Bon Temps Grill

After hearing many, many people tell me about how good the food is at Bon Temps Grill, I figured I'd have to finally try it.  Walking out of that place felt like someone just played a horrible joke on me.  The worst part is, it started out so good. 

I'm going to have to recommend for those of you that choose to assault your taste buds with this "food", that you start with the sausage and boudin board as an appetizer.  Holy crap on a cracker that was really good. The sausages and boudin were hot.  I'm talking fresh off the grill, right from the seventh circle of hell hot. The garlic bread was warm, buttery, and garlic just seemed to dance around every bite.  The appetizer came with two "dipping sauces" for you to enjoy with your meats.  The red onion aioli isn't an aioli.  This is more of a paste, but it does have a good smoky flavor to it.  The "creole" mustard, I could've done without.  I'm an advocate of a good mustard, but for the love of God, DO NOT bring me a mustard that looks like a nice spicy brown mustard but tastes like a "Sweet Baby Jesus" tangy cup of bitterness. 

The menu was a bit small, but after a bit of deliberation, I finally decided on one of my favorite dishes... Shrimp and Tasso pasta.  *Buzzer noise*  Nope, wrong... please try again...  That has to have been one of the nastiest things I've ever put in my mouth.    First off, if you're gonna say that there's tasso in it, then by all means, DON'T LEAVE OUT THE TASSO.  Second, I really couldn't taste a symphony of flavors.  All I got were the power chords of red pepper, paprika, and garlic.  Now, I understand those are some great flavors, when used appropriately, but not when the entire bowl got treated like a red headed step-child.  People, you need to learn that a delicate balance is needed when seasoning a shrimp dish... Or a fish dish... Or ANY dish for that matter. 

Now, to start on the side dishes that I ordered, the cheese grits and the grilled (I'm sure they would have been if they could find the grill) asparagus.  The grits were beyond thick and dried.  It looked like I was eating a yellow-ish drywall patch.  I'm talking dried out wood-filler... It didn't even taste like grits.  The "There's no way in hell this actually touched a hot grill" grilled asparagus had not one grill mark.  NOT ONE!!  The insides of asparagus were still completely raw.  I could barely cut them with the butter knife I was provided. 

My server was actually a good server.  I got refills without asking, and she even waited a couple of minutes to put in my entree order to ensure I got my appetizer first.  I even got to speak with a manager (or he might have been an owner).  He attempted a few times to make up for the mistakes that were made tonight, but I didn't honestly trust that kitchen after what I had just eaten.

If you want to go try them out, by all means, go.  I'm just hoping that you have a better experience than I did.  I highly doubt I'll ever step foot in that place again, but if I do, it will be after that saute cook has been fired and vows to never work in a kitchen again.  Not even as a dishwasher....

Cheddar's 6/22 - lunch

      My first, and quite possibly my ONLY visit to this restaurant.  First off, I understand that this restaurant has only been open for a few days.  If the service doesn't get any better, it will be open for a very short time, or forgotten very quickly.  I know, you're thinking "Lunch time on a Friday, you can't be too crucial of the food, they're busy.  It's a new restaurant, they need some time to work out the kinks." 

      Well, my friends you and I are on completely different pages.  I've worked in the restaurant business before, and I know the difference between a mediocre dining experience and a phenomenal experience.  Before you try to jump down my throat and complain that "not everyone can afford to eat at (insert fancy-pants restaurant name here)", I'm not saying you have to go to a fancy-pants restaurant to have a phenomenal experience.

      We're gonna start with the wait.  A Friday around 12:30pm, my wait time was only about 30 minutes.  I found that reasonable, if not fairly quick considering the number of people in the restaurant.  That's going to be pretty much where my experience stopped being good.  My server was a poor excuse for a server, and had either never been a server before or didn't know what his job entailed. 

      My drink/appetizer order was taken within 4 minutes of being seated.  The first drink (which was fairly easy order of a peach tea) order showed up right as the appetizer got to the table.  My massively complicated drink (a coke) still had not arrived.  A couple of minutes later my server walked back up to take my order (still without my coke).  About 10 minutes later, my appetizer was gone, and my server came back...  to take my order...  (No I didn't make a mistake, you really did read that right.  My server came back to take my order again).  After it was pointed out that my order had already been taken, my server seemed genuinely surprised (even though he is the one that took the order), and asked if anything was needed.  Since I'm pretty thirsty because I had already been seated and eaten my appetizer (about 25 minutes after originally being seated) it was finally pointed out that my super-mega-colossally complicated drink order of a glass of Coca-Cola had not been brought.  I didn't get an apology, and had to wait almost another 5 minutes for my coke. 

     My entrees finally arrived.  The food was good.  The order was partially wrong, but was still good.  My server asked if everything was good, and when it was pointed out that some of it was wrong, I was visited by two different managers.  They both brought what was needed to fix my order.  Since my coke had been long empty, one of the managers brought me a refill.

      I got the check, gave the card, card was run, and brought back to the table.  My sever didn't hand over a pen with which to sign the receipt.  No, instead he stood there while we had to search for a pen.  After coming up without an ink pen for about a full 60 seconds, I was assaulted by a seriously dumb question.  "Did you need a pen?"  No thanks, I'll just see if I can sign it using telekinesis.  Borrowed the ink pen, and he stood there, 6 inches from my table while a signature and tip were added to the receipt.    

