A valentine nightmare

Jim and Nancy do not disclose the fact that they will review a restaurant before they attend, ensuring their reviews are unbiased and uninfluenced by their position with the Sun Day.

The holiday feared by most red-blooded American men is rapidly approaching. I’m not talking about anniversaries, the wife’s birthday, or Sweetest Day. I’m talking about the holiday with the most pressure and angst of all: Valentine’s Day. Nancy does not appreciate flowers, she will not allow me to cook in her kitchen since I burned up the microwave handle, and chocolates are a “no-no” in keeping with her New Year’s resolution. After much contemplation, I thought of a relatively new restaurant where I can get a good steak, save a few bucks, and have a Valentine’s dinner with my better half. I whisked my sweetie off to the Longhorn Steakhouse in Algonquin. Cupid’s got nothing on me.

Let me tell you how my Valentine Nightmare began. Nothing says “romance” like a cowboy themed restaurant with boots, saddles, and horseshoe decor. The moron didn’t make a reservation so we had to wait 25 minutes for a table. We were finally seated and waited patiently for our waiter. It’s not a good omen when people who were seated after us, already received their drinks, and still no sign of our waiter. When he finally arrived, he took our drink order and asked if we wanted bread. He returned shortly with our drinks and a loaf of warm bread with butter.

For an appetizer we decided on the Wild West Shrimp ($12.29) which was breaded popcorn shrimp tossed with spicy cherry peppers, garlic butter, and served with a ranch dip. Our waiter then trotted away into the sunset. Meanwhile, a half loaf of bread later, our waiter appeared and said, “your appetizer dropped.” Nancy asked him what “dropped” meant, and he replied, “it got dropped and we’ll have to make a new one.” He also said it will be at no charge since “it dropped.” Meanwhile, the tables around us are now getting served their entrees. Our appetizer finally arrived minus the garlic butter on top of the shrimp. They must have dropped that too.

Jim was going to have a steak but changed his mind and went with the half-slab of Barbecue Baby Back Ribs ($19.29). They were not what he was hoping for. They could have used more time on the grill and there wasn’t enough barbecue sauce on them. He was not impressed with his meal. His entrée came with two sides and he chose the tossed salad and the rice pilaf. The salad was good, but the rice was dry, bland, and very disappointing.

Nancy chose the Redrock Grilled Shrimp ($16.99). This was jumbo shrimp glazed with smoky tomato butter served over rice pilaf with a side of garlic butter. The waiter asked her what sides she wanted and she told him she would like a Caesar salad. He asked for her other choice of a side, and she said, “my shrimp comes with rice so do I really get another side?” He said yes. He was in a hurry and had her pick another one quickly. She spotted the Crispy Brussel Sprouts which were topped with smoky honey butter. She said her shrimp was tasty, but the Brussels sprouts were awesome. She gave me a taste and I agreed with her.

Our waiter served us and again trotted off into the sunset. He never came back to check on us or offer drink refills. When the time came to leave, and after another long wait, Jim asked a waitress passing by to find our waiter and have him bring us our check.

We finally received our check and looked it over to make sure they removed the cost of the appetizer. This is when Nancy noticed a $2.79 charge for Brussel sprouts. We again lassoed our waiter and questioned him about the charge. He said it was a premium side and Nancy hold him you showed me the choices and that’s what I picked. He conceded and was trying to calculate a new bill in his head. He never thought of just giving us another bill. We finally said, “forget it, we’ll pay the bill as it is.”

The bill for our romantic “Valentine Nightmare” was $45.86. Jim handed the waiter $46 and said, “keep the change.”

FYI: This restaurant is handicap accessible.

In all fairness, we have been to other locations and did not have the same experience. This restaurant seems to be mismanaged. They are short on wait staff, but why were three people standing around talking at the host/hostess stand waiting to seat you?

Jim’s take: And they say after 48 years of marriage, romance is dead. I proved them wrong; I still got it.

Nancy’s take: The restaurant must have doubled as their meat locker, since I had to wear a coat during the entire meal. And I hate to say this, but the moron doesn’t “still have it!”

Have comments or restaurant suggestions for the Dining Duo? Send them an email at: thediningduo@gmail.com

---

---