Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Conversation Bites / Restaurants Of Silk Purses and Sow's Ears
Posted by Chris Chamberlain on Tue, Dec 29, 2009 at 9:40 AM
Occasionally we here at Bites get taken to task by (usually anonymous) commenters who say we write only about good meals. While it's an open question whether it's fair for this fairly public forum to bash an establishment on the basis of one bad experience, it's also true that we don't necessarily eat great food every day. So here I go...
I had a really crappy chicken sandwich last week at Apollo's Grill in Peabody Corner downtown. It was overcooked to the point of being leathery and tasted like charcoal lighter. But you know what? I ate it and didn't complain because of the extenuating circumstances.
Peabody Corner is basically a small food court situated at the corner of Peabody and Fourth Avenue South. I know that the entrepreneurs who invested in this piece of property a couple of years ago are trying to make it much more than just a place to wolf down a Quizno's sandwich.
They have created an attractive space filled with plants and local art, with a dedication to rising above the typical fast food plastic box building. Flat-screen televisions play ESPN at appropriate sound levels, and they maintain a library of more than 100 magazines, from Architectural Digest to US Weekly, to help you while away your lunch hour. As someone who often eats alone while running errands during the middle of the day, I really appreciated this touch.
The parking lot was easily accessible and free, which makes it a heckuva deal compared with most lots downtown. Nobody had a problem with me leaving my car there an extra 20 minutes while I ran down to the Sommet Center to buy some hockey tickets, so that saved me at least five bucks and 10 minutes looking for parking.
So was a bad chicken sandwich, fries and a Coke for $7 a bad deal? Not when you consider the amenities I took advantage of. Maybe next time they'll get my chicken off the grill a minute earlier and it'll be fine. I'm sure willing to give them another try.
Comments (7)
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Hmm - sound like the "grilled" chicken tenders from Otters in the 5th and Main location.
I know very well how to overcook the shit out of cutlet strips. The fact that I paid them to do it is my bad. The fries were barely cooked and cold by time I got back to my office. Two styrofoam clamshells, 2 bags, and 4 handfuls of ketchup baggies to go right into the trash.. >Fool me once
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mIKES- I too have had that Otter's experience. Not again. However, the lesser known restaurant on that corner seems to be comparably priced and serves properly cooked food. Of course, I'm biased, as I live above Allium...
Amen, Otter's = Fail. Me and my wife have a running bet for when they will go out of business. We gave them three chances and they blew it each time. There is nothing they do that makes a good impression.
why does nicely saying that your chicken was overcooked mean you are complaining? can't we just politely/kindly tell a restaurant that this was a problem - and then perhaps it won't happen again? this way at least they're aware.
chris, i don't get it. if you want the food in nashville to steadily improve, you don't just grin and bear it. unless you plan on never going back. i suppose that those amenities you mentioned were worth a bad lunch to you...
That's a good point, Claudia. I suppose a misdirected sense of guilty politeness or polite guiltiness drives a lot of those decisions.
In this case I chalk it up to "you get what you pay for" and the fact that I didn't have time to wait for a refire since I was trying to eat, get to the hockey box office and back during my limited lunch hour.
If I had paid more or had been expecting a more leisurely meal, I would have mentioned it. But do people drive around another lap in a drive-through during lunch to complain about wrong orders? Some do, just not me. You know what Leo would say in "Lethal Weapon." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HydMIjAUD0A
You're complaining now, just in a passive/aggressive sort of way—the type of way that I used to absolutely hate when I waited tables, because it didn't accomplish anything. They didn't enjoy their food, and we didn't have the opportunity to fix a mistake.
"Oh, I don't want to say anything, but this is absolutely the WORST thing I've ever had the misfortune of eating in my ENTIRE life."
