| rev:text
| - I try and watch movies without reading reviews first. Netflix has a recommendation engine that analyzes and recommends videos based on previous watching history and ratings I submit. I have found Netlix's approach very effective at suggesting movies I enjoyed over the years. Here, on Yelp, I go to a restaurant based on an overall score which, in this case, is a human's opinion. But with over 200 reviews averaging out to 4.5 stars (as of this review posting) you tend to think there must be something going right here. Well, Yelp recommended Ollie Vaughn's as a Citizen Kane but I got The Room.
The location wasn't really where I had envisioned a cafe of higher caliber but hey, who am I to gauge gentrification? We entered the front door along a bustling Phoenix street into the quiet space in front of the counter where we selected our meals from the food offerings on their rather attractive menus. Prices were a tad higher than normal but this is quickly becoming the new normal in the area for these offerings. I hadn't yet noticed the decor or at least let it sink in but I did take note of the kitchen and its size compared to the rest of the dining space. It was a quite ambitious ratio. I wondered if this was an indication of a successful catering portion of their overall business. On to lunch.
I am a big fan of sandwiches so I chose the simple Turkey Club as the debut sandwich at Ollie Vaughn's. I like to do this for a set the bar on how someone can handle simple meals that also have lots of potential. I took a black tea for my beverage and we sat down in anticipation. What we received was lackluster in appearance. Sandwich, sliced in half, sandwich stickers to keep it in one piece. No pickle, greens, or something really savory like hand made chips. Alright, well, let's see what it tastes like. There was what tasted like a stewed tomato draped over a sparse allotment of avocado and lettuce on an ordinary tasting deli turkey between overly toasted sourdough. About three bites in this sandwich I determined to be "okay", much wanting for the price I paid. The black tea was black tea. My companions did mention their green tea was quite good, however. Perhaps I chose poorly on both fronts.
While munching on my "okay" sandwich is when I discovered the real looming disappointment; that decor I paid little mind on initial entrance to Ollie Vaughn's. Very white walls with an exposed ceiling structure above. While I appreciate a well executed exposed ceiling structure this was not it. I was suspect of water damage in the ceiling and them just removing the remaining ceiling element exposing the older not so gracefully aged wood beams underneath. The network of wires and conduit wasn't flattering either. Draw your eyes down and away from the upper portion of the establishment and we intersect with something more disheartening which is what Ollie Vaughn's deems as art placed on stark white walls. And not just art, but art on show for sale. We sat next to an unremarkable slightly paint spattered guitar set in a white shadowbox simply placed on the wall next to us. It was flanked by another similar white shadowbox filled with 3 different models of older Nintendo gaming controllers and a vintage film real, yes, in the same white shadowbox configuration. Prices? Guitar, $300. Nintendo controllers, $150. Film reel, I couldn't bring myself to look after the previous two offerings. The same plain white shadowbox presentation stretched around the whole dining area displaying a variety of mundane objects at exorbitant asking prices. One of the other diners in my group and I gazed at one particular item over the back entrance. We could tell it was a Ford Mustang grill in disrepair so we began the pricing speculation. $400? $500? We agreed $450 was probably asking price so I walked over to investigate. $750. I was speechless. The reason more being that there is a burgeoning art scene here in Phoenix, specifically in that area, that they could pull from. But rather than integrate a rich opportunity such as this, they chose to take what could ostensibly be considered junk, put it in a white shadowbox and proceed to display it for absurd prices in the name of art. It is an over the top pretentious move for an establishment who chooses to sell barely on par overpriced sandwiches in plastic baskets lined with wax paper.
I actually walked away from Ollie Vaughn's somewhat vexed. It was only on the way out of the restaurant did I notice the soft ambient electronic music which rounded out the grandiose hipster experience which had built up to that point. Thankfully I have options. There is Noble Eatery or Bertha's Café just down the road if I want a true artisanal meal. They don't try to be more than they are which is consistently notable food in a comfortable, non superficial environment. I'll pay extra for that.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)