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| - I have been wanting to try Meat & Potatoes for a long time now and finally had the opportunity to go to brunch last weekend on Sunday. My friend and I had reservations for 2 people at noon, and we were seated promptly. I had no idea what to expect, but given the reviews and my ideas of the place comparing it to other upscale restaurants in the area, I was wholly unprepared for the extremely loud music that assaulted our ears as we entered the dining area - the place was fairly crowded with people, but even with that the music drowned out the voices of everyone and it was difficult for us to even hear one another. My friend has a medical condition that is exacerbated by loud noises (which had I known about the music volume here I would never have suggested eating here), and while the manager did kindly lower the volume a bit even with that, it was still uncomfortably loud even for me and I don't have the health issue that my friend does. I despise going out to eat only to have my eardrums beaten down with loud music that makes it nearly impossible to have a conversation with the people you are with but given the very intimate nature of the seating (you are practically on top of the people next to you) I guess that the restaurant opted for loud music versus involuntarily eavesdropping on the patrons next to you. So, as far as ambiance goes I rate it a 2 because of the too close seating and the loud music plus the tables are so small that it's nearly impossible to fit even 2 plates with drinks on each 2-seat dining table.
Our server, whose name I don't remember was great - he was very attentive and accommodating. I have zero complaints on the service. The food was hit or miss, though the prices were comparable with local fine dining restaurants that serve Sunday brunch. My friend wanted to try the fried taters so we decided to share those and this was by far my favorite part of our whole meal. The fries were well-seasoned and crispy on the outside while the center was still warm and soft - they were nearly the perfect french fries! I'm not a big fan of aioli in general but their truffle mayo had a great flavor. I had coffee, and it was decent coffee, but it wasn't great - there are much better cups of coffee at other restaurants around Pittsburgh but it was okay once I added cream and sugar. I ordered the shrimp and grits as my entree and my friend ordered the roast beef eggs benedict with house hollandaise. The shrimp and grits is covered in etouffee which I didn't really like as it overpowered the creaminess of the cheddar grits and detracted from the typical flavor of a traditional shrimp and grits. It wasn't bad - I just didn't like the two flavor combinations together. My friend said that the hollandaise sauce was lacking but at the same time she didn't mind because she said that it didn't taste like a traditional hollandaise sauce and that she wasn't happy with the flavor of it, but that she didn't mind the dish, but would have preferred no sauce or a traditional hollandaise instead.
The overall experience was a bit disappointing and underwhelming particularly given that I have heard so many good things about the place. I would definitely go back if invited, but I won't make it a point to go here when there are so many other great restaurants in Pittsburgh.
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