I would not consider myself an individual who is particularly critical of the food that I eat. While I care to eat satisfactory food and will appreciate the exquisite tastes of the most prodigious dishes, I am perfectly content with the vast majority of food that provides me ample nourishment. However, after my recent experience at Beef O' Brady's, I can say with upmost confidence that I will never enter this particular restaurant, or potentially any others included in this chain, as it left a horrible first impression, marked by deplorable food and abhorrent wait times.
When I arrived at the restaurant to order food and drinks, it became apparent that the duration of time between the placement of my order and the arrival of the food would be significantly long. So long in fact, that I had to intake over three large glasses of water to quell my hunger. In total, I believe that overall, I waited 50 minutes, just to receive a seemingly simple order of a burger, cooked medium well, with fries. To say the least, the untimeliness of the restaurant staff and the kitchen to prioritize their orders was quite concerning, and while I would normally give the benefit of the doubt to the restaurant to serve many more customers, which would account for the longer wait, I witnessed several tables that received their orders well ahead of mine, with the complexity of their dishes not being particularly more demanding to prepare.
Nevertheless, I am willing to forgive the restaurant and staff for these inconveniences if it means I will receive a somewhat exceptional meal to consume. However, I would not consider the items that I received "exceptional". In fact, it was quite the contrary. When my order finally arrived in front of me, it is safe to say that I was taken aback. While the bun of the burger seemed to have been toasted somewhat well to my liking, the beef of the burger was lined with a thick, unpleasing line of what I believe might have been charcoal. Taking apart the entire burger for further investigation, all I could witness was a black slate of meat, completely burned and assuming the form of something comparable to ashes. The tomatoes were somewhat soggy, and the lettuce clearly wasn't fresh and showed signs of wear. Even worse, the bacon provided (which was charged as a premium of course), seemed to have been cooked fine, but it lacked the thickness and prominence to distinguish its taste from the other components of the burger. Overall, the construction of the burger was poor and unappetizing to the eyes and mouth. Even if I had been capable of finishing the burger in its entirety, I guarantee that it would not be suffice to satisfy my appetite.
The fries provided to me were not so horrible to the same degree as the burger, but they were still not of a quality up to my expectations. Unfortunately, I chose to order a side of "regular" fries instead of "curly" fries, since I assumed that regardless of their appearance, it would retain the same taste, as there was no indication prior to assume the contrary. Just like the burger, however, the fries looked tasteless, unable to provide anything savory. When consuming them, it felt as though I was tasting something more in line with a regular baked potato then actual fries, since the fries lacked any crisp whatsoever (granted that might have been for the better, since they might have burnt them instead). Out of curiosity, I decided to try the curly fries that a friend ordered, so as to compare their taste. Of course, the curly fries proved to be the superior option, appearing visually more appealing and having the taste of something somewhat reminiscent of legitimate fries.
As one may assume after reading this, I did not finish my order. Not even close. I consumed approximately 30% of the burger before conceding to its terrible flavors, and I didn't attempt to eat more than five of the fries provided to me. I left the restaurant, feeling not only disgust for my recent experience, but a lingering sickness in my stomach, most likely as a result of the vulgar food and the faint intoxication I received from drinking large amounts of water to pass the time. If you value food that is decent and edible, and is served in a timely manner, this restaurant does not meet those basic requirements. As I depart from the area tomorrow, I am ashamed to admit that this review will be the pinnacle of my experience in Ruskin.
And for the few wondering, I found dinner. It consisted of 25 munchkins from the Dunkin' Donuts within the vicinity, providing me the only avenue to ingest something tolerable. read more