Date
and Time Visited: Saturday,
November 13, 2010, 8:00 PM
Restaurant
Name: The Pecan Restaurant
Location: 3725 Main Street,
College Park, GA
Hours
of Operation: Lunch Monday-Friday: 11:30 a.m.
–2:30 p.m.
Sunday
Brunch: 11:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Dinner:
Monday-Saturday: 5:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
Reservations: Reservations are recommended.
Cuisine: Elegant
Type
of Food:
Southern Cuisine
Entrees
Order:
Entrees: Oven Roasted Buttermilk Pecan Chicken ($23.00) and Blackened Shrimp
over Angel Hair Pasta ($27.00).
Rating
criteria:
We rate using the Likert Scale, from 1-5, where one (1) is considered a poor
rating and five (5) is considered an excellent rating and three (3) indicates
an average score.
Food:
Taste 3
Presentation 3
Texture 2
Texture 2
Portion Size 2
Authenticity 3
Service:
Wait time 1
Quality of Service 1
Wait staff knowledge 1
Entrée
Prices: Lowest: $18.00 Highest: $45.00
Restaurant
Cleanliness:
Appearance 4
Atmosphere 1
Cleanliness 4
Noise level 4
Restrooms 4
Patio
Dining: None
Parking: Adequate street parking
Overall
Experience (reflects
the opinions of both critics): The Pecan Restaurant is a nut that should remain
uncracked. The atmosphere thought
elegant did not have a warm or inviting feel. For some reason there seemed to
be tension in the air which took us totally off guard. At first we had no idea why but by the
time we finished eating, we knew. First, we expected to hear some soft jazz or
something similar playing in the restaurant, but there was no music playing at
all. Second, the restaurant had four tables with between 8 and 12 people each
and five tables with couples. We
sat there watching the waiters and waitresses run around far too much for only
nine tables. We were tensed just watching them. It is evident that their
waiters and waitresses are not adequately trained. Anyway, when our waiter
approached our table he seemed pleasant enough. After greeting us he began to
recite the specials for the evening and by the time he was done we were in a
coma (just joking)! What we are really saying is that this young man had to
rememorize three full entrée specials and by the time he got to the third one
his memory failed him, and we were lost too. From that point on it was downhill
all the way. Normally restaurants
are loud; people laughing, music playing, and you hear the familiar clang of
dishes, but this place was far too quite. At first we didn’t realize why we only
heard the sound of crickets in the Pecan Restaurant, but later it became all
too evident: everyone was wondering where the hell was their food! After
waiting 35 minutes for some pasta and shrimp and a piece of chicken we now knew
why the customers were less engaged in one another and preferred to watch the
wait staff instead. It’s called Classical Conditioning! The food was taking far
too long for one table of two because they walked out. How great a message was
that? After waiting 30 minutes we put them on a timer too; fortunate for them
the food arrived within the last 5 minutes on the clock. After the food came,
we unwrapped our silverware to find it water stained. Not good for a supposed
to be up scaled restaurant.
I
(Jill) ordered the Shrimp and Pasta. Nothing original or authentic about it.
The shrimp was good though, but halfway through it my stomach started feeling a
little uncomfortable. It wasn’t
until I was about three spoonfuls from finishing that I realized how greasy the
pasta was. If you’re wondering why I didn’t notice it at first, it was because
I was hungry. Remember they starved me 20 minutes longer than necessary. Other
than having a belly full of great tasting grease and shrimp, my dish was pretty
good.
I
(Jack) usually like to order uncommon flavors or exotic dishes so the chicken
breast on a bed of sweet potatoes seemed right up my alley because this
combination seemed strange. As for the taste, combining the chicken with the
sweet potatoes tasted weird at first but after a few bites I kind of got the
chef’s message and decided I liked it. Like it or not, I did encounter one
major problem, the price. My plate came with one chicken breast patty covered
with what looked to be Japanese Panko breadcrumbs. Like I said, the chicken was
good but it was far too thin for a price tag $23.00. Jill told me I would be
hungry again later that night and true to her word, I found myself at an all
night diner at 2:00 a.m.
Now
one of the strangest things we noticed was as customers were seated, the
waiters and waitresses kept moving candles and flowers from table to table. It
appeared they didn’t have enough to go around. So whenever a new table came in,
and if the hostess didn’t seat them at a table with a flower and candle on it,
they would commandeer them from a vacant table. It was tacky placing them on
the table with the customers sitting there. Hey, come to think of it, they had
to commandeer a candle for our table too. For us, if these decorative items are
not present when we are seated, leave them off the table. It brings attention
to your restaurant not being prepared.
Would
we ever go back?
Suggested
Improvements:
(1) Play music. (2) Train your waiters and waitresses. (3) If you have more
than one special, list the others on a separate insert in the menu. No one
wants to listen to all of that when it is much easier to read it for ourselves.
(4) Spend the money for enough flowers and candles for all your tables. The
Dollar Store has them for the low price of, you guessed it: $1.00. (5) Store your menus out of sight not on a vacant tables.
