the shrimp. I don’t think I’m a purist since I used to buy shrimp right off the boat in Panama City, FL, and take them immediately to my pot, but then, I wasn’t a restaurant.
As far as the ambience, I’d been there many years ago and the place was fitted with the rustic furniture that matched the Bilbo Baggins Hobbit “mood.” Now. Well, the tables are counter height and the ambience is sort of Swedish Ikea. It’s still a cool looking building from the outside and a curiosity.
We expressed our disappointment to our waiter who had been reasonably attentive all evening. She told a manager and they offered a free dessert. But we just wanted to quickly leave. And we did.
