Went to Martin City location around 6 o'clock on Friday night. Drove awhile to get there. Saw the Diners, Drive-in's and Dives show. No soap or paper towels in men's restroom. Sat at bar and the bartenders seemed more interested in talking to the cute, young women at the end of the bar than serving us. The parking lot was empty, just a few people inside. Ordered a bourbon off their list and they didn't even seem to know they had it. Went to a back room to pour it. They could have poured any type of bourbon in there. Had the fries and they were fresh cut and good. But wow, work on customer service and pour the drinks in front of the customer. Might try the original location, not this one again.
I went there about 2PM. About 4 other customers in the place. Unfriendly waitress in no hurry to bring me a menu. This is the only BBQ joint I have ever been in that didn't have BBQ sauce available on the table, & Miss Personality, the waitress, acted like it was an imposition to bring me a tiny thimble full to me. The m eat wasn't great, but at least there wasn't much of it. Overpriced blandness. How they are still in business is a mystery.
When they first opened this 54th ST. location on NE Barry Rd. near Liberty, it was one of only a few restaurants in that area. Now it's very built up with many choices. Many have come and several have gone in the past 10 years. The 54th St. seems to attract the shoppers from the near by strip malls and Wal-Mart. In the early years, this 54th ST. was at least OK, nothing special, but decent enough and closer to Kearney where we live than most other restaurants. But we stopped going there after a waiter, botched our large group order. Example: "Oh you wanted the salad before your meal?" Complaining only got us a gift certificate for $10. off the next visit. No thanks. On an earlier trip, our waiter asked us to give him his tip before we were done, because he was ending his shift. Amazing! To be fair, the Liberty area is service worker challenged. and good help is hard to find and harder to keep given the low wages and poor management in many of these corporate chain boxes. The food at 54th St. is similar to other family American fare style boxes like Appplebee's, etc. We usually opt for The Corner Cafe which is a few feet away from the 54th St. location.
No A/C and one of the specialities is sweet potato fries but they were so salty and almost burnt you could not eat them...
Turkey was ok but the sauce was so dang hot.
It was pretty sad tonight!! The owner worked for Plaza 111 and the biggest restaurants in New York. Invest in an A/C unit tight wad!!!!!
We try JG last night, and I don't know, it just seemed OK, nothing special. We waited at the bar for a half hour and had a drink, it was fine. Then we were seated in a strange center room for dinner, was it light blue or white, not sure because the lighting was so eerie. There was nothing on the walls except marks where the chair had rubbed off their paint. Hardly inviting, and I won't lie to you, the room tainted my view of the entire night. And there were TVs all over the place, they just didn't fit in a dining area. OK so then the food came, again, it was fine, nothing exceptional, and the plating was uninspiring. The rotisserie chicken was moist, but a bit boring. The vegetarian plate was weird, just 5 random sides on a plate. And I don't know why the Pitch says it's "vegetarian friendly", because there's that and a few side salads for vegetarians, that's it! The "come back" sauce is pretty much the same stuff that you would find with any "bloomin' onion" type dish. And the place is really loud. The prices are fair, service was good, but... I just don't see us going back when there are so many better place in the area that are better than just OK.
Rating Detail:
Food: 2
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 2
Value: 3
Overall: 2
Burnt fries, burnt bread, undercooked chicken ... the food that came out should never have left that kitchen!
Rating Detail:
Food: 1
Service: 3
Atmosphere: 1
Value: 2
Overall: 2
This restaurant seems to be on the downside of their popularity arch. The dated decor and openness of the room gave it a very hotel-esque feel. The service team was prompt but unenthusiastic about the menu, which clearly needs a makeover in addition to the atmosphere. Given the price of the food, the only logical conclusion is that people with money live nearby and are willing to sacrifice it for convenience. It is entirely too mediocre to spend $150 for dinner. Kansas City has great restaurants, however both the interior and the menu of EBT needs immediate updating to be considered one of them.
Rating Detail:
Food: 3
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 2
Value: 1
Overall: 2
Apparently Stanford's is too embarrased by their ticket prices to post them on the internet. Can't find them here, can't find them on Stanford's site.
