Joe:
Anniversary tonight! We found ourselves at Tucker's tonight. We had been there just nine years ago, so I guess it was time to go back.
We arrived and the host seated us immediately, and told us that our server, Matt, would be with us soon. Shortly after, Matt came over and introduced himself. Maybe it's just me, but this is an important thing for me. He got our drink orders and was back promptly. While we decided on our dinner and placed the orders, he was friendly, joking with us, and generally great.
I ordered the chicken parmesan and salad. The salad came with bacon, eggs, and all sorts of other goodies on it. It was very good, but compared to the croissant that also came out... That roll was amazing. I could have been happy with just a pile of those dropped in front of me!
My first complaint of the evening was that the entrée came out while I was only about half way through my salad. (I had already finished the croissant, of course!) I got down to about a fourth of the salad left before I abandoned it in favor of the chicken-ey goodness that was wafting it's scent at me.
The chicken was very generous. It was larger than my hand, and covered in gooey parmesan, sitting on a huge pile of pasta and covered in marinara sauce. I was thrilled to see it, and even happier to eat it!
Matt was terrific throughout the evening. My glass never reached empty, he brought us an extra pepper shaker when I was too clueless to notice the pepper mill sitting next to me (until after he brought the replacement. He didn't even laugh at me!). He was friendly throughout and even offered a to-go cup of tea when we were preparing to leave. 22% tip, and well deserved.
The restaurant had undergone a redecoration since our last visit nine years ago. It appeared upscale without being snobby. As my wife put it, classy, without being clah-ssy. HA! (I will take this out if you want me to, honey!)
My biggest disappointment is that we hadn't been enjoying Tucker's more over the last several years. It was the first restaurant I ate at in Anderson (I had a job interview there before we moved down) and I wish we had been going back more. Definitely a winner tonight, and an excellent place to celebrate sixteen years with my beautiful wife. I will most certainly be going back again.
Carolyn:
Today, 16 years ago, I married my husband... and to celebrate we chose Tuckers. When we first walked in we were immediately greeted by a door greeter and the host. The host showed us to our table and told us that our server, Matt would be with us shortly. Matt arrived within minutes and took our drink orders and returned quickly. As it had been about 8 or so years since our last visit. Some things had changed. I ordered the heart healthy grilled chicken and steamed veggies. Carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and snow peas. I had to ask Matt about the steamed veggies, because each restaurant has a different view of steamed vegetables... he was knowledgeable and very easy to talk to. He also informed me that the chicken was served with a marinade and pineapple on top... just in case I preferred something different. I liked that he wanted to make sure we knew what we were ordering.
The salad quickly arrived and was topped with bacon, eggs, and some type of nut. I ordered my salad without dressing... I rarely ever order dressing... its too heavy. The salad was absolutely fabulous! I added a little pepper, as I always do, and it was awesome! Our entrée arrived before we were finished with the salad... I liked that. I hate to finish the salad and wait for what seems like forever for the main dish. The grilled chicken with pineapple was tender and I loved the sauce that it was marinated in. I have to ask what the marinade was next time... The croissant was flaky and good.
The atmosphere was nice, kind of like a family dinning room... the decor was tasteful and nothing seemed out of place. The wait staff was dressed professionally, and Matt our waiter never let our glasses of tea go empty. The visit for me was a 5 out of 5.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Matty's
Sorry for the late blog post...
Carolyn:
Saturday night we decided to go to Matty's in downtown Anderson.
I LOVE Matty's!! The atmosphere is different then most restaurant's.. it's a really family friendly place (they have a small play area for the little ones). It's very casual and lively. The decor is very casual as well, a bicycle hangs near, maybe even above the bar... out of state license plates on the wall. Chalk boards telling of prices of drinks or specials for the evening. The most awesome thing about Matty's (other then the food) is the "garage door" opening the front of the restaurant has, so you can enjoy the warm weather of the season!
