Thursday, February 4, 2010
Bites / Restaurants Admirable Pricing Restraint Marks YOLOS Menu
Posted by Nicki Wood on Thu, Feb 4, 2010 at 6:22 AM
The menu at YOLOS, the Green Hills eatery in the spot once occupied by Green Hills Grille, is largely "been there, done that" with a dash of focus-group favorites, as Carrington pointed out in her review three weeks ago. Not that they have a choice -- in that vast and expensive slab of real estate, with a clientele almost entirely of moviegoers, the menu of "upscale casual favorites" writes itself.
I went over the menu like a microbiologist, reading every ingredient of every dish for something to order. After a brief flirtation with fish tacos and lettuce wraps, I just opted to drink dinner: French onion soup and a glass of wine. Nothing personal, YOLOS -- Sunday night I'm off-feed sometimes.
But like Carrington, I noticed an unexpected restraint in menu pricing that definitely bucks the trend. On my microtour of the menu, the $19.99 ribeye stood out. A quick calls around town identified the least expensive ribeye in town: Logan's ($17.99). YOLO's is next, followed by Stoney River ($25.99), with prices ranging upward from the to $35 (Mere Bulles) and $37 (Jimmy Kelly).
On behalf of beef eaters in Green Hills, I thank you, YOLOS, for not trying to gouge the customers.
Comments (11)
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Gouge or no gouge—I was underwhelmed by my visits to Yolo's and don't really see the need to go back. Mediocre at best.
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Was having this discussion with someone the other day: what is the sequence of restaurants to open in the Great Dead Spot?
Cooker
Green Hills Grille
That Brazilian Thing
Yolos
Am I leaving something out?
I do a lot of business lunches in the Green Hills area and have found YOLOs to be one of the better options. The food is good and reasonable, but more importantly, the dining room works well when you need to talk with a client. The tables are not on top of each other, the staff seems to have a good sense of when to check on us and when we are "working". They almost always can seat you imediatly. Yes, the food is pretty standard fare but I have not had a bad meal there yet. As far as place in Green Hills that fit this bill, only YOLOs and Neros have won me over.
Cooker
Fire of Brazil
Green Hills Grille
YOLOS
On the other side:
Princeton Grille
Bistro 215
Table 3
You get what you pay for, why thank them for offering cheaper meat? It's not about trying to rip anyone off.
Noticed the same thing about the pricing when I first looked at the menu, was happy to find that in GH, but then the lackluster food came my surprise went to "well that is why the prices are low"...
Maybe I need to order what you're having—because both times I've been there were just kinda feh. I also felt that the portions were rather small—and I noticed both times that the servers made it a point to tell the table that bread was available "by request only." That's about as obnoxious as asking "bottle or tap" or charging for a side of honey mustard.
The bread available by request only makes me nuts. When I go out to a nice restaurant and am paying a decent price for a meal, I expect bread (hopefully good bread) as part of the package. It sets the tone for the dinner and gives me a pretty good idea of what to expect in terms of food quality.
Well, I DID request bread and never got it. Honestly, our service was beyond lacking. From empty water glasses more than once, to asking for water and never getting it, asking for ketchup and never getting it, asking for bread and never getting it, being given the wrong appetizer....you get the picture.
My food was just eh, but my husband's chicken sandwich with brie on foccaccia was actually pretty good. My sister's lettuce wraps were eh, the crab cake app was eh to some bleh to others. Brother-in-law enjoyed his chicken tenders. Hits & misses, but the hits were not enough that they would ever bring me back in the door again. They did a great job with the decor, I will say that.
