Mac's Grill in Auburn, Maine offered, hands-down, the very worst culinary experience I have ever had...from the service to the quality of the food and each attempt at remedying the evening.
After prompt attention from our server, my 12-year old son and I placed our order. But after that it was all downhill. That was when our culinary nightmare began.
I should have prefaced this one-star review by saying I've spent more than a little time in all facets of the food industry, from fast food to fine dining, from kitchen to bar to general manager. Which means I know what I'm talking about...that I have context. But it also means I feel for the people running a restaurant, especially during the rush. But there is no excuse for the experience I had.
FOOD and SERVICE:
I started with chicken vegetable soup which took forever to come out...the *soup* took forever, you ask? The stuff that is ladled into a cup? I know, right?! It was confusing to me too.
When it finally arrived I discovered an awful, inedible purée of nondescript color served lukewarm. The server, who did her best to ignore us by not making eye contact (which anyone in the food industry will tell you is a mistake) made me wait a LONG time just to report the issue. I apologized but insisted upon sending it back.
Then we waited again for a salad and entrees. Longer this time as if that were even possible. This should have been quick. Fish. And chips. Fry it and dump it in a basket of newspaper. Period.
Fish and chips were EXCESSIVELY over-breaded and sopping with grease. The fry oil used was not hot enough to properly fry anything in, thus the food was saturated with it. Worse still, the fry oil was REALLY old and rancid. My son, mortified at what I was about to do protested, but only for a moment...he clamped his mouth shut when he saw me pinch the breading of the fish and saw it literally ooze dark brown, almost black, oil (it should be a light gold color). So I apologized and sent that back too.
I know, I know...why was *I* apologizing? Perhaps because the server made me feel so uncomfortable by NOT apologizing to my son and I...and acting as if I was out of my mind. The food wasn't her fault. The service was.
After already having had several issues with the food, I contacted the person at the host stand...the owner, I was told. I explained (embarrassed) I was really unsatisfied (understatement) with the food thus far and asked him what was good. I also asked if they'd been having issues with their fryer (gift-wrapped advice in the form of a question since under-temp fry oil is an easy fix if the equipment is in working order) and told him that the oil being used was very old. I'm not sure he knew or cared what I was talking about.
I asked for a personal recommendation, but after he sweepingly concluded that "everything [was] good...apparently except for the fish and chips [ha, ha]," I decided we were perhaps expecting too much of this sports-oriented restaurant and bar.
So ("when in Rome") I decided on a safe bet. My son and I both ordered burgers. And though we were absolutely starving I can tell you the burgers too were awful. The low-quality meat patties tasted like they had cooked and congealed in their own fat. Forget that they were absolutely overdone.
CONCLUSION:
We could not stomach anything except the side salads that came with our "meals." The service was awful and the management has much to learn about customer service and what constitutes quality. The folks in the kitchen? Don't get me started.
In addition, the place smelled bad...the kind of stale-beer, restaurant-smell that almost without exception gets masked when business gets booming. Except that it WAS booming at 8:00 p.m. And I would bet money that the restaurant was as dirty as it smelled. "Bar Rescue," anyone?
"So why is it so busy?" you ask. No idea. Perhaps because people in Maine tend to be loyal to locally owned businesses. And the full parking lot, glossy pine board decor and flatscreen TVs invite you in for a good, lively, casual dining experience. But it was just terrible. I don't say this lightly and I take no joy in publishing a scathing review. But the review is fair and objective.
Now, the manager did credit my bill for the soup and the fish and chips. I suppose I could have told them about the burgers too. But at that point they may have offered us something else and I did not want to take another bite of the food there. Neither did my 12-year old son. We had both lost our appetites. That and we had already been there an-hour-and-a-half.
Very disappointing waste of money. Entirely.
Unless the owner assures me that there have been some major changes we will not be back. And even then it would take some serious convincing.
However, I believe in second chances and would love to have an opportunity to change this 1-star review. But not on my dime. read more