Rating Detail:
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 2
Value: 2
Overall: 2
It doesn't seem that anyone who cares, looks athe the food before it's served to the customers. Mistakes on every plate that was served. The list is too long to list all. They make their own potato chips, they were served un-seasoned and either over cooked or almost raw. Garlic toast served with ceasar salad, room temp, untoasted, bread w/ garlic butter on it. I could go on. I wouldn't go again there for food. Everyone sitting at the bar seemed to be having a good time.
Rating Detail:
Food: 1
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 3
Value: 1
Overall: 2
We ordered couple pitchers of beer, and were billed $30, put $40 in cash in the folder, got change back and than in 3 minutes a girl from behind the bar jumps out and grabs the change (~$10 or over 30% which we did not intend to leave - too much of a tip) and mumbling something about them needing the little folders for checks runs away with the $10. While not much of a loss - the impression it left on us was such that we never visit this pub again. It stinks.
Otherwise - a regular cheap pub.
Rating Detail:
Food: 3
Service: 1
Atmosphere: 2
Value: 2
Overall: 2
The happy hour at the Raphael Lounge was a weekly affair. One happy hour at the Chaz and we are looking for a new place. Happy hour consist of $1 off wine and appetizers. We had the cheese plate for two and it was a joke. For $19 there was a small appetizer for one. No bread or crackers or mustard. Don't waste your time one this place. Music was ok but far too loud. We mentioned this to the waiter but nothing happened. It is a small area and the loud music made it impossible to talk.
Rating Detail:
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 4
Value: 2
Overall: 2
As far as BBQ goes, I'm done with BB's Lawnside BBQ. Even if it were slightly beyond mediocre I'd be reluctant to wait through their hellish service. Unless you're drinking some kind of booze, or have a party of 4 or more people, don't expect your drink to be refilled quickly. Also, do not dine out on the deck. Your server will in all likelihood, forget you're out there, especially if the music is going. I've had three separate servers who, when viewed from the deck, were just standing idly enjoying the music while I was dying of thirst, needing something to aid in choking down their tough ribs or their dry brisket.
I shouldn't be too harsh. The BBQ is hit and miss. I recall once having a brisket sandwich that wasn't offensive, and some short ends that were somewhat tender. The BBQ sauce is good as are their skillet fries. But BBQ shouldn’t be a gamble. Most of the time their ribs were tough and their meats were dry. I mean, meat isn't supposed to effortlessly fall of the bone, but I mean I was tearing at these ribs to get the meat off. I couldn't even taste the smoke the last few times I went.
Come here for the atmosphere sure. The music? Definitely. The booze? Okay. But don't expect to get good BBQ or attentive service here.
Rating Detail:
Food: 2
Service: 1
Atmosphere: 4
Value: 2
Overall: 2
Shame on me for trying this place twice, the first time my food was overly salty and not cook properly, second time food still wasn't great and the expensive drink i ordered was not drinkable, I will never go here again, all hype, not what it's cracked up to be.
Rating Detail:
Food: 2
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 3
Value: 3
Overall: 2
Shame on me for trying this place twice, the first time my food was overly salty and not cook properly, second time food still wasn't great and the expensive drink i ordered was not drinkable, I will never go here again, all hype, not what it's cracked up to be.
Rating Detail:
Food: 2
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 3
Value: 3
Overall: 2
The store is pretty much empty. Everything is 70% off or more which is good but since they have almost nothing new when other stores are full of new merchandise tell me they are going out of business.
Rating Detail:
Service: 3
Atmosphere: 2
Value: 3
Overall: 2
I went to Jardine's For my 18th birthday party with a group of 10.The food was pricey but well made and music was great. The server was very kind and on point. Everything went well until we were leaving, most of our party reached the car with an exception of two. Several minutes later they arrived at the car, informing us the bartender, not even our server followed them out of the restaurant complaing about the $10 tip we left. She said a 10 dollar tip is what you leave a waiter who didn't do well, when really thats all we could afford to give after spending $160. She kept on, asking if anybody in the party could give more... She ruined any chances of anybody in our party ever returning there, even though the music was beautifully done.
Rating Detail:
Food: 4
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 4
Value: 1
Overall: 2
This restaurant has a great atmosphere but the food and service leave much to be desired. I have eaten here twice with different levels of service ranging from good to horrible. The food has never been good. I have had to send my entree back both times I was there. The tuna was a horrible cut and was inedible. The KC strip was served rare instead of medium well and was very balnd as if there was no seasoning what-so-ever. We did not recieve our appetizer and other people at our table did not recieve their side dishes. The menu is limited and overpriced.
