There's also macaroni and cheese -- though Khoury says they're still tinkering with that recipe -- along with a couple of salads, red-bean chili, milkshakes and ice-cream sundaes. A friend and I stopped in for dinner last week and were pleasantly surprised by the inexpensive food. My "classic grilled cheese" on thick country white bread was fine, and the tomato soup was thick and creamy. However, the dimwitted waitress at the counter, a pretty Ashlee Simpson look-alike, wins my nomination for the laziest and most clueless server of the year (so far). If a manager hadn't stepped in, we would still be sitting there hungry while she stood there and twisted her hair.
Maybe that's another little problem Crooks and Khoury can "tinker with" when they turn their attention to the 17-booth restaurant this month. The restaurateurs, who own the regional Red Robin burger franchise, want to open more Say Cheeses around the country. Not in shopping malls but in airports and in college towns, where students can, Khoury says, "go and get a grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup for 5 bucks at 2 in the morning." He's already eyeing Lawrence and thinking of adding wine and beer to the milkshake and soda selection.
They'll have to fix that mac and cheese first, though. And even though my friend's patty melt was almost as good as the kind served at Town Topic (1900 Baltimore), Town Topic has better fries and excellent waitresses. Maybe "Ashlee" should go there and get a lesson. Say please!