Ok, the food: LOVE IT!!! I have to say that Saturday's visit to Matty's has not been my first... nor will be my last. I have never had a bad experience here. The food has always arrived in a timely manner. I first ordered the Buffalo chicken wrap... unfortunately they were freshly out of wraps... at that point I was at a loss... I really wanted the buffalo chicken, it's one of my fav's! Luckily for me our waitress, whose name was Samantha ( I had to get that info from the check ), pointed out the buffalo chicken salad... YAY! My evening was saved! So, I ordered the salad and a bowl of their loaded baked potato soup. It was AWESOME!!!! The soup was at the correct temperature and had bits of bacon and melted cheese. The salad, which was HUGE.. was topped with crumbled bits of blue cheese and had bits of cucumber and I believe onion in it... that too was AWESOME!! The buffalo chicken on top was perfectly seasoned... not too hot or spicy. LOVED IT!! The only complaint I have is: They were so busy that our waitress wasn't on top of keeping the tea glasses full (which is a biggie for me).. and she never gave us her name (which is another biggie for me). Otherwise the evenings experience was for me a 5 out of 5!!
Joe:
Matty's. I approached this outing with a bit of trepidation. We had been here before during a school fund raising event, and it was so loud that we had to yell across the table to be heard, and finally left frustrated.
This visit was not that way at all. We were seated quickly, and the drink orders were taken right away and brought out just as quickly. I finally settled on the Island Burger. A hamburger with lettuce, onion, tomato, cheese, and a fried slice of pineapple. Seasoned with a jerk seasoning of some sort, and a bit of sweet tariyaki sauce. For my side, I got the baked beans. These weren't just a can of Bush's heated up. This was several types of beans, with meat and sauce mixed in. Good Stuff! It reminded me of the Patio Baked Beans my mom used to make.
The food was great. I was a bit disappointed that my glass ran empty twice while we ate. I am a bit nit-picky about that. When our check was brought out, she also left both glasses empty, rather than fill them for us to sit and chat.
Ambiance was nice, and no shouting was required. It was definitely a place I would go back to again. Would have liked a bit better service on the drinks. Food was great, and has been every time we have been there. I'd give it a 4 out of 5, over all.
Joe:
Matty's. I approached this outing with a bit of trepidation. We had been here before during a school fund raising event, and it was so loud that we had to yell across the table to be heard, and finally left frustrated.
This visit was not that way at all. We were seated quickly, and the drink orders were taken right away and brought out just as quickly. I finally settled on the Island Burger. A hamburger with lettuce, onion, tomato, cheese, and a fried slice of pineapple. Seasoned with a jerk seasoning of some sort, and a bit of sweet tariyaki sauce. For my side, I got the baked beans. These weren't just a can of Bush's heated up. This was several types of beans, with meat and sauce mixed in. Good Stuff! It reminded me of the Patio Baked Beans my mom used to make.
The food was great. I was a bit disappointed that my glass ran empty twice while we ate. I am a bit nit-picky about that. When our check was brought out, she also left both glasses empty, rather than fill them for us to sit and chat.
Ambiance was nice, and no shouting was required. It was definitely a place I would go back to again. Would have liked a bit better service on the drinks. Food was great, and has been every time we have been there. I'd give it a 4 out of 5, over all.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
The Fox
Joe:
Tonight we decided to go to "The Fox" in downtown Anderson. It is an English pub themed restaurant with appropriate decor.
[I will do my best to be objective about this visit, but I will say up front that this is our third visit. Our first was a tremendous experience that we enjoyed immensely. The second visit, a week later, was the opposite. We decided that tonight would be the tie-breaker. Having said that, I will try to focus on just this visit.]
When we arrived, we were seated immediately by Ashley, who turned out to be our waitress as well. She took our drink orders as we sat down.
I was concerned about what appeared to be the evenings entertainment setting up. I will admit that I am not one that enjoys live music while I am trying to eat. If that is your thing, great. My thing is a meal and conversation with the person I am having dinner with. I asked Ashley when she returned with the drinks, and she said that there would be some sort of "techno" show later.
A small argument broke out between Ashley and one of the other waitresses as to whose table we were seated at. This occurred table-side.
Carolyn had the Curry Chicken (which I had enjoyed on our first visit). Because I am trying to branch out, I had the Chef's special: Pork tenderloin with cranberry sauce. I also had the rice and asparagus as sides. As an appetizer we both ordered the tomato basil soup.
The soup was good. I added a couple crackers to give it some extra body and enjoyed it.
The cranberry sauce was very good. I daresay it made the meal, as the special was just the tenderloin plus two sides. The meat was cooked as I asked (medium) but was definitely not fork tender. I actually would have liked a sharper knife to cut it with, as the standard table knife had a bit of a challenge getting through it. The rice was, well, rice. Nothing notable positive or negative about it. The asparagus was also quite good.
