Robert P
GLOBEX - taking over your world one country at a t
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2002
Disclaimer For anyone who has read my reviews or trip reports (elsewhere), you know that I rarely name a server in a bad review. I have, in the past, painstakingly made efforts to not do that. This time, I made an exception. The reason - I believe we had this person as a server a few years ago, before my DIS review days, and service was equally poor back then. As it detracted from our meal noticeably this visit, I make an exception in this review.
Wednesday October 25, 2006
Having been overruled by the rest of my party, who I believe was tiring of the ADR plan, we went off the planning route for dinner (the original plan was to graze through dinner at the EPCOT food booths). That left us, in the Boardwalk area, Big River Grill and Beaches & Cream (B&C) as the two options that did not take ADRs, so we might could get in. As ice cream was involved, the group chose B&C. I was not terribly disappointed by this, as I had been wanting to surprise the girls with the Kitchen Sink for dessert.
We arrived at B&C about 6:00 p.m. It was full inside, but nobody was waiting outside. The podium host was very friendly, and gave us a pager. We had sat down maybe 30 seconds, and he called our name. He made the pager light up as well. They had a table available for our party of 5 (3 adults, 2 children), and he asked if that would be okay. Seeing the booths all full, and this the only table free, we took it.
(Now, let me say that not frequenting B&C, we had no idea that the meals came on platters, and we had no way of knowing how much space we needed. We relied on the host to put us at an appropriate sized spot. So, we assumed a table would work fine.)
Our server, Jane, came around after we had sat there for several minutes. She explained the kids meal for the girls, and took our drink order. So far, so good. She came back many minutes later and the drink order was incorrect. It was 5 beverages, nothing special, and it was wrong. Okay, this should have been a warning, but hey, mistakes happen. The girls ordered the kids menu cheeseburger and hot dog, both with fruit. The kids meals were fine, as kids meals go. Nothing special, or terrible, except for a few mushy grapes in the fruit bowl. My wife ordered the roast beef sandwich, and my MIL ordered a burger, with chips. I waited, and by then had decided to skip an entrée, and order the Kitchen Sink. It wasnt just for me, it was for all of us, so I wanted it served after everyone else had gotten their food. No problem Jane says, and off she goes. Fifteen minutes later, our food starts coming out.
Note: Seating is me at 6 oclock position, both daughters (4 and 5) on each side, then my wife and MIL at the 10 and 2 positions. So, I have both girls beside me, one on each side.
Every meal is on platters, including the kids meals. These take up a great deal of space, especially at a small table that was better suited for 2 or 3 than for 4 or 5. As Jane serves us, the au jou (sp) for the roast beef sandwich is in a small bowl not on that platter. Instead of placing or scooting my daughters platter closer to me (the only space without a platter), she puts the bowl down in front of me, and says that Mommy will have to reach over when she dips. Almost logistically impossible to do, reaching over a 4 year old every time you want to dip your sandwich.
Okay. Weird, but whatever. Then she leaves. Five minutes into eating, my MIL notices that her chips have a funky and stale taste to them. Upon further inspection, we find the sell by date is Oct 10th, and today is the 25th. Okay, no biggie, well just get a replacement bag from Jane, when she comes back. Problem was, she didnt come back, not for at least 30 minutes. By the time she came back to see how our meals were, they were done. Now, I counted the tables (remember: I was bored and not eating yet), and Jane had no more than 1 booth and 2 tables (thats including us) at this time, and she was nowhere to be found, even to be flagged down, for a solid 25 of those 30 minutes. No checking on how the meals were, can I get you anything, refills of drinks, NOTHING.
In the time that our table was eating the sandwiches, two other Kitchen Sinks had been ordered and delivered in the restaurant. One by Jane immediately after we got our food (before disappearing), and another by the other server waiting tables.
