To celebrate our 29th wedding anniversary tonight we went to the Crown Uptown…read more"Dinner"Theater...well the theater, the performances, the performers were amazing and fantastic, but the dinner...nope! As for what to say about the dinner, (I use that term loosely) my mother told me if I didn't have anything nice to say don't say anything at all! Well...I don't listen to my mother.
First, the buffet was served to you only after standing in a line that wrapped around the theater like you were standing in line in a prison or a sad cafeteria, except the food and service at the Crown was worse. The "meal" started with some over cooked mystery meat and a dried up piece of chicken meat (not sure what part of the chicken it was) some mushy vegetables that had the piss cooked out of them, some mashed potatoes that tasted like paste, a cold roll w/cold butter and a salad, no wait...it was just lettuce. To top it all off...it was served on a paper plate. And not one of the the "good" paper plates, one of the plates that can't hold much food without collapsing. But that's ok, because the serving was minimal at best. We only were able to eat part of the "food" and ended up throwing it out in the convenient trash cans spread out around the theater.
The show was fantastic and we really enjoyed the performances. The talent of the singing and dancing was very impressive. While we sat in the front row, there didn't appear to be a bad seat in the house. Well, except for the seats on the far left side of the theater, where everyone stands in line to get the incredibly bad meal. If you have seat in this section you will have people standing all around you before the show starts.
The bar was quick and attentive with the ability to order from your seat before the show starts and at intermission. They should have more of the food listed on the menu available, but then people would forgo the "dinner". Believe me a frozen pizza, a pretzel or some popcorn from the bar would have been better.
My advice to Max Wilson and the other leadership of the theater, you have a GREAT group of performers, shows, venue and volunteers, but you MUST find a better caterer! If you need to, charge a little more and improve the dinning experience that's ok. It would be worth it to complete the experience.
That all said, we will be back to see a show, maybe even Elvis in January, but it won't be for dinner.
5 stars for the performances and performers, but 0 stars for the food!