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grayman · 07-31-2003, 10:52 AM

I live in a sleepy little Midwestern town. A new "upscale" restaurant opened here last year. I wasn't really interested in going there, but I ended up going with my whole family when my sister came in town to visit. First of all, this place does not accept walk-ins, you have to have a reservation. I know people who have been turned away when the place was completely empty because they didn't have a reservation, which is ridiculous. Anyway, we went in and got our table for 10, there were 3 other tables in the restaurant including the owner's family. We waited for a while, and then when our waiter finally came by, the choices were basicly steak and seafood because many of the regular menu items were out. I'm allergic to seafood, so my choices were pretty slim. I ordered the special, which was a Jack Daniels' grilled sirloin with onions and mushrooms. When I ordered, I specifically asked our waiter if their chef tended to overcook or undercook the steaks. I asked because I am a cook and I know that if I err on a steak, it tends to be undercooking it. I do this because I can put the steak back on. If it is overcooked, I need a new steak. I don't do this on purpose, but sometimes it is difficult to tell on a thick steak. My point is, I understand that a steak isn't going to be exactly like you ordered it. I prefer my steaks medium well, but I will eat a medium steak, it doesn't bother me. I will not however, eat a burnt steak. So, if the chef tends to overcook things, I will order my steak medium. If the chef undercooks things, I will order it Medium well. Anyway, I asked how the chef cooked things and the waiter said (direct quotation) "Actually, he is right on, he cooks things perfectly." So I ordered my steak (the daily special) medium well. When my steak came, I cut into it and it was blood-red. Rare, maybe, maybe medium rare in a stretch, but definately not medium well. Usually, I don't send things back, but because of where I was and what the waiter had said, I called him over and asked them to put my steak back on the grill. He took it away, but then he came back and said that it must have been the lighting in the dining room, because in the kitchen, the steak was completely done, but that the chef was putting it back on the grill anyway. I couldn't believe it because I'm not an idiot and I can tell when a steak is done or not when it is cut into. Furthermore, other people at the table saw the steak and agreed that it was done. Besides, if the steak was done, why would they put it back on the grill. Essentially, he was telling me I was stupid and they were humoring me. Amazingly, they must have switched out the lightbulbs in the dining room while they put my steak back on, because when it came back, while still not done, my steak was much closer to medium well. My wife never got her potato, neither did my brother in law. When they brought the dessert tray by to show us the choices, more than half of them were out. We were there nearly 4 hours (remember, only 3 other tables in the whole place) and I only got one drink refill the entire time I was there. Unfortunately, I was unable to express my displeasure with the service because they added a gratuity to the check, even though we all had separate checks.

07-31-2003, 10:52 AM	#21 (permalink)
grayman you can't see me Location: Illinois	I live in a sleepy little Midwestern town. A new "upscale" restaurant opened here last year. I wasn't really interested in going there, but I ended up going with my whole family when my sister came in town to visit. First of all, this place does not accept walk-ins, you have to have a reservation. I know people who have been turned away when the place was completely empty because they didn't have a reservation, which is ridiculous. Anyway, we went in and got our table for 10, there were 3 other tables in the restaurant including the owner's family. We waited for a while, and then when our waiter finally came by, the choices were basicly steak and seafood because many of the regular menu items were out. I'm allergic to seafood, so my choices were pretty slim. I ordered the special, which was a Jack Daniels' grilled sirloin with onions and mushrooms. When I ordered, I specifically asked our waiter if their chef tended to overcook or undercook the steaks. I asked because I am a cook and I know that if I err on a steak, it tends to be undercooking it. I do this because I can put the steak back on. If it is overcooked, I need a new steak. I don't do this on purpose, but sometimes it is difficult to tell on a thick steak. My point is, I understand that a steak isn't going to be exactly like you ordered it. I prefer my steaks medium well, but I will eat a medium steak, it doesn't bother me. I will not however, eat a burnt steak. So, if the chef tends to overcook things, I will order my steak medium. If the chef undercooks things, I will order it Medium well. Anyway, I asked how the chef cooked things and the waiter said (direct quotation) "Actually, he is right on, he cooks things perfectly." So I ordered my steak (the daily special) medium well. When my steak came, I cut into it and it was blood-red. Rare, maybe, maybe medium rare in a stretch, but definately not medium well. Usually, I don't send things back, but because of where I was and what the waiter had said, I called him over and asked them to put my steak back on the grill. He took it away, but then he came back and said that it must have been the lighting in the dining room, because in the kitchen, the steak was completely done, but that the chef was putting it back on the grill anyway. I couldn't believe it because I'm not an idiot and I can tell when a steak is done or not when it is cut into. Furthermore, other people at the table saw the steak and agreed that it was done. Besides, if the steak was done, why would they put it back on the grill. Essentially, he was telling me I was stupid and they were humoring me. Amazingly, they must have switched out the lightbulbs in the dining room while they put my steak back on, because when it came back, while still not done, my steak was much closer to medium well. My wife never got her potato, neither did my brother in law. When they brought the dessert tray by to show us the choices, more than half of them were out. We were there nearly 4 hours (remember, only 3 other tables in the whole place) and I only got one drink refill the entire time I was there. Unfortunately, I was unable to express my displeasure with the service because they added a gratuity to the check, even though we all had separate checks. __________________ That's right - I'm a guy in a suit eating a Blizzard. F U.