For desert we split a deep-fried Reese's Peanut Butter Cup with ice cream. It was, as expected, chocolatey and delicious.
Prices were a bit higher than I would attribute to the food, but our waitress this time was excellent. I am not sure what to think of the fact that on all three visits our waitress has explained to us that she was new. On this visit I looked around and only saw 1 waitress and 1 waiter that I recognized from either of the other visits. Like I say though, I don't know what that necessarily means.
Wrapping up:
Pro:
Mostly good food. Excellent service. Got away before the entertainment started.
Con:
Tough meat. Price was a bit high. Scary wall of six 4 foot high Peavey amplified speakers threatening to deafen us at any moment.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Sadly this trip didn't decide my future with The Fox. I may go back, I may not. It seems like they have decorated for an English Pub, but their ambient music and entertainment (including the last visit on this one) just don't give it the same feeling. Maybe it is just a difference of taste between the owners and myself.
Tonight we decided to go to "The Fox" in downtown Anderson. It is an English pub themed restaurant with appropriate decor.
[I will do my best to be objective about this visit, but I will say up front that this is our third visit. Our first was a tremendous experience that we enjoyed immensely. The second visit, a week later, was the opposite. We decided that tonight would be the tie-breaker. Having said that, I will try to focus on just this visit.]
When we arrived, we were seated immediately by Ashley, who turned out to be our waitress as well. She took our drink orders as we sat down.
I was concerned about what appeared to be the evenings entertainment setting up. I will admit that I am not one that enjoys live music while I am trying to eat. If that is your thing, great. My thing is a meal and conversation with the person I am having dinner with. I asked Ashley when she returned with the drinks, and she said that there would be some sort of "techno" show later.
A small argument broke out between Ashley and one of the other waitresses as to whose table we were seated at. This occurred table-side.
Carolyn had the Curry Chicken (which I had enjoyed on our first visit). Because I am trying to branch out, I had the Chef's special: Pork tenderloin with cranberry sauce. I also had the rice and asparagus as sides. As an appetizer we both ordered the tomato basil soup.
The soup was good. I added a couple crackers to give it some extra body and enjoyed it.
The cranberry sauce was very good. I daresay it made the meal, as the special was just the tenderloin plus two sides. The meat was cooked as I asked (medium) but was definitely not fork tender. I actually would have liked a sharper knife to cut it with, as the standard table knife had a bit of a challenge getting through it. The rice was, well, rice. Nothing notable positive or negative about it. The asparagus was also quite good.
For desert we split a deep-fried Reese's Peanut Butter Cup with ice cream. It was, as expected, chocolatey and delicious.
Prices were a bit higher than I would attribute to the food, but our waitress this time was excellent. I am not sure what to think of the fact that on all three visits our waitress has explained to us that she was new. On this visit I looked around and only saw 1 waitress and 1 waiter that I recognized from either of the other visits. Like I say though, I don't know what that necessarily means.
Wrapping up:
Pro:
Mostly good food. Excellent service. Got away before the entertainment started.
Con:
Tough meat. Price was a bit high. Scary wall of six 4 foot high Peavey amplified speakers threatening to deafen us at any moment.
Rating: 3.5 / 5
Sadly this trip didn't decide my future with The Fox. I may go back, I may not. It seems like they have decorated for an English Pub, but their ambient music and entertainment (including the last visit on this one) just don't give it the same feeling. Maybe it is just a difference of taste between the owners and myself.
Carolyn:
This evenings dinning out experience was The Fox at Anderson. Let me just start by saying this was my fourth visit: once in September with my oldest daughter for her birthday lunch and the others with Joe.
Visit #1: Lunch: Awesome! Chicken tender plate with fries and coleslaw.... great service, nice atmosphere... that's why I returned. Lunch rating for this visit: 5 out of 5
Visit #2: Dinner: Awesome!! Bombay Chicken was fabulous!!! Our server Kristen (I believe that was her name), was new that day... but her service was so wonderful we stopped to let the manager know how happy we were with our waitress (and the food!). Dinner rating for this visit: 5 out of 5
Visit #3: Dinner: Not my favorite, actually it was pretty bad... I had the Chicken Pot Pie... I will NOT be ordering that ever again.... The "flaky top" was just a baked pastry puff square they loosely placed on top of the bowl. The contents of the "pie" was a few chunks of chicken and what I assumed to be various vegetables. The sparsely placed bits of meat and veggies were drowning in an extremely heavy cream sauce. I'm sure this chicken pot pie of sorts may have tasted better hot, though I wouldn't know as mine was served on the little less then warm side... leaning more towards cold. Did I return it to the kitchen? No. I wasn't in the mood to deal with the chaos... as I don't think the kitchen nor staff could have handled it that night. We barely saw our server. That evening there was a "live" performance going on that night. I usually LOVE entertainment during a meal, but not this evening. The performer mumbled through most of the songs and the sound system was only making matters worse. BAD NIGHT!!
