First and Last

[CraigC]

Going out for breakfast has become a weekend tradition for us. Trying different places often. We have found many that are good to excellent and go back quite a bit. Then there are those that fall into the "first and last" category. Went to Toojays for the first time yesterday and that was also the last time we will go there.

The food is our first consideration when deciding to return or not. We can deal with poor service, in most cases, if the food is good. The service at Toojays was fine, but the food took forever and was horrible. There was a couple seated outside, a family of four and us inside. That was it and the food took twenty minutes! I can't imagine how long it would take if the place was packed.

 

[CWS4322]

I don't know what you ordered, but if I ordered eggs, bacon, hash browns, toast and there was only one other table in the place, I would expect my breakfast in 8-10 minutes (or less). The bacon most likely is sitting in the walk-in and has already been cooked--just needs to be put on the flat-top and reheated. Eggs on the flat top for 3-4 minutes, hash browns are partially cooked or frozen, so I can't imagine why it would take more than 8-10 minutes to get the order on the plate. Most food that you order in a restaurant is already partially cooked and everything else is prepped. Unless the place is crowded, it shouldn't take more than 8-10 minutes for your food unless the place is crowded or the dish (shepherd's pie, etc.) takes more than 8-10 minutes to finish.

 

[roadfix]

We've had our share of first and last places over the years.

 

[Kayelle]

We're rarely in a hurry but there's a limit to my tolerance. We recently went to a breakfast place where the cook stopped filling our order to deal with a large bread delivery. We were the only people in the place. Now I ask you, which task was more important? Grrr.

 

[medtran49]

Mine actually should have been good, but was horrible. I ordered a Belgian waffle with a Bananas Foster topping. The taste of the sauce was great, but it was a really thin sauce. I'm guessing that my waffle was done before Craig's eggs and corned beef hash because it was TOTALLY saturated with the sauce, so much so that the sauce was pooling in the waffle indentations because it simply couldn't absorb anymore, and there was still a lot of it in the plate. Needless to say the texture was mush.

 

[caseydog]

I can't recall the number of times that Sonny Bryan's BBQ in the Dallas/Fort Worth area has been praised on TV shows. They must have a great PR team, because their BBQ is horrible. I went there one time... all excited. Wow, the disappointment was grand. Tough brisket, worst onion rings on the planet -- pretty much everything sucked.

So, if you come to DFW, don't listen to anyone who tells you to go to Sonny Bryan's.

CD

 

[Addie]

My daughter introduced me to a "first" in Winthrop. The very best lobster rolls and corn chowder. I love corn chowder. But I am a purist when it comes to my New England dishes. And they have hit it absolutely with their lobster salad and corn chowder. A lot of their menu is N.E. dishes. The majority of the restaurants in this area are either Spanish or Italian. I am not to fond of Spanish and I can make Italian at home at less cost.

My last woud have to be any fast food that has a take out window. The only thing I like from any of those places is where they give you the cup and you can fill your own drink. I like very little ice.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

My son and I had Sunday Brunch every week from the time he was 2 years old until he moved away from home. The first week-end we lived in Albuquerque (November 1993, he was 12 years old) we went to Shoney's for brunch. We were sitting there eating when this guy walked in, big cowboy hat, black long sleeve shirt with pearl buttons, stovepipe jeans with a HUGE belt buckle, and cowboy boots. I looked and my son, he looked at me and I told him "If I ever dress like that, you should just shoot me in the head because my mind will already be gone."

 

[Addie]

My son and I had Sunday Brunch every week from the time he was 2 years old until he moved away from home. The first week-end we lived in Albuquerque (November 1993, he was 12 years old) we went to Shoney's for brunch. We were sitting there eating when this guy walked in, big cowboy hat, black long sleeve shirt with pearl buttons, stovepipe jeans with a HUGE belt buckle, and cowboy boots. I looked and my son, he looked at me and I told him "If I ever dress like that, you should just shoot me in the head because my mind will already be gone."

Well, if your son is ever looking for attention, he sure will get it with that outfit. It worked for that man.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

...Then there are those that fall into the "first and last" category. Went to Toojays for the first time yesterday and that was also the last time we will go there...

