Wow. Where to begin? My brother and I arrived here shortly before 7 PM on Sunday, June 2. There were quite a few cars in the parking lot, so the news that we would have to wait about 10 minutes or so was no surprise. The problem was that, in one of the three main dining rooms, I thought I saw some empty tables but figured that I must've been mistaken. As we waited the 10 to 15 minutes for a table, parties came in after us and got the same information. When our table was ready we followed the hostess. I had not been mistaken as there were indeed a few tables empty in the first dining room. I was shocked however to find the middle dining room, where the bar is located, virtually empty. The same was true for the third dining room where we were seated. There were enough empty tables in that restaurant for you to seat, not only all parties, but each member of each party at his, or her, own table. Yet, as we were seated, five or six parties still remained waiting. Why, I have no idea.
Getting over that issue, I found on the menu an item marked: New! It was smoked beef brisket and it was clearly labeled as available only after 4 PM. My brother ordered a pulled pork sandwich and I ordered the brisket. After a few minutes the waitress came back and apologetically informed me that the brisket was not available. Apparently the preparation procedure and the shelf-life of the brisket had led to it having to be discarded. While I was not happy at this news I suppose I understood. What I did not understand was that I had been in contact with the hostess and the waitress, either of whom could have told me there was no brisket available, however neither did. As a substitute I ordered the pulled pork platter which arrived very quickly after my order. As we ate our pulled pork, which we both agreed was adequate but average, we had occasion to hear our waitress talking to the diners at the next table. Apparently the waitress and the diners were from towns in New York. When our waitress was asked what she thought of Roanoke Virginia she replied that it was culture shock compared to her home in New York but that the cost of living was much lower and preferable. In fact, if not for the lower cost of living she would not live here. Normally I would not have a reaction to such a statement. But I am sitting in the middle of a half empty restaurant that I waited 15 minutes to get into, eating a meal that I did not want. Now I am being subjected to a waitress who does not have the discretion to avoid audibly disparaging the town in which she lives and works, and in which I was born.
As we finished eating, the waitress came over and asked me how my meal was. She was certainly observant enough to notice that I was dissatisfied with having to order the pork. I told her that the pork was fine, for what it was, but that I had wanted the beef brisket which was certainly not her fault. The manager then came to the table and, even though he knew my experience was not a good one, asked how our experience was. I confirmed that I was unhappy about not being able to order what I wanted. He then asked me if it had been explained to me why the brisket was not available. I assured him that it had. Apparently they had based this Sunday's available quantity on last Sunday's consumption. Last Sunday being Memorial Day weekend, maybe that wasn't the best idea. The manager then proceeded to offer us a discount on appetizers we had not ordered or desserts that we did not want. Failing those options he offered us a discount off of our meals. My discount totaled $1.17 off of a meal priced at $15 and change. My brother's discount was similar. Personally, a discount of that sort was an insult. I would rather have paid the entire bill and left it at that. This visit followed another in the not-too-distant past where I was served pork that was virtually raw.
After having given this location a second chance, there will not be a third. read more