Are you still holding that gift card? Lol
Drew 2020!
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Yes. Waiting for end of summer!
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Went to Drew’s last week and for the first time we were not happy with our food. Two loser’s were the Nashville Hot Chicken and the Shrimp and Grits. The chicken didn’t have any noticable heat and certainly didn’t make me sweat the way I like it. My wife’s shrimp were alternately mealy and too well done.
No, I didn’t say anything, as we were with my parents and I didn’t want to make a scene. I also thought about not posting this because I have had some good meals at Drew’s over the years, but here it is. Has anyone else noticed Drew’s slipping a little? Or was this just a bad night?
@seal - I’m sorry you had a bad meal. As you may know, I dine at Drew’s pretty regularly and don’t believe the food has been slipping. In fact, with the number of new items and specials added to his menu, I feel that he has “upped his game” and has been cooking the best food that I can recall in quite some time. I would chalk this one up to a bad evening like any restaurant would have. I am sure had you advised of the issues with your meal they would’ve been immediately addressed. Don’t hesitate to give Drew’s another opportunity and I would be interested in reading your report back. Good luck and be well.
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@bgut1 Best to your and your family.
Had I been with anyone else I’d have said something - you know me lol! But you’re right of course and I’m sure we will be back.
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We had another outstanding dinner at Drew’s. What a pleasure to be able to enjoy a nice leisurely dinner and be greeted and treated like family as opposed to being rushed with a gun to our heads. Now that is South Jersey hospitality 
The host even stopped by to check on us to see how we were enjoying our meal Our server even asked us to let her know when to fire up the entrees We started off with some awesome appetizers of chorizo con queso with pickled red onions and homemade crispy jalapeno tortilla chips; fried green tomatoes with black pepper ranch dressing; and roast Italian long hots with garlic and evoo. Mrs. P had the excellent crunchy panko crusted whale soft shell crabs with charred sweet Jersey corn on the cob and crispy fries. I had an amazing unlisted special of surf and turf with garlicky NY strip steak and BBQ shrimp. We took home our favorite dessert of salty chocolate caramel pretzel tart for dessert. It all went great with a 2012 Korbin Kameron cabernet.
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I think you got your point across. Great looking photos and review as usual. Thanks🙂
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Yes, let it go.
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Although I do have to say that those twin lobsters stuffed with seafood and seafood stuffed avocados should go down in history as the best food visual ever on this board…
Gosh they looked good.
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I was hoping to find a review that contradicted my last lousy meal at Drew’s, but I stopped reading after the second sentence.
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@seal, I am very sorry that you had a very disappointing meal at Drew’s. Drew cares very deeply that his customers are happy with their meal. If you weren’t satisfied then the time to say something is immediately at the restaurant, and not on a blog. Drew, would have gladly replaced your meal or taken it off the bill. You just have to ask nicely and not create a scene. I have found with the Nashville hot sauce, that the spicy ground chilis are usually on the bottom of the container and you have to mix it up a little. If it’s not hot enough, then simply ask for a new hotter batch, and they would be happy to comply. Communication is the key. If the restaurant doesn’t know that anything is wrong then they can’t rectify the issue. I realize that you were with your parents and didn’t want to raise a stink. Again my review did not mean to invalidate your experience. It was only my personal experience.
“Now that is South Jersey hospitality.”
Eli, To be accurate, that should be Central NJ.
As far as hospitality goes, while restaurants should make all diners feel welcome and treat them courteously, it should also be made clear that diners who are “friends of the house” (as you are at Drew’s) do receive special treatment, i.e., extra dishes, comped drinks, etc., as a way for the restaurant to thank those patrons for dining there regularly.
