| rev:text
| - That was a disappointing experience.
I hesitate to not let emotion get the better of me while writing this, because while I'm sure that the lunch and dinner menus are stellar, the Mother's Day Brunch my family and I attended (the first such brunch that the restaurant has held, according to what I heard from the servers) was ultimately frustrating and not up to our expectations.
I had been meaning to visit J. Red & Co., as I was aware that there was a Yelp Elite event several weeks back (which I hadn't attended), and the guests who took part in it spoke very highly of the Thai-influenced menu, specifically the "Thai Fighter" dish. It was a bit of a surprise to arrive at the restaurant and learn that not only was this the restaurant's first experiment with a brunch menu, but that the options presented were ultimately limited and forgettable.
When we arrived, one family member had come in advance and had been waiting for 15 minutes for our eight-person table to be set up, clearly annoyed with the situation. As we walked to our table, I noticed a scant number of the brunch items set out on a pair of tables. My initial confusion was somewhat allayed by our waitress' note that there was also a station nearby where you could get a custom omelette made fresh for you.
The weakest part of the experience was the brunch itself. There was no information on it on the website itself, so we had to go in blind.
We were told that we couldn't order anything off the menu due to the aforementioned brunch (if you came in and wanted food, this was the only thing you could order), and what was presented was basically a second-rate breakfast buffet. Cold scrambled eggs, Caesar salad that tasted slightly mushy due to too much dressing, eggs Benedict that looked (and tasted) like it had been sitting out for hours, and prime rib that was a bit too pink for my liking. We did inform a server at the buffet station that the food was cold, and to their credit, they put lids over the trays and turned on the burners underneath to warm them up.
Considering the reputation I had seen here on the review page and through the glowing reviews offered by several prominent members of the Yelp community, I was shocked and disappointed that there was none of the restaurant's signature Thai flair on display. I sampled a bit of pasta they also had that reportedly one family member told me had "hot sauce" in it, but it was just some standard elbow pasta with the tiniest hint of spice.
Hell, they could have done so much with this buffet. Some more meat options, a platter of vegetables, more lunch options, something, anything! Even the desserts came off as being reheated from frozen and sporting bland taste.
The only thing that really saved the experience was the omelette station. We were able to choose any of five ingredients and watch as the omelette was made by a very chatty, pleasant chef who was more than happy to accommodate vegetarian or egg white-only requests. Likewise, the servers were very outgoing and chatted at length with us about the restaurant itself and how busy it was that day - an estimated 250-300 people were expected to come through.
That being said, I wouldn't have come here and paid $23 plus tax if I knew that all I was going to get would be a bunch of cold breakfast options, a tray of pasta, soggy salad and (admittedly-great) potato salad. I would have just gone to a Golden Griddle or other breakfast joint in my local neighborhood and paid half the price for something with better quality. Half of our group basically swore off the place and said they'd never come back.
In spite of everything I just said, I'd likely return here for the dinner menu because I know how good it will be based on the recommendation of the community. The brunch as it stands was a wholeheartedly lackluster affair, even for a first try, and I hope my next experience here will be better.
I'll amend my review if/when I return.
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