I will be getting back to the more development, growth, and politics soon but I decided to create another catagory and begin speaking my mind about the good and bad (mostly bad) of local eateries, bars, and coffee shops; it is time to call it like it is. Its time because I am just tired of restaurantuers, and bar owners, and shop proprietors in our little community and its surrounds getting away with unbelievable crappy service, even if they serve good food. So get ready people, its time to step up to the plate.
Friday evening my wife and I were invited out to eat by some friends who wanted to celebrate my wife’s brand spanking new citizenship in the United States. We had been trying to get together for months and finally we did. We started out the evening at the Elusive Grape wine bar which is always great and wonderful and the service always good. Bill runs a tight ship and has even added another and even bigger TV. The only thing he needs are motorized Lazyboy recliners and permission to take power naps on premise. After a few warm up beers our party headed to Odom’s Pad Thai for some sushi and thai food. Once we entered, the trouble began.
Usually the wait is 30 minutes or so and the place is packed with the Stetson kids spending daddy’s money. However this time, we lucked up and the table was almost ready. Throughout the dinner, the table was never completed. You see, when the hostess, who one never knows who they are at this joint, told us our table was ready she forgot to make sure there was napkins and silverware placed. We didn’t get any until we had to ask our waiter who had already made several trips to the table and didn’t notice herself. In fact, if we didn’t ask for it, you know, for chopsticks, silverware, napkins, etc., it wouldn’t have landed on the table. No excuses, that is just poor service and this thing with silverware seems to be an epidemic in town. Just about every restaurant in town, save Cress, I have eaten in has at one time or another, failed to place silverware and napkins until after I had to ask for it. Unless you want us to all start eating with our hands people, knock it off.
At Odom’s, while the food is always good; you know, right temp, tasty, good portions, there just doesn’t seem to be any system to run the front of the house, no management whatsoever. We were seated to a table not ready, and then we ordered appetizers which came with no small plates to eat them on until we asked for them. Then the dinner orders came and mine was missing in action. I ordered the Clay Pot Shrimp, a dish my friend recommended and I was savoring trying it out. Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock, our party is eating and my dinner still is missing. Then the death knell came when I asked the waiter if she actually had placed my order with the kitchen. Whoops!, “oh I am sorry, I forgot”. Well, that just sucked. I was still hungry and most of the table was near finished with their food. I told her to cancel the order since I was pissed and our friends embarassed. I managed to remain polite when she told me she could still get it cooked quickly, right. So I never got to taste the shrimp in clay pot because Odom forgot.
Odom’s is good, but nothing there is done quickly. Lunches are usually 1 and a half hours and dinner a full two. They could turn many more tables if they would just fix the front of the house and establish some sort of system. I mean, I once waited nearly 30 minutes just to get my bill paid after I handed the waiter my credit card. I had to demand she get me checked out; I felt like I was being held hostage. Its amazing that people expect a good tip after such poor service or worse yet, the owner doesn’t come by to ask if things are all right or notice that they aren’t and offer to comp a meal. Odom, its time to call it like it is, food good, service poor, and until things change, you get two stars at best.
Ken, next time try another place – Norville Barnes. There is ALWAYS sliverware on the tables and app plates…everytime. Sorry you have had a bad experience with one location, but please don’t lump all “local eateries, bars, and coffee shops” into what you term “mostly bad”, because there are many great places.
Hey, I’ll give you that. I havn’t been to NB’s and would love to check it out. That being said, of the places in town I have eaten in, and that would be most of them, almost all of them have screwed up the table setting and service. The biggest problem seems to be a complete lack of training of wait staff and hosts. Maybe Chili’s will jetison some properly trained staff who may wind up working in downtown DeLand eateries.