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I stand corrected Roz I was trying to make it a riff on Southern hospitality, and Central hospitality didn’t sound right
You are probably correct about being treated differently by being a ‘friend of the house’ (just like you get all of those wonderful perks at EMP and other fine restaurants). I guess it is a two way street. I try to treat the servers with respect, and ask about their families. I also try to make sure to thank the Chef (whenever possible) and show my appreciation for a wonderful meal and any comps (that I never expect, but always appreciate). I also make sure to tip the servers extra for any comps we receive. I have also gifted bottles of wine with the chefs to show my appreciation. Lastly, I try to give their food (that they worked so hard to make) justice by taking nice photos to highlight it. It takes many years to be a friend of the house. It doesn’t happen overnight. If I didn’t receive the nice food and hospitality on my first visit then it would have been my last.
My bad! I missed that riff!
I had no doubt that you were well treated at Drew’s the first time; otherwise, you’d never have put it on your rotation especially considering the schlep for you to go there. And, of course, that goes for all the restaurants where you have become regulars. It is also quite obvious to me that you always treat the chefs and staffs at those restaurants with great respect and show your appreciation for the comps by tipping above the norm.
It actually does not take years to be considered a friend of the house. Most restaurants will think of you that way after only a few visits. Here’s one example. Benno opened in NYC this past November. It’s the upscale eponymous restaurant from Chef Jonathan Benno who previously was Thomas Keller’s chef de cuisine at Per Se and then executive chef at Lincoln Ristorante at Lincoln Center. We had our first dinner at Benno shortly after it opened. We adored everything about the restaurant – cuisine, service, atmospherics – and in conversation made that clear to our captain and the general manager. The g.c. gave us his card urging us to contact him when we wished to make future reservations. We followed up on that, and he booked our table when we dined there again in December with a friend visiting from out of town. We have been there twice this year and both times received “gifts” from the chef. We are always seated at the same table ("our table’) and have had the same captain each time. Being a regular truly enhances the dining experience.
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Great pics and that steak looks tasty!
I know you guys normally get extra food to take home. In this occasion, did you guys eat all the fried food there? I can never get leftover fried food to come out good, unless it’s fried chicken eat cold 
Roz, you are right about it not taking years to be considered a friend of the house. That was a bit of an exaggeration. That sounded like a wonderful experience at Benno, and a perfect example of hospitality and appreciating your customers, and treating them right.
In fact, we went to Bloom in Verona for the very first time last Friday. I didn’t mention it in my initial review but I did not exactly make the most graceful entrance. As soon as I was taking out my wine glasses, I preceded to accidentally break one glass and it shattered into many tiny pieces all over the table and chair. I was so embarrassed and apologized profusely. The owners and servers were very kind and told me not to worry about it. They moved us to another table and cleaned up the mess I made and were extremely friendly the rest of the night, like nothing happened. The owner came out several times to see how we were enjoying our meal, and we were effusive with praise. I wrote up a very nice review on Instagram, Yelp, & Trip Advisor and she thanked me. We liked this restaurant so much that we are actually returning tonight with our friends from Staten Island. We never return to the same restaurant a week later, but were treated so nice (as strangers) that we couldn’t wait to come back and share the experience with our friends.
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Thanks Johnny. No, we couldn’t eat all of that fried food or steak at one sitting 
There were a ton of leftovers. That whale soft shell crab was huge and Mrs. P could barely eat one. It was originally prepared sauteed with different sides, but Drew very generously fried it up for us in a crispy panko batter, and provided different sides of the charred corn on the cob and crispy fries. The steak was delicious. It was cooked perfectly medium rare, and was smothered in garlic. The Chorizo con queso with homemade crispy tortilla chips was also a highlight.
Eli, The way Bloom handled your mini disaster speaks very highly for them. I hope your second experience is as wonderful as that first was. I look forward to reading your report.
By the way, if you’re interested in trying Benno, this would be an especially opportune time for you who prefers to BYO to go because they’re offering “Corkage-Free Weekends.” On Friday and Saturday nights, guests are invited to bring their own bottle(s) of wine, one per person, with no corkage fee. It began in July and continues until August 31st. (No need to bring glasses since, of course, theirs are top notch.) When we dined there a week ago Saturday, we took advantage of the offer. Michael brought a bottle of Pinot Noir and his Coravin. The staff took care of dealing with the Coravin and serving the wine.
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