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| - We went through a short dance about the hostess "finding a table". Since he had my mother in law with us, I took the liberty of pointing out the empty tables to the hostess. They were clearly visible although the restaurant was busy. Others were "waiting for a table", but I think that this is the M.O. here, to promote a kind of exclusivity.
The orders were taken after about 10 minutes, and the marathon wait started. First we waited a few minutes for the bread. Then waited a few more minutes for the salad. And then the wait began, and went on and on.
I had ordered a make your own pasta with Fettuccine, Arrabiata Sauce and Shrimps. My wife ordered Salad and Wedding Soup. My mother in law ordered a baked concoction of pasta shells gummied up with a sauce of sorts.
We had to hail several of the wait staff as the marathon wait was going on. Things started coming after more than 45 minutes, not including the previous wait time. Soup came without a spoon. Salad was served put not parmesan offered, etc. It was a grind.
Once all the food had come, we were able to eat about 1:15 minutes after we had ordered. I have a feeling the ticket may have been lost but anything is possible.
The fettuccine was OK. At least it was al dente. I am guessing they made it in a hurry after our complaints. The baked "goop" was terrible. The salad was OK and the Wedding soup just a bit watery and tasteless. At that point, I decided to seek out the manager/franchise owner.
I found him "checking the floor" and invited him to the table. He immediately agreed to remove the baked dish from the tab and then went through the motions. No warmth, no genuine caring, no eye contact...all strong indicator that he was not serving quality but just slinging the bull.
If you have young kids who need to express themselves during a shopping expedition, you might want to go through the wringer here. Otherwise I can't imagine anybody making the effort.
I am convinced that the Owner does not care, and it shows.
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