Dinner rating for this visit: 0 out of 5
Visit #4: This is my defining moment for The Fox....
Dinner: Joe and I are seated right away by the girl who was to be our waitress for the evening. She took our drink order and moments later a new waitress came by to take our drink order again... she and the previous waitress had a brief "moment" in deciding who was our server. The first waitress apparently won the battle, because we never saw the second one again.
We ordered a tomato soup as an appetizer. When our waitress returned with it she came without crackers and asked us if we would like some. Notice here I keep referring to her as "our waitress" because she never once gave us her name that I can remember. The tomato soup in my opinion was a little cold, watery and salty. I was surprised that the soup wasn't warmer or even hot as it was only 6:00 pm and the evening service had just really started.
I then ordered the "Curry of the Day" Curry Chicken... good, not great. I seem to remember Joe's curry chicken to be creamier then mine on the night of my 2nd visit. It looked so good when he ordered it then I thought I would try it now, since it was the "Curry of the Day". I enjoyed the vegetables on the plate that were mixed in well with the chicken. Green beans, broccoli, mushrooms, water chestnuts and a red bell pepper. As I ate my meal I noticed that the closer I got to the bottom/middle of the plate that most of the curry was in a paste like mass within the rice, more so under all the food then on the food. The mass of curry was more then I could finish so at that point I was done with my meal.
Side note: My sinuses have cleared and I can breathe again! :)
We decided to order dessert, to share. A deep fried candy bar. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I have NEVER had a "deep fried" candy bar before so I figured this would be my ONE opportunity as I will not be ordering it again, just for my own purposes. But to have this experience and share it with you... I will "take one for the team!" It was good. A warm Reese's wrapped in a breading with chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream. Of course it was good.
Our waitress, Ashley, who's name I only discovered by reading the check, was good. She kept our glasses of tea filled and tried to be as perky as she could. This too was her first night on the job. This seems to be a pattern. Dinner rating for tonight: 2 out of 5
I love the atmosphere of The Fox. It has a great English pub feeling. The decor is spot on, and I do like the fact that they have activities. I would love a chance to take part in some of the more relaxed activities... but I never seem to be there on those nights... This evening was a "Tech-NO!" sort of thing and I have to say I'm glad we left before it started. I like the idea of hearing "Gaelic" tunes while I am there... just to get more of that feeling... but this evening it was a mix of 60's/70's retro that I'm just not in to. It seems to me they are trying too hard to be "the place to be on Saturday night." When I think they would be a perfect English Pub, if they would just stick to that. Just my opinion.
My meal was priced fairly:
Dinner rating for this evening: 2 out of 5
Total experience rating in my opinion: 3 out of 5
Will I return? Only if Joe asks me to.
Will I return? Only if Joe asks me to.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Electric City Grill
Carolyn:
This evening we went to Electric City Grill. The hostess sat us right away and our server Nikki was there within minutes to get our drink orders and bring us our menus. The menu had two sections to order from Greek and Italian, I chose from the Italian side.
We made our dinner choices that included a salad, our wait for the salad was less then five minutes. My choice was the Cannelloni. If you enjoy a very cheesy dish, then this is for you! The Parmesan meat sauce inside the thin pasta was fabulous and the mozzarella piled on top was perfect! The dish was a definite five out of five for me. The time between the salad and the main dish arriving at the table could not have been more perfectly timed. As soon as I had finished my salad the Cannelloni was being served.
The atmosphere was light and friendly. A radio could be heard playing an array of light 80's music, which I enjoyed. Our server Nikki was friendly and helpful, our glasses of tea never ran out. I would recommend dining here for a date night out to anyone!
Dessert was Baklava, I had never had it before and I do have to say that I will gladly be adding it to my lists of favorite desserts! The top was a delicious flaky crust, that covered a nutty sweet caramel like center. The bottom crust did seem a bit hard to cut through and I did have to resort to using my butter knife to break it up... but it was still worth the effort.
