I blow hot and cold on Bluegrass, but mostly cold…read more
First, the pros: the service is friendly and helpful. (They couldn't seat the group I was with together, but that's our bust: none of us thought to call ahead and make a reservation -- on a Saturday night. Like Susan Calvin in I, Robot, we're the dumbest smart people you've ever met.) The decor is trying really hard to be fun (like buckets instead of sinks in the loo). And most of the group I was with was really enthusiastic about the food. There's an accessible loo on the ground floor for those who can't handle the stairs.
Now, the cons. I'm diabetic. Now, the problem with being diabetic is that, when you say 'I can't eat that. It's bad for me.' about something laced with sugar or otherwise high in carbohydrates, most people who aren't diabetic (and some who are) will reply with 'a little bit won't hurt.' There are a couple of problems with that attitude: first, when you're hungry, you don't *want* 'a little bit', you want *food*. Second, if you have 'a little bit' every time you go anywhere, then you're going to 'little bit' yourself into an early grave.
Bluegrass seems to be based on the premise that American food is all about three things: slow cooking over a smoky fire, lots of spice, and lots of sugar. Now, my dietician keeps reminding me that the combination of fats, carbs, and salt is addictive. And, for me, it's toxic.
This is the kind of place that I would have liked to eat when I was a little kid and hated vegetables, because there are basically no vegetables on the menu. (No, buddy, potatoes don't count as a vegetable. Nor, sadly, does corn. When I was a kid, it was the only 'vegetable' that I liked. It turns out that, nutritionally, it's just carbs. Onions and pickles count as vegetables, but not after you batter them and deep fry them. Bean are vegetables, too, if you don't lace them with sugar.)
So the first time I was brought here, a few years ago, after looking vainly through the menu for something safe for me to eat, I walked out and went somewhere else. It's not like I didn't like the group I was with then, but the company isn't worth my health. This time, I thought I had found something at least semi-healthy, because the Tennessee fried chicken wrap has lettuce and tomato in it. I should have known that the lettuce and tomato were more garnishes than ingredients. What I didn't expect was for the coleslaw to be laced with pepper. That made it inedible for my sweetie, but she wasn't missing much, because I don't recall eating nastier coleslaw in my life. The wrap wasn't great either. I suspect that the problem was the maple mayo, because the other ingredients were all things that I eat fairly often.
My sweetie was having other problems, too. She thought that the chicken and waffle would be safe, but the breading was practically black with peppercorns. (Fortunately, she was able to peel the breading off, and the capsicum apparently hadn't made its way into the chicken.) The waffle was partially black because it was burned.
I have had worse meals, but not for a long time. Never again.
