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| - It's a rare restaurant that manages to jump between highs and lows so effortlessly, but the end result was a net positive.
Before Moxie's moved to its current site in Square One (adjacent to the outdoor fountain and City Centre Transit Terminal), it occupied a spot on the other side of the mall and was a good place to come for lunch meetings. It was also the place where I ate what I still consider to be the biggest burger I've ever ordered in my life, a monstrosity that was piled high with ingredients and was nearly as tall as my face.
I had been meaning to get over and try out the spot since their move/renovation, but I only finally had a chance when a group of friends were on town and we were looking for a patio to visit. We breezed in effortlessly and were immediately seated at a nice spot with good views of the fountain.
The first thing you'll probably notice are the waitresses. Visions of the former Earl's Restaurant danced in my head as I saw waitresses wearing not-all-there minidresses stalking around looking for customers to serve. Far be it from me to look down on the management for enforcing the dress code, but I nearly choked on my food after witnessing a server stroll past in a skirt so short that, to quote Patrick Stewart from the BBC show "Extras", "I've seen everything. Yeah, I've seen it all."
My friends initially opted for a "lettuce burger" (no bun, just everything and meat piled together on a whole head of iceberg lettuce) and a southern fried chicken sandwich (both $16.5), respectively. I settled for a mini salted caramel cheesecake ($5) because I had already eaten prior to coming out, and was a bit disappointed by how small the item was. You'd think for that price they'd give something more than an item that can be downed in three small bites, but beauty over practicality is the norm here, so I shouldn't have been surprised.
Both of my friends reported that their sandwiches were good, though the one who ordered the lettuce burger ended up realizing that none of the extras he ordered (and that the server upsold him on) were present on the burger. To their credit, once we notified the server of the problem, he comp'd the first burger and brought out a second a short while later that not only looked much more appealing, but was stacked high with the missing extras (bacon, mushroom and peppers).
I ended up eating the first lettuce burger - dinner in reverse - and enjoyed it, though it was incredibly messy and left me with all kinds of sauce and juice running down my hands.
The service was very good. Despite our server making it clear that he was a bit harried with other orders, he was around constantly and made sure we had everything we needed. Though I only had a chance to go inside the restaurant briefly, I liked the renovated space, though the washrooms still need to have a few kinks worked out. Ditch the brown napkins and stick to the Xcelerator hand dryers, because the wads of paper strewn around the sinks aren't a good look.
I was impressed with my visit to the site and will make plans to get back again before the end of summer. Moxie's is usually a very solid place to visit when it comes to patio dining, and despite some underlying trappings of the place that the brand can't (or doesn't want to) get away from, this is a decent option for dinner or drinks.
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