Little Bro likes this place for breakfast and with extended family in town last weekend, it was suggested for a brunch last Sunday.
The following is specifically about the Memorial location and I stress I have never been to any of the other four spots. This one is on Memorial between Gessner and the West Belt. I stress the location because as has happened to so many of my reviews lately, it was not great.
The matriarch is recovering from back surgery so we ensconced her at a table and got in line with me tasked with ordering for her. Where to start, where to start…
She wanted the Traditional Breakfast, two eggs any style, (she requested fried firm), two pieces of bacon, toast and she subbed the cheesy grits for the fruit bowl.
Bluntly, the eggs were NOT fried firm but just barely over easy and were all kinds of runny. She ate them, but she didn’t like it. Additionally, she was disappointed in the grits which she thought were gummy. To be fair, my aunty, her sister, thought the grits were fine so they get a neutral rating but the eggs were just wrong.
I ordered the Turkey Avocado Sandwich as I’m not a breakfast eater. I got a turkey sandwich but had to flag down a manager to ask if they were out of avocado. She assured me they were not and so I asked if she could just bring me a couple of slices on the side and after some back and forth about whether I wanted the sandwich remade, (I did not), she complied and brought me a few slices. Now that’s an easily correctable mistake, but forgetting the avocado and a Turkey Avocado Sandwich seems a fairly substantial omission.
Now here’s the deal, for just those two orders, and a decent tip which I mention only because I was tut-tutted for leaving a bit over 17% for counter service, (I always round up to an even $XX.00), our bill with OJ and a coffee came out to $40. Not cheap for eggs and a sammy.
One more thing, while I was ordering, a guy came back up to the counter with not one, not two, but three dirty glasses he had been handed at the counter for the self serve drinks. I checked the ones I had just been handed and two out of three were likewise dirty. And one of the ones the order taker replaced them with was also dirty. Next time maybe I’ll offer to wash dishes for my meal. I’m really good at it and can show them how it ought to be done.
As I noted at the outset, my brother likes it, so we will no doubt be back, but rest assured that I will demand our orders be perfect or back they go and I will be carefully inspecting the glasses and other serve ware.
When we left there was a line out of the door, so maybe we just caught an off day but c’mon - miscooked eggs, failure to avocado-ize my avocado sandwich and dirty glasses?
No excuse.
