We bought into the Valentine's hype. But, can I help it if I love getting flowers and being wined and dined? I received a lovely bouquet of red roses from hubby when he arrived home from work and then we were on our way to a popular Addison steakhouse. It must be popular because there was a queue outside the door as we arrived. Not a good sign. We just thought they were overwhelmed with the arrival of all the 7pm reservations, but it took over five minutes to check in as the hostesses were too busy answering the phone and managing the reservation system. Got a sinking feeling when we were told that it would be a fifteen to twenty minute wait for a table.
After thirty minutes of standing in a crowded lobby/bar, the evening was feeling more cattle-call than romantic. It seemed like everyone was getting a table but us. We decided to ditch the restaurant, but hubby wanted to have a word with the manager while I wanted a quick escape. Only after complaining (and being halfway out the door) were we offered a table. I just wanted to leave since the manager offered no apologies and stated that "a half-hour wait was good on the busiest night of the year," and "...that some people had been caught in traffic." So, what exactly is the point of making a reservation a week ahead? The restaurant was ill-prepared and took too many reservations. With the plethora of steakhouses in the DFW area you would think that this restaurant would want to stand out by offering exceptional customer service. Wrong. Good food is only part of the equation in a fine dining experience, and this steakhouse (with the name of a British prime minister best known for his appeasement with Nazi Germany) is sorely lacking in customer service and ambience.
Seething and venting during the car ride home we vowed never to set foot in that particular steakhouse again. We did end up having a quiet romantic evening eating a heart-shaped pizza from Papa John's in front of a roaring fire in the fireplace. It was such a fine evening after all that we decided to make heart-shaped pizza an annual valentine tradition. Thanks Papa John's.
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