There is usually a big announcement, with the lights flashing, when they deliver the Kitchen Sink, so the servers are well aware that the presentation means a lot. My youngest daughter and my wife went to the restroom. While they were gone, Jane decides to finally bring out the Sink, with the obligatory announcement and absolutely zero enthusiasm. We had waited this long, could she not have waited til the entire table was there for the presentation. Next problem was, there was no place to put it! She had never cleared the empty platters, and there was scarcely enough room on the table before that, and remember, that was with only 4 entrees and 5 drinks, for 5 people.
So, she pushes the platters together, stacking 1 for room, and leaves us the Sink, on a large cafeteria tray, with bowls and spoons, and goes away with maybe 1 of the plates. Doesnt clear the rest of the table, even though we have a giant size dessert to serve up and share. And, it's been left it in front of the seat for our 4 year old, who couldnt see over it. In other words, she dumped it and left.
As there was now no room for even the small serving bowls at the table, we improvised. After moving the platters ourselves to an empty counter spot, we dove in, and surrendered to the mighty Kitchen Sink about 20 minutes later. We waited another 15 minutes for Jane to notice that we were done, and since that wasnt registering, I sent the others on out to take pictures at the resort, while I waited for the check. After 5 minutes of just me and this huge stainless steel container sitting there by ourselves, Jane comes over and takes it away. The check then actually came quickly, but Jane was nowhere to be found (again) to take the payment away. Another server saw that the bill folder was ready, and took it to the register, where she gave it to Jane, who had suddenly rematerialized.
Summary: All sandwiches and meals were passably okay. The burgers were fair, about like those you cook when you grill out. The stale bag of chips wasnt a show-stopper, but should have been product rotated back to the distributor, if anyone was paying attention. But the impossibly cramped seating assignment (host), and the horrible service (Jane), turned what should have been a fairly quick counter service type of meal with dessert, into an @ 90 minute trip into the bad meal experience Twilight Zone. Having now had the Kitchen Sink, we may stop by the To Go side for regular ice cream in the future, but this was probably our last time dealing with the service at B&C.
On a positive note: The Kitchen Sink is huge, and the ice cream was very good. The massive toppings have to be seen to be believed, and it's an adventure in ice cream trying to tackle that monster. Even at $21.99, the Kitchen Sink was worth it.
Wednesday October 25, 2006
Having been overruled by the rest of my party, who I believe was tiring of the ADR plan, we went off the planning route for dinner (the original plan was to graze through dinner at the EPCOT food booths). That left us, in the Boardwalk area, Big River Grill and Beaches & Cream (B&C) as the two options that did not take ADRs, so we might could get in. As ice cream was involved, the group chose B&C. I was not terribly disappointed by this, as I had been wanting to surprise the girls with the Kitchen Sink for dessert.
We arrived at B&C about 6:00 p.m. It was full inside, but nobody was waiting outside. The podium host was very friendly, and gave us a pager. We had sat down maybe 30 seconds, and he called our name. He made the pager light up as well. They had a table available for our party of 5 (3 adults, 2 children), and he asked if that would be okay. Seeing the booths all full, and this the only table free, we took it.
(Now, let me say that not frequenting B&C, we had no idea that the meals came on platters, and we had no way of knowing how much space we needed. We relied on the host to put us at an appropriate sized spot. So, we assumed a table would work fine.)
Our server, Jane, came around after we had sat there for several minutes. She explained the kids meal for the girls, and took our drink order. So far, so good. She came back many minutes later and the drink order was incorrect. It was 5 beverages, nothing special, and it was wrong. Okay, this should have been a warning, but hey, mistakes happen. The girls ordered the kids menu cheeseburger and hot dog, both with fruit. The kids meals were fine, as kids meals go. Nothing special, or terrible, except for a few mushy grapes in the fruit bowl. My wife ordered the roast beef sandwich, and my MIL ordered a burger, with chips. I waited, and by then had decided to skip an entrée, and order the Kitchen Sink. It wasnt just for me, it was for all of us, so I wanted it served after everyone else had gotten their food. No problem Jane says, and off she goes. Fifteen minutes later, our food starts coming out.
