Good Times at Brown's Social House

On Sunday, Barbara and I took in the play Other Desert Cities at the White Rock Players Club with our good friends Ken and Jane. The performance was outstanding; over two hours flew by in a nano-second! 

We finished off the afternoon at the local Browns Social House for an early dinner. We were immediately greeted by a cheerful smiling young server, who directed us to the reception desk. Here a young man quickly greeted us and then showed us to a table of our choice on the patio.

This is where the personable and very charming Emily enters the equation. We had yet to determine our beverage selection when she appeared at our table; one could tell she had the lovely personality of an Irish lass. Emily patiently waited while carrying on a conversation with us, making us feel relaxed and happy we were there. I cannot emphasize enough how important an employee like Emily is to any establishment. We settled on the House Red, a good choice; grapes are grown and bottled in the Okanagan.  

A strong breeze came up as we sat on the patio, and the sun hid behind some black clouds. It became cold and uncomfortable; we decided to move inside. As we gathered our belongings, along came Emily; she led us through the restaurant offering a few table choice suggestions. 

Once settled at a new table, Emily let us know it was not in her section. We were disappointed; Emily assured us she would instruct our new server to take good care of us.  A few minutes later, Emily was back at the table to announce she would be able to continue to serve us, much to our collective delight. Once more, I cannot stress enough how important it is that an employee can make or break your business. An excellent server makes the meal in a restaurant, and Emily made ours! 

I, of course, ordered my usual Beef Dip, which was excellent! Ken had a scrumptious looking Chicken Burger. Jane had the Szechuan Beef Noodle Bowl, which she immensely enjoyed and Barbara had the Steak Frites, which turned out to be a 7oz Angus beef sirloin steak with a side of alfredo pasta, and fresh-cut fries; she loved it!

Emily came by numerous times as we enjoyed our meal. She always had a charming response to all our questions and responded quickly to any request. Thank you, Emily, and thank you to the rest of the staff including the chef who put a nice finish to a lovely afternoon!

 Rough Times at Pat Quinn's

When you go to one of the city's finer (?) dining establishments, with those oh so high prices, one expects the service and food to be impeccable. This is indeed what we anticipated at Pat Quinn's. A classic steak and seafood restaurant in Tsawwassen Springs. Oh, how they failed us!

Barbara and I had arranged to meet our friends Peter and June at the restaurant; we arrived to find them already seated in the lounge. The restaurant section was fully occupied; however, only two tables occupied the lounge. Once seated, we studied the menu; June and Peter had already been served a glass of wine. It was long before the server acknowledged Barbara and me; it took him even longer to take our drink order.

The lounge began to fill up with golfers coming in off the course. Our server seems to have done a disappearing act; it was some time before he returned with our wine and even longer before he took our order. The server was direct in his manner, no hellos, no how your day is going, just "what do you want" to order.

I ordered the Beef Dip, my usual go-to order when unfamiliar with a menu. I always instruct the server I do not want cheese, onions, or anything else added, just beef on a bun, served on a plate, not a wooden platter. 

The wait was incredibly long before the food was presented. Only being in the company of good friends made the wait intolerable. It was now over an hour since we entered the lounge at 1:00; we were headed towards 2:30

When the food finally arrived, we were starving. June and Peter had the shrimp sandwich, which was huge! They said the sandwich was excellent. Barbara had a salmon burger, which was also excellent. My beef dip arrived with cheese, onions and arugula. I was far too hungry to send it back; obviously, the server did not pass on my requests to the chef! But why would someone put a leafy green on a sandwich designed to dunk in the Au Jus?

At no time during the meal did the server come back to the table or offer us additional wine or water nor ask how our meal was

At one point, the restaurant's food and beverage manager came out and cleaned a table off with the skill of someone who had no idea what he was doing. Once the meal was completed, the server removed the dishes coffee was ordered, but after a long wait, with no coffee in sight, the order was cancelled, and the bill was requested. We got quick service then!!

It is our policy to inform the establishment of our concerns. If they respond positively and satisfactorily, we do not write a negative article. Pat Quinn's management team did not respond.

 Retro at the Roadhouse 

Recently a friend posted on social media that they had just move and they were now closer to their favourite restaurant. Of course I had to ask them what restaurant that would be. The answer Roudhouse Grill on King George Highway. Obviously I would have to go there it was less than ten minutes away from our home in White Rock.

It is located in one of the older strip malls and has shall we say a rough outside appearance. I went with our friend Ken. We found our way into the Restaurant, at first we were a bit confused as would stood waiting for someone to seat us. Why confused; It was a retro 50/60 theme, something we were not expecting.

Once seated we began to enjoy the displays from the 50s and 60's on the wall. We had time to do so as the lone waiter was quite busy as the main lunch rush had just ended and he had a large table of 14 plus to clear away.

I ordered a nice house white from Peller Estates and Ken went with a local craft beer. We both ordered the Beef Dip. It was an excellent choice. The Au jus was perfect plenty of beef, and served with fried potatoes. Yum.

We had a very enjoyable meal. The prices are quite reasonable. The service was  good! We will return perhaps to try their breakfast menu served until 2 pm.. They also have a separated bar area.