A disappointing dinner marred by 2 issues, that left me sour on the place.
I had some time for dinner after dropping kid #2 at a class. I noticed Art & Jakes, and since it's a favorite work hangout in Sterling Hts, I thought I'd chase down some Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos. I figured I could eat in an hour, but I figured wrong. (It wasn't overly busy on a Tue night)
I actually got my entree fairly quickly. Given almost all of the Taco material is pre-made that's understandable. What was weird, and I realize this is picky, is that the sides were served on a flat board. I guess it makes for an interesting presentation, but chasing the Spanish rice around the board isn't wonderful. Too much of it ends up on the table, which means I'm not eating it. Please change this.
With 20 minutes to spare I thought I could try the Turtle Cheesecake which looked good on the dessert menu - but also was absent a price. I ordered the dessert thinking, this too is pre-made and will be out shortly. Not so fast.
I waited and waited as my required departure closed in. My head swiveled to try and find the server. No such luck. I wanted to pay at least to save some time. Then, as more time elapsed, I wanted to cancel the order which was taking inexplicably long. I considered calling on another waiter or the hostess. Then I finally saw my hapless server seated at a booth, chatting away with another customer.
I waved her down as she finally got up and was about to pass me by. I gave her my credit card and I told her I needed to settle the bill and to cancel the dessert. I was standing, coat on, when she returned with a bag and the credit card slip. She said "I packed it up for you because that took entirely took long." Well that was BS, she was chilling at the table, SHE took entirely too long - and now she was lying to me.
I figured she's comping the cheesecake, but nope. I look at the bill expecting a zeroed out dessert. Or, at worst, maybe a $6 dessert.
It was a ridiculous $8.95 for dessert that was late; dessert I asked to cancel and she delivered anyway. I get that restaurants pump up prices on extras but, given the circumstances, I was not happy. Unfortunately, any time I might have to complain or correct the check was gone - and so was the waitress, again. I had to go, so I signed and left.
To add further disappointment the server didn't bother to include plasticware in the 'to go' bag. I ate part of the cake barehanded while waiting to pick up the kid. The cheesecake was just OK. The gelatinous caramel on top was strange and worrisome. Certainly not worth the wait.
Even though I will be back in the area often, I won't go back to this shop. The A&J in Sterling Heights provides reasonably fast service with a smile. The one in Washington Township? Not so much. An overly generous 2 stars. Lying to customers actually deserves less. read more