Rating Detail:
Service: 1
Atmosphere: 3
Value: 1
Overall: 2
When were seated at 3 36" square wobbly tables, a for sure smell of something not so good.
30 min for drinks to arrive
look down & there is a cockroach on my beer glass. SO I do the smart thing, I smash it on the table with a splenda packet. So I get a hold of waitress attention, ask for manager.
He was happy to supply another beer, but other than that. His reply " what ya gonna do?" Well 98% of anyone would have just got up & left. I had been coming here to RC's since it opened.
Well lets just say when you have to find your waitress, then when you get up for a refill from the kitchen. Yourself.
Food was pretty much like it used to be, portions are smaller. If it were not for the food, I doubt I would even speak of the old place again.
Please for the love of apple butter, get rid of the dam carpet. Geeze, that is the same stuff from how long ago?
Clean, clean the heck out of the place. Refinish, redo, repaint.
All that being said, maybe a different waitress.. & No cockroach. Just an old memory, still better than any dam applebee's,chili's or any other of those dam yuppie joint's.
Rating Detail:
Service: 1
Atmosphere: 1
Value: 3
Overall: 2
So the Karaoke Clique took a trip to celebrate a birthday at the Red Balloon Bar & Grill in Shawnee, Kansas. This bar is a hole-in-the-shopping-center joint off 75th Street and I-35. Typically these kind of places scream friendly, down-home fun, and after reading a few reviews on the net prior to the occasion, I was eager to see what this place had to offer.
Now the Red Balloon is strictly a karaoke bar that offers the joy of amateur singing 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It was even voted as the Pitch's Best of Kansas City 2006 for karaoke bars. You would think this would be the karaoke junkie's heaven! Well the clique and I agree that this is a place that any true karaoke fan should NOT go.
Is that harsh? Perhaps. But so is sitting at the back of a cramped little bar for 3 hours, watching people singing 3 and 4 times and never getting your chance to sing even once. Now I know there are people who just go to karaoke once in a while and enjoy letting loose and singing in front of everyone. However, there are those people who are diehard karaoke participants. They go weekly, sometimes daily and expect to be able to sing at least 2 or 3 songs during the course of an evening. The Karaoke Clique is obviously one of those that truly go to karaoke bars to sing while releasing some social butterflies and enjoying a few drinks. We do not go to a karaoke bar to sit and watch the regulars and the Johnson County yuppies who paid the KJ to move up on the song list sing repeatedly.
Now I will say that the wait staff was incredibly nice. They were prompt and friendly with our bar orders and interestingly enough, they do not get an hourly pay, but simply work for tips. I guess that might explain their kind nature. After hours of sitting and waiting to sing though, I asked our waitress why I have seen some people sing repeatedly and none of us have been called to sing even once. She informed me that the karaoke DJ (which in karaoke terms we call a KJ) allows singers to pay him in exchange for a quick move up the list. Now, I am not sure if the bar owns the karaoke system and the KJ works directly for them or if they hire a company to come in and handle the karaoke. It appears to me that the bar would own it because any respectable karaoke company would not allow such greedy practices to take place.
So for all you true karaoke lovers, the Karaoke Clique does not recommend taking a trip to Shawnee and investing in a rude KJ’s five-year plan. The crowd was diverse and the wait staff was friendly, but the behavior of the KJ makes it impossible for someone to come off the street and enjoy a night at the Red Balloon.
THE LOW DOWN
KJ: Rude & greedy
SONG CHOICE: Large selection
ALCOHOL PRICE: Average
WAIT STAFF/BAR STAFF: Friendly & prompt
ATMOSPHERE: Cramped
BATHROOMS: Tiny & dirty, though pleasantly scented and apparently there was a pair of panties tossed in the trash (those naughty JoCo girls)
FOOD: N/A – Grill had already closed
CROWD: Very diverse
www.MySpace.com/KaraokeClique
Rating Detail:
Service: 4
Atmosphere: 2
Value: 3
Overall: 2
Re: “Swagger Fine Spirits and Food”
Instant/fountain tea and cheese SAUCE versus real cheese on their baked potato fries. Ruined what would have been a good meal (good burgers). Used to be better.