      The nearest sever that wasn't mine, didn't seem to be any better.  He was telling the table behind me that they were gonna be firing a whole bunch of servers soon, and all he did was complain about the kitchen being slow, and everyone but him messing up orders and making his job harder.  He also was scratching his nose at the table, and counted his tips in front of another table.

      Bottom line, the food was actually pretty good, but service was disgusting.  Until this restaurant, Buffalo Wild Wings had my title for worst service.  Looks like Cheddar's took that title from BWW at gunpoint.  I had high hopes that Lafayette would have a good restaurant (something not as bad as Chili's, Applebee's, or O'Charley's). 

     Looks like my search continues...

Walk-Ons - 1/5/2012

      Today marks my fourth visit to Walk-Ons.  If today was any indication, then it's going to be one of  my last visits ever.  I walked into the restaurant around 2pm.  The time is relevant because of the mediocre service and food I received.  My server introduced herself within three minutes of being seated, but that's about the only positive thing I can say.  I ordered my appetizer and while waiting, I finished off my drink.  After six minutes my server finally came by and brought another drink.  I ordered my entree and commenced the waiting game on my appetizer.  After finishing off another drink (which took five minutes), and waiting another five minutes for a refill, a server brought out my appetizer.  Not my server, but another server.  Only God knows where my server was, but I can tell where they were not, and that was the floor (doing their job).  Not even three minutes after getting my appetizer, my entree was brought out.  The plating was a bit disheveled.  Had this been a "fancier" restaurant, this would've been unacceptable.  Because this is a "Bistreaux and Bar", I decided it wasn't a big enough deal to complain.  My entire entree had two whole flavors.  Would you be very happy with a bowl of alfredo and shrimp that tasted only paprika and cayenne?  I don't think anyone would.  Ok, I get it, it's a "blackened" dish.  You based a sauce on that concept, you based the shrimp on that concept, but was it really necessary to "dust" my plate in the seasoning as well??  (That's like telling me to try the beef, and attempting to shove a whole cow down my throat).  To make matters worse, you also overcooked the shrimp.  After being unable to finish my meal, I had to wait another 10 minutes to even get my check so I could pay it and leave.  I showed up at your restaurant after your lunch, hoping to get good food and service, and got neither.  How is it that during peak lunch times I can be in and out in about 30 minutes, but at 2:00pm, it takes over an hour?

Walk-Ons, you were a great place when you opened, but it seems as though your standards are dropping.  You've get one more shot at parting this fool and his money, but if you fail again...  "Fool me once, Shame on you.  Fool me twice, Shame on me"

Tokyo Hibachi & Sushi - Dec 26th, 2011

      Lafayette has had a hard time getting a good restaurant to replace what once was Bennigan's.   No matter what opened, it closed within months.  The Tilted Kilt was the first to come and go.  The layout was pretty much the same as Bennigan's, but the food was not good.  It became a gimmick restaurant (like Hooter's, but with worse food).  To be perfectly honest, it was one of the worst restaurants I've ever been to.  How are you going to hold an Irish celebration at a Scottish restaurant?  Yet you were actually surprised when you had to close the doors for good?  Then it became River City (or something like that).  To be honest, I can't say as to why it closed.  It closed before I had the opportunity to even eat there (about 30 days after it opened).

Not knowing what to expect, I was excited to try this new restaurant.  Opening the front doors of what used to be an Irish Pub, I was met with quite a surprise.

      I walked in, was immediately seated after being asked if I wanted a table or hibachi, and couldn't stop looking around in amazement.  This place is somewhat traditional in its Far East Asian design, but with a massive modern influence.  I couldn't believe how stunning the place was.

 On the back side of the wall you see when you first walk in is this waterwall, with a small pond, built in to the floor. 

 All the dividing glass pieces are etched with beautiful intricate designs.

The Sushi bar does have a rather large flat screen which takes away from the traditional feel, but the beams above your head, wrapped in rope at the ends surely make up for it.  (And the Bruce Lee action figures on the corner provide a whimsical touch.)

       After scouring the rather large menu (for almost 15 minutes), trying to figure out what I wanted to try,  I finally made my decision.  While it was painfully obvious that my server was very new to the profession, he was not a bad server.  Refills were brought before my glass was even half empty.  I stopped another server on his way to the back and asked for an extra plate.  This gentleman, not only brought me the plate I asked for, but even he checked back to make sure I did not need anything.

       After a relatively short (approximately) six minute wait, my food arrived.  The plating was very clean.  Nothing on my plate looked like it was just thrown on it.  It was all carefully placed.  My udon was cooked perfectly.  The meat was slightly overdone.  It wasn't burnt, by any means, but it was a little dry.  The seasoning was not overpowering, and my food was still full of its natural flavors. The plate was rather large, making my portion look small, but that is just me being nit-picky.

      My only REAL complaint about this restaurant is the price.  While not exorbitant, it was a couple of dollars more than the other hibachi/sushi restaurants in Lafayette.  It's been a while since lunch for 2 cost me $30.  Was this a good restaurant? Yes.  Was the extra few bucks worth the good service? Yes.  How about the cleanliness?  This restaurant was immaculate.  There was nothing on the floor and the glasses, silverware, and plates all sparkled.  As long as the employees don't get lazy, this restaurant will be a constant contender to separate me from my money.