Native Memphians we are, but we had never been to the Bar-B-Q Shop. We remedied that back in June. We probably won't go back.
The place gets good reviews, high ratings, and some national attention. So it's a fine restaurant, and we should be proud. Our personal experience wasn't a happy one.
We went in and stood by the wait-to-be-seated sign for 5 minutes. When a group of 4 people came in a hostess came over, and The Husband told her there were 2 of us. She pointed back to a 2-people table in a corner at the back and told us to go sit there. She then took the people who came in after us to a table.
Once at the table we waited some more. We watched people who came in after us get water and have their orders taken. I tried to no avail to catch the eye of passing staff. After 20 minutes a man who may have been a manager came over and asked if we had been served. When we said no, he said he would have someone see about us. We waited. A table near us which had been seated after us had drinks brought. A few minutes later, a waitress came to take our drink order. The manager came back in a little while to apologize for what he called the miscommunication, but by then the bloom was off the rose. The waitress acted a bit surly, and I wondered if maybe the manager had fussed at her for leaving us unattended for so long. It hardly seemed fair to blame us for that. As I smiled and thanked her for every bit of attention I could get, she cheered up a bit. The waitress took our food order, brought our drinks and checked on us a couple of times early on; but we never got drink refills, and we had trouble getting the check paid.
I couldn't get a good picture in the restaurant. I brought half of my food home, though, so here's a photo of my take-home box:
I had a regular BBQ pork sandwich on their "famous" Texas toast and "gourmet" onion rings; and The Husband had the same sandwich on a bun with a side of potato salad. We each had a soft drink. Our total was about $23 before tax and tip (and yes, we left a standard tip). The food was fine, really, but we didn't find it outstanding in any way. We're glad we went, but we're sorry the service was so horrible and sorry the food wasn't great enough to offset the lousy experience.
I'm reminded of the scene from Duck Soup:
Ambassador Trentino: I didn't come here to be insulted!Now we know. Been there, done that, moving on.
Rufus T. Firefly: That's what you think!
When we got home we had pound cake and coffee for dessert:
The pound cake wasn't the "butter" pound cake we usually have, but was a "vanilla" pound cake. Very tasty. Ugly Mug coffee (a local roaster) took us into the evening.
Join the T is for Tuesday link-up at Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog, where we share a beverage and whatever we've been up to.
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Shame about your dining experience.
ReplyDeleteThat is always a let down when things like that happen and it can really put a damper on things.
Dessert looks yummy at least.
Happy T Day oxo
How disappointing. If you get poor service it doesn't seem to matter how good the food is. They whole experience is affected. Your pound cake looks good though.
ReplyDeleteDarla
Too bad the service was so poor--I think the manager should have given you your meal for free! Or at least a free appetizer or dessert. Yes, LOL, growing cactus from seed is an exercise in patience!
ReplyDeleteHe probably had no idea how bad it had been. At least he finally noticed us and had somebody eventually come to see about us. We'd have left, but honestly we figured if we wanted to try the food we needed to try it that day. No way were we going to go through that again. There's too much good BBQ in this town to put up with this kind of treatment.
DeleteIt all looks so yummy, and I am so hungry just now! Pity the service was so bad, though, that's not a nice experience. Hope the coffee was good, too. Happy T day, Valerie
ReplyDeleteI woud have been so disappointed with that service. If the food had been over the top good i might have given them another chance but if not then i wouldn't go back... We had good service and great food at a new pizza place this week called Damn Good Pies...lol funny name good food and excellent service... nice clean place... We'll go back ...We've been disenchanted with the big chain pizza places like PH and Dom..ever since they started doing battle by changing up their recipes for sauce and dough we just don't care for it... It was a matter of don't change it if its not broken.... anyway... Happy happy Tday Divers! Hugs! deb
ReplyDeleteI hate it when the service is bad...it really spoils the whole meal even if the food is great. That pound cake does look yummy though.
ReplyDeleteI have a girl who LOVES onion rings. She seeks them out at different resturants. She's trying to find the best ones. :) I've even made homemade ones for her...she gave them a solid good. :)
ReplyDeleteHm, from the picture the Texas toast looks like...regular bread. The onion rings look good, though. Too bad the restaurant visit was a disappointment. But the coffee and cake that you had later look GREAT, so at least you were able to have a nice dessert at home.
ReplyDeleteYou are right, the Nokomis library has wonderful windows. It was renovated about 5 years ago, and one of the main changes they made was to improve the lighting. I have visited that library once before, in the 1980's, and it was a completely different place back then--very dark, with low ceilings. Amazing how much it has changed.
I've been treated the same way, so I am quite aware of your feelings about the place. Like you, I have also smiled nicely and praised my waiter/waitress for even the smallest thing. Sadly, things occasionally turn sour during the meal, and in my opinion, often clouds our view of the food, too. I can truly relate to your bad dining experience, so it's good to know that I'm not the only person who's been snubbed in restaurants.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your dining experience AND your coffee and pound cake with us for T this Tuesday. BTW, I love the ATC you made for Karla!
sheesh...too bad about that experience! it's understandable that you expect prompt and courteous service for your money. though I know from experience a waitresses job is not easy either. have to think the hostess was probably responsible for not letting the waitress know, and the manager did not do a good job of managing the staff either! my husband is always good at making conversation with the staff so they remember him. You did the right thing by smiling! hope your next restaurant experience is better! happy T day!
ReplyDeleteI am sorry that the service was so bad there.. but the meal looks very yummie!
ReplyDeleteHappy T-Day!
oxo
Susi
What a shame about the restaurant. I've had a similar experience. After three quarters of an hour waiting for our steak and chips (we had been able to order) we walked out of the restaurant never to come back. How long does it take to cook a steak in a small restaurant with only 5 tables...
ReplyDeleteI must say your take homes look really nice though.
Have a great week and thanks for popping by earlier,
Lisca
Very odd how you were treated - it seems like other guests were getting attention! I´d have written a letter to the establishment; if they have any sense of decency they should look over their routines/attitudes (I mean, why should *you* have to cheer up the waitress!) give you a sincere apology, and a free meal at their best table. Like you say, the manager may not be aware of the problem in full.
ReplyDeleteI doubt they'd try to make it up to us. After all, we were there quite a while after they knew there'd been a problem and what we got was an apology for the "miscommunication". Now that we know what they're like, we're not interested in any of their tables. There are so many great BBQ restaurants here, and we haven't been to all of them yet. We're glad to put this one behind us.
DeleteBummer! Hate when that happens. I wouldn't go back, either.
ReplyDeleteBut sounds like once you were home your evening lightened up considerably. :)
Happy T-Day! :)