Toojays used to be a small, three location chain. That's one place we loved to go when we would visit my SIL and her hubby when they lived in suburban Orlando. Then they moved to MA for a job in 2006. Hadn't been to one since until we were visiting friends in The Villages ohmy: Dear Lord! That's like a Stepford Town for old people! ). They suggested going to the one in The Villages. I don't know which location you guys were at, but if they all have food like the one in The Villages, stay away - stay far away!

 

[medtran49]

CG, Toojays is all over Florida now and there are quite a few more than 3 now.

I always check yelp, trip advisor, google reviews before we go to a new place and only extremely rarely will we go to one that has less than 4. I told Craig yesterday that apparently the vast majority of Americans don't know what good food is. I know there will always be somebody that doesn't like something in a restaurant and will leave a bad review, but jeez it can't always be just us going to places on a bad day for the restaurant/cook/server.

 

[medtran49]

My son and I had Sunday Brunch every week from the time he was 2 years old until he moved away from home. The first week-end we lived in Albuquerque (November 1993, he was 12 years old) we went to Shoney's for brunch. We were sitting there eating when this guy walked in, big cowboy hat, black long sleeve shirt with pearl buttons, stovepipe jeans with a HUGE belt buckle, and cowboy boots. I looked and my son, he looked at me and I told him "If I ever dress like that, you should just shoot me in the head because my mind will already be gone."

I had to laugh at this. There is a very wealthy, self-made man who built has business from the ground up and now has his fingers in multiple pies, who built this huge ranch complete with a saloon and life-size bronze statues of horses at each front side of the property out just east of where the Everglades start in the area. He's a very small man, probably 5'5", if that, skinny/wiry, and he ALWAYS wears an outfit similar to what you described. I swear his hat is almost bigger than him, it's certainly bigger than his head. He also drives this totally tricked out Hummer. He reminds of a bantam rooster the way he struts around.

 

[ixamnis]

I've been to several "First and Last" places; too many to remember them all.

Most memorable: A place called "Granny's Kitchen" in Great Bend, Kansas. Very small place and they only serve breakfast (or breakfast and lunch, maybe). The one time I went in, it was crowded. The building could probably only seat 20 to 25 people, maybe. The waitress was rude. "No substitutions!" You have to have everything exactly as it appears on the menu. The food was less than memorable. Not horrible, but not good, by any means. And it was over priced. Terrible experience, overall.

Another one: Charlie's Steak, Ribs & Ale in Branson, Missouri. Advertises BBQ on their sign outdoors. Went in and ordered the brisket. It was the worst piece of meat I've ever tried. It was tough, stringy and tasteless. It tasted like it has never seen the inside of a BBQ smoker. I suspect it was cooked in an over. Undercooked in an oven. The rest of the meal wasn't bad and the service wasn't bad.

But the one that tops them all: A Taco Bell I stopped in when I was in a hurry. I was traveling on the road and wanted something cheap and quick. I spotted a Taco Bell from the highway and pulled off for a quick bite so that I could get back on the road. I walked in. "Good. The place is nearly empty. This shouldn't take long at all." The high-school aged kid at the counter was talking with a buddy of his (I assumed it was a friend, anyway). "It should only take a few minutes." I told myself. "Surely, they'll be done soon." I told myself. "Damn, won't they ever shut up?" I told myself. "Can't they see there are people waiting to order?" I told myself. I should have called for the manager on duty, but I was younger and dumber and way too non-confrontational. I waited for 50 minutes (Yes, that's not a typo; not 5 minutes - 50 minutes) while this kid carried on about nothing while I stood there waiting to order so I could get back on the road. If that happened to me today, I'd have the kids' job and a free meal before I left that restaurant.

 

[caseydog]

My son and I had Sunday Brunch every week from the time he was 2 years old until he moved away from home. The first week-end we lived in Albuquerque (November 1993, he was 12 years old) we went to Shoney's for brunch. We were sitting there eating when this guy walked in, big cowboy hat, black long sleeve shirt with pearl buttons, stovepipe jeans with a HUGE belt buckle, and cowboy boots. I looked and my son, he looked at me and I told him "If I ever dress like that, you should just shoot me in the head because my mind will already be gone."

Shoney's is one of very few restaurants where I have never had a good meal. Maybe it was just "luck of the draw," but every time someone talks me into going to one, and I think, "maybe this one will be different," I feel like Charlie Brown trying to kick a football held by Lucy.

Outback Steakhouse is the other "Lucy" in my food history. You would think, just by the law of averages, I would eventually get a decent steak.