Note: Seating is me at 6 oclock position, both daughters (4 and 5) on each side, then my wife and MIL at the 10 and 2 positions. So, I have both girls beside me, one on each side.
Every meal is on platters, including the kids meals. These take up a great deal of space, especially at a small table that was better suited for 2 or 3 than for 4 or 5. As Jane serves us, the au jou (sp) for the roast beef sandwich is in a small bowl not on that platter. Instead of placing or scooting my daughters platter closer to me (the only space without a platter), she puts the bowl down in front of me, and says that Mommy will have to reach over when she dips. Almost logistically impossible to do, reaching over a 4 year old every time you want to dip your sandwich.
Okay. Weird, but whatever. Then she leaves. Five minutes into eating, my MIL notices that her chips have a funky and stale taste to them. Upon further inspection, we find the sell by date is Oct 10th, and today is the 25th. Okay, no biggie, well just get a replacement bag from Jane, when she comes back. Problem was, she didnt come back, not for at least 30 minutes. By the time she came back to see how our meals were, they were done. Now, I counted the tables (remember: I was bored and not eating yet), and Jane had no more than 1 booth and 2 tables (thats including us) at this time, and she was nowhere to be found, even to be flagged down, for a solid 25 of those 30 minutes. No checking on how the meals were, can I get you anything, refills of drinks, NOTHING.
In the time that our table was eating the sandwiches, two other Kitchen Sinks had been ordered and delivered in the restaurant. One by Jane immediately after we got our food (before disappearing), and another by the other server waiting tables.
There is usually a big announcement, with the lights flashing, when they deliver the Kitchen Sink, so the servers are well aware that the presentation means a lot. My youngest daughter and my wife went to the restroom. While they were gone, Jane decides to finally bring out the Sink, with the obligatory announcement and absolutely zero enthusiasm. We had waited this long, could she not have waited til the entire table was there for the presentation. Next problem was, there was no place to put it! She had never cleared the empty platters, and there was scarcely enough room on the table before that, and remember, that was with only 4 entrees and 5 drinks, for 5 people.
So, she pushes the platters together, stacking 1 for room, and leaves us the Sink, on a large cafeteria tray, with bowls and spoons, and goes away with maybe 1 of the plates. Doesnt clear the rest of the table, even though we have a giant size dessert to serve up and share. And, it's been left it in front of the seat for our 4 year old, who couldnt see over it. In other words, she dumped it and left.
As there was now no room for even the small serving bowls at the table, we improvised. After moving the platters ourselves to an empty counter spot, we dove in, and surrendered to the mighty Kitchen Sink about 20 minutes later. We waited another 15 minutes for Jane to notice that we were done, and since that wasnt registering, I sent the others on out to take pictures at the resort, while I waited for the check. After 5 minutes of just me and this huge stainless steel container sitting there by ourselves, Jane comes over and takes it away. The check then actually came quickly, but Jane was nowhere to be found (again) to take the payment away. Another server saw that the bill folder was ready, and took it to the register, where she gave it to Jane, who had suddenly rematerialized.
Summary: All sandwiches and meals were passably okay. The burgers were fair, about like those you cook when you grill out. The stale bag of chips wasnt a show-stopper, but should have been product rotated back to the distributor, if anyone was paying attention. But the impossibly cramped seating assignment (host), and the horrible service (Jane), turned what should have been a fairly quick counter service type of meal with dessert, into an @ 90 minute trip into the bad meal experience Twilight Zone. Having now had the Kitchen Sink, we may stop by the To Go side for regular ice cream in the future, but this was probably our last time dealing with the service at B&C.
On a positive note: The Kitchen Sink is huge, and the ice cream was very good. The massive toppings have to be seen to be believed, and it's an adventure in ice cream trying to tackle that monster. Even at $21.99, the Kitchen Sink was worth it.
