5.23.26 Located at Allisonville & 62 on the NE corner. Plenty of parking. Always excited to try…read morea #NewToMe place and also one that is gluten free, as my dining companions need that for medical reasons. The inside is bright and comfortable. There are a variety of tables, also some comfy corner chairs. You order at the counter then they'll bring food to you.
We all got (plain) coffee. There's a small sugar station on the end of the counter, but you have to ask for cream. I also told a staff member none of us had been there before, and asked were there coffee refills (since the rest was specialty coffee drinks) or do we pay? She said we can have one refill if we come up.
My friends got gluten free egg/biscuit sandwiches. The hubs got a crepe with strawberries, bananas and more in it. I ordered the Galette Bretonne - which is described as "a savory light Buckwheat crepe with City ham, Gruyere cheese, with sunny side up egg" and also comes with a side salad.
Our food came fairly quickly. The crepe was visually pretty. The biscuit sandwiches looked like they had nice fluffy biscuits (and, gluten free!) - but they were on the small side (smaller than an egg mcmuffin). My galette looked nice but not like the photo (see pics of mine & one from their web) - and the egg inside was well done, definitely not sunny side up or even medium.
I don't mind harder cooked eggs, but the whole effect was very dry, so I went to the counter to ask for some syrup. The server told me that he would have to charge me for it. I said fine, yes please, because my dish is so dry it's unedible without it. So he went back in the kitchen and did bring me out a small side dish of syrup (see also pic of that, for size). I had my credit card ready, but he said "this one's on me." I thanked him and sat down to eat. ... and yes, that syrup was just the trick to make the dish delicious!
So this is the thing that makes a whole experience "meh" as opposed to "really nice": Between me & my hubs, our food and plain coffees were $42. (My friends paid separately for theirs.) For that price and just counter service, if a guest asks for a small side of syrup for the food, there should not be a side charge. I think the server who gave it to me realized that (but I would have paid it anyway because the meal was just too dry without it) ...
But here's the thing - there was another staff member at the counter when my server gave me that little side of syrup. She heard him say "no charge this time," and her expression absolutely changed, and she looked mad that he did not charge me, and like she was about to say something (but didn't). Guess what? I absolutely saw that. And I totally feel like she was not only mad, but also that he might get reprimanded for it. (Might I add, we were also there when it was NOT busy at all, so there was nothing about the atmosphere that was rushed or hectic - although that souldn't matter, either.) And yes, of course when I went back to the table, I relayed that story to my other 3 companions.
A little (little!) customer service goes a long way. And also is easily a deciding factor of whether or not a place gets a revisit. There are so many other places to try.
#ReviewsByRL