Betrayed is a strong word. So, because I love the many many maaaany friends who raved about this place is if it was opened by Jesus after his second coming, I shall not say I felt betrayed upon my experience at The Slow Rhode. It had a lot to live up to. And it almost did. Almost.
It was a Thursday night a few weeks back. It was a dreary day. Upon entry, we stood there and waited for someone to acknowledge us. And stood there. And stood there. There was a hostess, but there was clearly something more interesting on her smartphone than the customers at the door. It was lengthy and unpleasant waiting for her to turn around. "Hmm," I thought to myself. "Maybe this is why they call it the sloooooow rhode." And, then I said, "Good one." out loud which totally befuddled my dining companion. But I digress.
There's a chance that there's some sorta of "hostessing app" she was on that was helping her get organized, but that is a very very very generous possibility on my part. But, again, I digress.
The real issue with this long delay is that after we entered, other people entered, and then individual people(s) entered. Some tried walking in front of us. Some thought we were leaving. Some thought others were leaving. It became a hectic mess of mixed manners at the front door. One took some prime real estate at the bar, which I guessssss is allowed? We had no idea. Do we seat ourselves? Is the bar open territory? Just really no service (or structure or order) to be found.
She finally, softly greeted us (no apologies for the wait), "Two? Ummm. It's gonna be a whiii....". We asked to sit at the bar since all the tables were full. She said sure, and ditched us.
The bartender was excellent. Really nice guy. I had the "tequila" beverage, which was pretty good, but I kept thinking I'd prefer it served straight up vs so heavily on the rocks (way too much ice). B-
We then shared the duck wings, which were a bit disappointing. I felt like they should've been served hotter and with a bit more sauce. (This was the dish that my friends said I really had to have.) B-
The small asparagus dish was stellar. I really didn't expect much from it, but it was a solid array of fresh flavor. A
We split the burger and the chicken. I really enjoyed the burger. Not much too it, but the ingredients (even the roll) tasted so fresh it brought it to a different level. A solid, tasty, satisfying cheeseburger. B+
The chicken was good - crispy and juicy. I could've handled more seasoning though. B
If I could give 1/2 stars, I'd give The Slow Rhode 3.5. It is a smallish restaurant which made the beginning lack of courtesy (instruction, attention) so glaring. More hits than misses though. read more