Polly's e-mail of the week\Restaurant Reviews

I received this interesting e-mail from the Executive Vice President of Mercedes Restaurants:

Dear Polly:

I heard through a friend that you recently ate at Bud's and were dissatisfied with the cost of your meal. I would like the opportunity to discuss this with you to find out what happened that evening. On just the information you wrote, I figure your bill should have been around $80.00.

Please call 676-6443 and leave me your phone number and a time it would be possible to call you.

Thanks,
Steve Shaw
Executive Vice President
Mercedes Restaurants, Inc.

Give the guy credit for customer service! I doubt there are many Executive Vice Presidents who would try to track down an allegedly unhappy customer in the bloggersphere! Mr. Shaw is referring to my January 9th post. I can't return your call and remain anonymous, Mr. Shaw, but I will republish my "review" of Bud's. Our bill may have been $80.00, but with tax and 20% tip we paid $90.00 (I checked the credit card statement) on the nose.

I wrote...

...A rather dull weekend. Just the way I like 'em. Slept in both days. Glorious. Never got around to doing laundry, cleaning my house, or disassembling the Christmas tree. Even better.

My Significant Other (S.O.) and I did get out last night. We had dinner at Bud's, coffee at Starbucks, and then saw Fun with Dick and Jane at the Rave. Dinner at Bud's was just okay. We had an appetizer of calamari, shared a porterhouse steak, and ordered a side of sauteed mushrooms. Our tab, with tax and tip came to $90.00. We had two beers as well, and our steak came with a house salad and some very good bread. Nonetheless, the decor, ambiance and quality of food doesn't come close to F. Scott's or some of the other numerous steakhouses in town. Some of them significantly less expensive. There was a decent crowd, but no where near what V.O.P.s used to draw in...

If it's any comfort Mr. Shaw, I didn't give high praise for the movie either.

There has been some chatter from readers about the new Mexican Restaurant on University, Vallarta's. (This blog attracts a lot of "Foodies" I tell you!) I ate there recently, quite tasty. Better than Jalapeno's or Fiesta Ranchero by far. Loved the shrimp burrito. If you want REAL Mexican cuisine you must venture to La Mexicana located on Jefferson and Mary. Not the best part of town, but not the worst either. Finally tried it after Bill Dennis wouldn't stop blogging about it. La Mexicana has AUTHENTIC Mexican food at dirt cheap prices. If they ever get wi-fi, I will probably live there. However, Vallarta's is more comfy and better for bigger groups. La Mexicana has about five tables.

After being pestered by co-workers for about a year, I finally ventured up to Seven on Prospect. I heard it was good but expensive. Polly is very cheap, spending money is painful. I agree with everyone. Seven on Prospect both good AND pricey. I loved everything I tried. I had the shrimp bisque, an amazing pasta dish which was called Pasta Gregiore (well, something "Greg" anyway). I've never had chicken so tender or tasty. Remembering marsala sauce and mushrooms in that dish are making my mouth water as I write this. Moreover, the pasta was aldente and not mushy! My Significant Other (S.O.) was good and had fish, salmon something. It looked amazing, but I didn't want to use up any stomach space for responsible, healthful fish when I could fill up on the Gregsomething Pasta. S.O. paid and would not share the total with me. Classy. However, S.O. did say that it was significantly less than Bud's. I'm guessing our two entrees were about $15.00 a piece, the bisque was $7.00, I had a Diet Coke, and S.O. had beer. We were served warm bread with butter and an olive spread. We were way too full dessert. I'm guestimating the total was around $50.00. An entire week's worth of groceries costs me the same, but I will be back nonetheless.

A tasty steak dinner for two, I can easily prepare at home for around $25.00. I wouldn't know where to start in order to prepare seafood bisque or Gregorysomething Chicken Pasta at any price.