This is another one of those...dang, I feel bad because I don't understand the hype places. After one disappointing experience, I will typically visit a restaurant again just to make sure I didn't catch them on an "off" day. Unfortunately, I was only in town for a weekend.
Atmosphere: It's in a house that's been converted to a restaurant. I loved that it had that homey feel to it while not feeling drab. You can tell that the owner put a lot of thought into finding that right balance between comfort and not feeling too living room-ey.
Service: We had a reservation, so we were seated right as we arrived. Our waitress offered food suggestions for what she thought we'd like (more on that later). She was prompt, friendly, and informative. No complaints there.
Food: It was okay. I've definitely had better. I ordered a fried catfish dish. Being in NC, I was expecting this to blow me away...or at least come a little close. It was bland as all get out! It came with chips and those were semi stale/soggy. I ordered the dessert special for the day, the sourgum molasses cookie with butterscotch ice cream and bruleed pineapple as a garnish. The way the waitress described it had my mouth watering. The ice cream and cookie were a great combination. There was just something "off" about the entire composition of the dish though.
I really wanted to like 300 East, but maybe next time.