As I have just returned from the Great American Disaster, I will bounce a few of my own comments off existing reviews. First of all, this place is aptly named. It is a disaster. Although it is clean and well lit, it is not nor will it ever be anything like a classic American diner. To visit a classic American diner you'll have to find your way to a place on Route 66 called Emma Jeans Holland Burger Cafe. So yes, although "styled" in the vision of a classic American diner, yes, it is, but a classic American diner it is not. To confirm my thoughts on this place when it comes to the food, especially the burgers, one needs only to peer into the somewhat open kitchen to see a griddle press. This is the piece of equipment used to cook your burger. What this piece of equipment does, is it heats up the meat on both sides at the same time as it squeezes every bit of life out of the burger patty. On to the burger patty. They are pre-machine-made and previously frozen meat pucks. The cook responsible for your burger does not even season the meat prior to cooking, which is apparent by the grey appearance and the lack of flavor. Another tell tail sign that this place isn't a serious burger joint is that the griddle press is very small. A real burger joint would have set aside a reasonable amount of real estate suitable to have a larger rocket hot griddle available for cooking burgers properly. This restaurant could actually save quite of bit of money by buying fresh ground chuck and hand forming the burgers as long as they can teach the chef to season and flip a burger rather than tossing the meat puck between the steel griddle plates. This place also bills one of it's burgers the "Graceland" as having the crispiest bacon ever.... Well, if you like a limp piece of wet fat and you think that's crispy you'll love the Graceland burger. That bacon wasn't even close to crispy. Personally I ordered a burger called a "Gentleman" with cheese and grilled onions. As I have already stated what you can expect from the patty, the burger bun was a limp wet mess. All the cook needed to do was toast the bun with a bit of mayo coated on it and the bun would have been perfect, but most students in their first year of culinary school could have out cooked this guy.
On to the service.... well... I'm accustomed to having my water glass refilled as it is emptied. Seeing as there were two people on the wait staff, and 4 tables being used, this should not have been a problem, but alas, I continuously had to request that my waiter fill my water glass, which in itself was a problem, because the water glass probably held about 10 ounces, where I'm accustomed to a 16 to 20 ounce glass. After having had the waiter fill my tiny glass three times I got tired of asking. The wait staff simply needs to be given proper instruction on keeping the water glasses full and the service issue could be easily solved. The service staff should also be given water pitchers and the place needs an ice machine. I didn't see any ice. They keep bottled still and sparkling water in a refrigerator case along with a host of soft drinks. No ice in this place that I could see. Upon my short wait to pay the bill I took a look at the desserts and found what looked like lemon meringue and apple pie. The lemon meringue pie looked like a complete disaster and might have been made by a 5 year old and looked terrible, and the apple pie (dutch style) looked flat and unappealing. I didn't try the milkshakes. The Great American Disaster touts being in business for 30 years. I'm not going to deny it's longevity, but what I will deny is my repeat business. I spend 3 months a year in Lisbon, and believe me, there are much better places to eat. I know this review sounds harsh, but I think it is fair. This place has huge potential from it's location alone. Now if they can get the food quality right and the service up to speed they'd be assured another 30 years. It seems like they are simply trying to survive. I seriously doubt they'll be around another 30 years. Want to compare the Great American Disaster's burger elsewhere in the neighborhood? Head down the street to the Hard Rock Cafe'. You'll spend a bit more, but the quality of the food and the attentive service will be well worth the price. read more