First and last time I'll eat there
Written: Mar 29 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Large dessert selection
Cons: Service, food quality, portion sizes, and service.
The Bottom Line: Doesn't deserve the hype. The pies may be "to die for" but the experience isn't worth it. There are better places to go.
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| crystalattice's Full Review: Marie Callender's |
So, my family and I finally ate at a Marie Callender's after living in California for a year. We'd heard a lot about the place from coworkers, neighbors, and friends so we figured, "Why not?". Luckily I had eaten not long before but my family wasn't so lucky.
When we walked in, we were impressed with the specials they had posted near the door, and we were greeted by a gentleman who was helping a customer who was ordering a pie. However, it took a few minutes before the actual hostess arrived to take us to a seat; it was about 2:45 in the afternoon so the place wasn't excessively busy.
When we sat down, there were only 2 silverware settings on the table; unusual but not totally uncommon. We figured our server would bring extras when taking our order, or at least shortly thereafter. Needless to say, those were the only settings we had for the whole meal. We never got the chance to ask for more.
It seemed like it took longer than normal for our server to arrive to take our orders; again, there wasn't a large amount of people so I didn't understand why it was taking so long for the service staff to "find" us.
The wait for the food was about average (approximately 20 minutes) but was disappointing upon arrival: 2 french dip plates, a Caesar salad, and a kid's grilled cheese plate. The plates came with french fries but they appeared to be a half order; definitely fewer than other restaurants we have been to.
The kid's grilled cheese was only half of a sandwich; this was the first time I had seen a place be so stingy with a grilled cheese sandwich. The potato cheese soup with the kid's meal was average, I guess to not upset children by having too much flavor. The french dips were not very good: dry, fatty, and mostly flavorless. The Caesar salad was average; it's very hard to mess up a salad (it can be done but it's rare).
We were in the restaurant for about 45 minutes. During that time, we only saw our server when she took our order, when she brought out the food, when she came for the plates, and when she brought our check. We never received any drink refills, even though she had mentioned it when delivering the food.
It took nearly 10 minutes to get the bill after the waitress took the plates away; I saw her take the order of another family during that time. I didn't understand that since it doesn't take much to print out the check. Most places are back with it within a few minutes.
The waitress had asked which pie my daughter wanted (a small slice comes with the kid's meal) and my daughter asked for pumpkin. When the server came back with the bill, she said that someone else was getting the pie. Again, I don't know why. Unfortunately, when the pie arrived, it was the wrong type (chocolate cream). By that time, we were sick of waiting and knew that it would take even longer to get out of there if we tried to flag down the waitress.
Overall, the experience was awful and I won't be going back. The pies may be fantastic but I will never know because we didn't order any; my daughter threw away the pie (we got it "to go" because we didn't want to wait any longer) because she didn't want chocolate.
The service was horrible, especially for the "dead time" of the day at 3pm. The lunch rush had left and the dinner crowd wasn't in yet. I have worked in restaurants before so I know that some places have a reduced staff during that time. However, this place had at least 4 servers that I saw roaming around, more than sufficient for the size of the place and the number of customers.
The food was average, bordering on sub-par. The portions were small, compared to other restaurants and especially for the price. The total cost of the meal was nearly $42; I can spend that much at much nicer restaurants with better server, larger portions, and much better food. My daughter was still hungry after eating her kid's meal; normally she doesn't finish the whole meal but that's at places that give 3-4 sandwich halves. A single half sandwich is pretty ludicrous for $5, even if it does come with a dessert.
On a side note, the salad bar was pretty weak too. It was about on par with what I've seen at Round Table Pizza or some fast food places. Sizzler has a much better spread.
I may sound like I'm whining or being picky but this was a pretty bad experience for a place that other people rave about. We didn't bother complaining to the manager; I've found that the service is usually indicative of the management. In this case, we just won't go back. There are too many other places we can spend money at, or just eat at home.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
crystalattice
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Member: Cody
Location: San Diego, CA
Reviews written: 59
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Navy 11 years, Computer tech 14 years, Degrees: AS, BS, MS
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