Oh my gosh! I am appalled by the service I received tonight. Let's talk about it.
My family and I are in Birmingham for the James Fortune and FIYA Convert and decided to grab something to eat after. Buffalo Wild Wings was close and who doesn't enjoy a good wing.
Upon arriving, we advised the hostess we had a party of 5 and inquired as to how long of a wait it would be. The hostess advised there wouldn't be a wait, however, the waiter who's section she would be sitting us in had ran to his car and asked us to give her a few minutes. 13 minutes later, we went back to the hostess stand and there was a new lady there. We advised her we were waiting and asked if the waiter we were advised of had returned. To my dismay, the new hostess said that "he was in the bathroom" and we would be able to be seated shortly... By this time, we had been waiting about 20 minutes and multiple parties had come in after us and been seated. Finally at minute 23 of "no waiting" we were seated.
The waiter came to our table and introduced himself as Cameron. Cameron was very pleasant and greeted us with a smile. He immediately took our drink order and gave us time to review the menu... Once he returned with our drinks, we placed our orders for food and my brother ordered a strawberry lemonade.
Ok. At this point it was time to throw the night away. The appetizer of Fried Pickles came out BEFORE the strawberry lemonade did. Furthermore, our server was seen near the kitchen engaged in conversation with staff as we awaited the strawberry lemonade. Finally after 8 minutes, my sister got up and went over to where he was and inquired about the strawberry lemonade. Once she inquired Cameron brought the drink to the table within 2 minutes. Who knew it took 10 minutes and 1 reminder to make a strawberry lemonade... To add insult to injury the restaurant wasn't the cleanest. Empty tables were left uncleared for long periods of time which really was a detracting visual.
The food didn't take too long and I was happy as I was ready to eat. I ordered the BACON SMASHED HATCH CHILE BURGER. The burger consisted of:
DOUBLE PATTY / HAND-SMASHED AND SEARED WITH BACON / AMERICAN CHEESE / YOUNG GUNS HATCH CHILE PEPPERS / GRILLED ONIONS / PICKLED HOT PEPPERS / HATCH CHILE AIOLI / CHALLAH BUN / and a side of NATURAL-CUT FRENCH FRIES.
Oh! My! Gosh! The Burger was Amazinggggggggggggg. I mean absolutely AMAZING. The marriage of the burger, bacon, chile peppers, and grilled onions absolutely made my soul melt. This burger hit different. I have NEVER in all my years had a burger that executed a level of spice that was so perfect it elevated the natural goodness of a burger. Furthermore, the smashed patty was perfectly seasoned and enhanced by the hatch chile aioli.
**For the record, I have no idea what hatch chile aioli is but it truly is a perfect marriage to a good burger.**
Overall my experience at this location was not one of total enjoyment. As such, I have to break down my rating:
Service - 3/10
Cleanliness - 4/10
Ambiance - 8/10 (traditional sports bar vibe)
Food - 10/10
If in the area and in the mood for some wings or a burger, do yourself a favor and place your order online so you can pick it up and go. read more