This place has kind of
a man-cave hype about it with the hot dog and barbecue-based menu,
which kind of sets one up for this amazing decadent experience. It's
not really ready for that kind of expectation yet, but it has just
enough potential to make a critique worthwhile, so I'll do that.
I
went in the other day for lunch, and was pretty hungry so I ordered
both a Crazy Crave sandwich and a hot dog, with chips and a drink on the
side, and the chocolate chip cookie for dessert.
Started off a
bit rough with the drink. It was a Coke Freestyle machine, and those
are notoriously fussy. This one had spigot issues and spat a lot of
soda against its back wall, but the Coke mix was actually OK.
My
sandwich came out first. A lot to like here. The Crazy Crave is
pulled chicken and brisket. The brisket on the sandwich was flavorful
and tender, which is not easy to do. But also something not to
like--the bun was just a bit stale, and took away from the sandwich.
Next
up was the hot dog. You order a dog, then whatever you like on it. I
wasn't sure what to do so I ended up with bacon, grilled peppers and
onions, and spicy pickles. The hot dog was a quality frank, great
flavor. The pickles were fine. The bacon was "heating in the oven",
which was why the hot dog was delayed a bit (but not much). Oven-cooked
bacon can be fine, but this was very thin and didn't have much flavor.
The grilled peppers and onions were a kind of disgusting goo,
fortunately not enough of them to dominate the hot dog.
The cookie was ok but chewy, not really worthwhile.
Service
was polite and the food came quickly. The beer wall is a cute idea
though I did not partake. The bathroom was clean and ready. I think
this place has a lot of potential but very uneven quality is holding it
back. I hope they get it straightened out in time, it would be a good
option to have in the area.
I posted my Yelp review awhile back, and the manager wrote back to thank me and say that they would have been happy to replace anything that wasn't satisfactory. Of course they would have. Almost every place will do that. But I don't have time for that, nor do most people. A restaurant has one chance to make a first impression, and the best ones operate that way.
My Yelp Review
With all of the great restaurants that have come to our area, there is no need to encourage mediocrity. So-so hot dog. Nice try. I'm not a beer drinker, nor am I a sports fan. So the mancave ambiance is lost on me.
ReplyDeleteThe staff is friendly, and that counts for something. I'll check back in a few weeks and see if they have improved.