The only downside to the dining experience for me was the pit I had to "retrieve" from the kalamata olives and the lack of decor. The walls could use some photos and the back of the room, which I had a great view of, could have used some warmth. There had been a couple of chairs and tables in the back that seemed to be placed haphazardly. Otherwise it was a very nice dining experience!
Joe:
Electric City Grill was our destination for the evening. When we arrived, the dining room was about half full. We were seated immediately, and our waitress, Nikki, was right there with the menus and got our drink orders.
I chose to order from the Greek page of the menu. I don't know Greek food. At all. The Zorba's Combination Platter sounded good though, so I went with that. The salad, with dressing in a cup on the side, was served immediately. My only complaint about the salad is that the included olives still had the pit inside. I prefer not to go in after anything once I put the food in my mouth. On the plus side, I typically dislike olives, but these were pretty good.
My entree arrived with about 3 bites of salad left, so timing was good. The plate was well filled with food. It included beef, chicken, mushrooms, and onions on rice, with a white sauce on the side. I have to admit it was better than I expected. I would definitely order this meal again. Everything was cooked through and still hot when it came out.
Nikki was great, keeping both our glasses filled. There was a bit of trouble finding salt and pepper shakers for us. The third try finally got us a working pepper grinder. I would suggest having enough and just keeping each table stocked.
We decided to get the baklava for desert. Again, I am no expert on Greek food, but I like baklava, apparently. It had a caramel taste to it with a very flaky top crust. The bottom crust was hard, and I really would have liked a knife to get through it. The spoon just didn't "cut it".
Overall, it was a good date night. The food was good, there wasn't any blaring music or other "entertainment" to shout over, and Nikki earned her 20% tip for the night.
We made our dinner choices that included a salad, our wait for the salad was less then five minutes. My choice was the Cannelloni. If you enjoy a very cheesy dish, then this is for you! The Parmesan meat sauce inside the thin pasta was fabulous and the mozzarella piled on top was perfect! The dish was a definite five out of five for me. The time between the salad and the main dish arriving at the table could not have been more perfectly timed. As soon as I had finished my salad the Cannelloni was being served.
The atmosphere was light and friendly. A radio could be heard playing an array of light 80's music, which I enjoyed. Our server Nikki was friendly and helpful, our glasses of tea never ran out. I would recommend dining here for a date night out to anyone!
Dessert was Baklava, I had never had it before and I do have to say that I will gladly be adding it to my lists of favorite desserts! The top was a delicious flaky crust, that covered a nutty sweet caramel like center. The bottom crust did seem a bit hard to cut through and I did have to resort to using my butter knife to break it up... but it was still worth the effort.
The only downside to the dining experience for me was the pit I had to "retrieve" from the kalamata olives and the lack of decor. The walls could use some photos and the back of the room, which I had a great view of, could have used some warmth. There had been a couple of chairs and tables in the back that seemed to be placed haphazardly. Otherwise it was a very nice dining experience!
Joe:
Electric City Grill was our destination for the evening. When we arrived, the dining room was about half full. We were seated immediately, and our waitress, Nikki, was right there with the menus and got our drink orders.
I chose to order from the Greek page of the menu. I don't know Greek food. At all. The Zorba's Combination Platter sounded good though, so I went with that. The salad, with dressing in a cup on the side, was served immediately. My only complaint about the salad is that the included olives still had the pit inside. I prefer not to go in after anything once I put the food in my mouth. On the plus side, I typically dislike olives, but these were pretty good.
My entree arrived with about 3 bites of salad left, so timing was good. The plate was well filled with food. It included beef, chicken, mushrooms, and onions on rice, with a white sauce on the side. I have to admit it was better than I expected. I would definitely order this meal again. Everything was cooked through and still hot when it came out.
Nikki was great, keeping both our glasses filled. There was a bit of trouble finding salt and pepper shakers for us. The third try finally got us a working pepper grinder. I would suggest having enough and just keeping each table stocked.
We decided to get the baklava for desert. Again, I am no expert on Greek food, but I like baklava, apparently. It had a caramel taste to it with a very flaky top crust. The bottom crust was hard, and I really would have liked a knife to get through it. The spoon just didn't "cut it".
Overall, it was a good date night. The food was good, there wasn't any blaring music or other "entertainment" to shout over, and Nikki earned her 20% tip for the night.
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