The Pecan Restaurant- College Park, GA

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

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.