Dear Doug:
I am writing to express my profound frustration and disappointment with my January 6th dinner at Dougs. I went to your restaurant that night with high expectations. Not only were my expectations not exceeded, they were not met.
My concerns revolve around two primary areas, pacing and dish preparation. Regarding the former, we were rushed through our courses after waiting half an hour for a table. As for the latter, on that particular night, the food was not up to the name.
First, our root beer arrived well after our appetizers, though I had ordered it to complement them. As a result, we were left with only water to accompany our appetizers and more wine than we needed to accompany our entrées. The courses were also brought out almost on top of each other. Additionally, our coffee, which we specifically ordered for after the dessert course in order to make the heretofore rushed meal more leisurely, arrived with the desserts. The server either wasn’t listening or wasn’t on our side.
I was at least as surprised to find several problems with the food itself, harder to understand even on a busy night. The amuse bouche of deep fried fish was rubbery and stuck to the plate. I presume it had been prepared well in advance. Similarly, the sauce on my spouse’s deep fried burger had congealed. Finally, my deep fried spagetti was so salty as to be difficult to eat. Why not make an issue during the meal? Simple. I wanted to preserve what I could of the evening.
On our honeymoon in Cortland my spouse and I never had a bad meal. We certainly didn’t expect one at a B. restaurant featuring Provençal dishes. I am sure this experience was a rare aberration from your usual high levels of service and food quality. Unfortunately, it occurred during what should have been a very special evening.
Eric A.
Ski Club Advisor
March 2010
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