356th Fighter Group - Take the Virtual Tour and Pass on the Food

photo taken from Google Images

I typically blog on things that are positive, can promote life-change and as a way to record some milestones in our little family. I've thought about writing some restaurant critiques at times too, but never really made time for it. Today is the day to make that happen.

It's spring break in our school district and the grandparents flew the kids down to spend the week with them in Florida. So the hubby and I decided to eat somewhere nice this afternoon for brunch. The 356th Fighter Group has been under the ownership of Bob Scofield for 24 years now and I think that's quite long enough.

After discussing our experience, the hubby and I agree that we cannot remember a worse meal. I could walk you through the various disappointments of the meal from the cold sausage, to the transparent bacon, to the soggy shrimp, to the tasteless chicken breast, to the rock hard biscuit, to the floppy Belgian waffle, to the unrecognizable sediment that I discovered in the bottom of my water glass (sadly after I had already drank half of it) and our waiter that had the personality of telephone pole. But no one has time for mindless details like that. Let's focus on two big points.

Moldy cheese and a blame shifting owner. Yeah. After picking over our less than appetizing food and making our last visit to the buffet area, the hubby came back with a small variety of items and a few cubes of pepper-jack cheese. Taking a closer look, he noticed mold... on all three pieces. To which he slid his plate away and waited for Bob to walk by so he could mention the infraction to someone who might care. It didn't take long for him to materialize and the hubby motioned him over. Please understand that my dear man hates confrontation of any kind, but felt that the owner of the business would want to know. Business owners that care about the reputation of their business welcome criticism that is offered in the spirit of helping, not just complaining to complain. He didn't plan to go through the laundry list from above, he just wanted to let him know the cheese was moldy and that he might want to pull the tray before anyone else was offended. And what was the response of the owner of this fine establishment, "Hunh, well we've been having trouble with this supplier for a few weeks now." and then he walked away. There was no apology, there was no mortification and the slouch didn't even bother to take away his plate with the offending food that the hubby was clearly not going to eat.

When the waiter produced the bill he mentioned that Bob took a few dollars off, but there was no mention from the telephone pole of an apology either. I can't remember walking out of a restaurant and hoping I wouldn't get sick later in the day. But sadly our tummies are already starting that unsettling rumble as I type and anticipate the rest of the day not being as pleasant as we had hoped.

Although it is a rather enchanting place to visit because of the decor, we would recommend viewing it from the virtual tour on their website and avoid the food. Mr. Scofield, we will not be back... ever.