CD

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

My second ex-wife used to love Sizzler for some reason and as many times as we ate there I don't think I ever got a steak that didn't have a tendon running right through the middle of it.

 

[medtran49]

On the extremely rare, and I mean maybe once in 5-7 years, I go to a Shoney's, I always get the Big Boy Burger and have yet to have a bad one. When I was a kid, I used to love their strawberry pie, but haven't had that in even longer.

I haven't eaten in a Sizzler in years and years for that very reason. We tried Golden Corral ONCE when Craig's brother was still alive. We had gone over to see him, but he got a last minute gig to fill in and was going to be late getting off, so he told us not to wait for him and go eat. He lived in this little sleepy retirement town that didn't have a whole lot of choices. Once it actually did start to get some decent restaurants, GC closed.

Outback, we used to love them, but years and years ago, and I can't tell you how long since it's been that long, the Bloomin onion started getting greasy and nasty and the steaks started getting tough, at least in the location closest to our home, so we just stopped going to any of them.

 

[buckytom]

Does anyone use Yelp, or Tripadvisor, or any kind of other site for both searching and reviewing restaurants?

I've started to use the two that I've mentioned, reviewing a few places so far. I try to review a good experience for every bad one that I write so I know I'm not just coming off as crabby old guy.

Now, like Craigsy, I can overlook slow service so long as the food is good. Although, the two things about bad service that are difficult to get past are when the server brings the salads, appetizers, and entree almost all at the same time. Or, when the entrees take an inordinately long time to come out, and one or two of the plates are ice cold, whe the other is hot. These things aren't necessarily the fault of the server, but they could have been dealt with better by them.

My last review was for a restaurant in town that my wife and son took my mother on Christmas eve. I had to work, and my wife was going to be cooking up a storm on Christmas day, so I thought it might be nice to make reservations for them in a place we heard was pretty good.

Well, not only was it ridiculously overpriced, the food sucked, and the service seemed to want to he elsewhere, but my family said the restaurant stank of sewage.

Thinking that it might have been just something that day, because it was Christmas eve, I went back with my family a few months later. Same bad service, same bad food, and that stink!

I decided to write a review up on the place and noticed that others had written about similar experiences. So know I regularly check a few review type sites before we try out any new place.

 

[caseydog]

Does anyone use Yelp, or Tripadvisor, or any kind of other site for both searching and reviewing restaurants?

I've started to use the two that I've mentioned, reviewing a few places so far. I try to review a good experience for every bad one that I write so I know I'm not just coming off as crabby old guy.

Now, like Craigsy, I can overlook slow service so long as the food is good. Although, the two things about bad service that are difficult to get past are when the server brings the salads, appetizers, and entree almost all at the same time. Or, when the entrees take an inordinately long time to come out, and one or two of the plates are ice cold, whe the other is hot. These things aren't necessarily the fault of the server, but they could have been dealt with better by them.

My last review was for a restaurant in town that my wife and son took my mother on Christmas eve. I had to work, and my wife was going to be cooking up a storm on Christmas day, so I thought it might be nice to make reservations for them in a place we heard was pretty good.

Well, not only was it ridiculously overpriced, the food sucked, and the service seemed to want to he elsewhere, but my family said the restaurant stank of sewage.

Thinking that it might have been just something that day, because it was Christmas eve, I went back with my family a few months later. Same bad service, same bad food, and that stink!

I decided to write a review up on the place and noticed that others had written about similar experiences. So know I regularly check a few review type sites before we try out any new place.

I don't trust Yelp. There are too many people gaming the system, both for and against restaurants. I've had mixed results with TripAdvisor.

I've gotten some decent information in the past at Roadfood.com Discussion Board, but I haven't been there in a few years, so I'm not sure how it is now.

CD

 

[buckytom]

Thanks, Casey, I'll check that out. I guess with all of your travelling that would come in handy.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

I've used Yelp in the past, back when we actually went out to eat. I, too, tried to balance good with bad reviews so that I didn't look like a crabby old biddy. However, like casey's "gaming the system" remark, I take each review with a grain tablespoon of salt. I tend to ignore the top 10% and bottom 10%, then read from there.

I never joined TripAdvisor. They seem to want way more private information than I was comfortable with giving them back when I looked. They might not be so nosy anymore.