Damon's Grill in Mentor, Ohio
Wonders truly never do cease. I am very happy to let you know I have found a chain restaurant that I will definitely have to recommend, though that was not quite the case for my companion.
We decided to take a trip to the area known as Diamond Center at Route 2 and Heisley road on a Monday afternoon around 5:30PM. Although the area is an outrageous cluster-fuck at many times during the day, there are some interesting places to shop and eat and, for some reason, the traffic was minimal and the restaurant was not overly crowded. Upon our arrival into the store we stood by the host/ess station while a blond woman, later self-introduced as Stacey, talked to someone on the phone. There was no one else at the station and she did not look up while on her conversation. I would have appreciated an index finger in the air denoting that she had at least seen us, which I know she had, and would be with us as soon as she was able, but that did not happen. Very soon, though, a thin young man came up, asked us which area we would prefer and efficiently led us there. We were seated in the "clubhouse" area which allows for watching and listening to multiple TVs as well as playing the always intriguing Trivia Game. The problem one has at times is that some people are incredibly rude and turn their particular volume knobs up so far others cannot hear their own. Then, of course, they talk so loud it makes the experience at little less pleasant than it could have been, but I digress. (Haven't seen that one in a minute, huh?)
Anyway, we were quickly greeted by our server, Mark. He was definitely young and seemed inexperienced. He never mentioned specials, and expected an appetizer order before taking our drink order, in fact, as soon as we sat down. We did not order any appetizer this time as we knew our entrees would be enough to satisfy our collective appetite. Mark came to our table after about five minutes to take our order. I ordered the Damon's Ultimate Combination, which includes 1/2 rack of ribs and 8 oz. Prime Rib. He asked me what size Prime Rib to which I replied that It came with and 8 oz. (Again a reason I feel he was quite new.) I also ordered the Garlic Mashed. I also noticed that there were some sauces newly available. For that reason I decided to ask for a side of the Cheesy Rockefeller and Smokey Portabella Burgundy. Mark seemed a bit taken aback by this and asked if I would mind having one of them put on my Prime. I said that I definitely WOULD mind which is why I asked for them on the side. I want to know flavor before I put something on a cut of meat as good as Prime Rib. My companion ordered the Jumbo Breaded Shrimp and Bourbon Grilled Salmon Combo with a side of Cole Slaw and Baked Potato. According to the non-combo portion of the menu, the Bourbon Salmon came atop a bed of Garden Rice. She asked to have no rice with her fish.
Mark returned in about two minutes with a bread basket. I almost laughed when I looked inside. There were two measly rolls. Although they were wonderfully seasoned, I was shocked at the quantity and the fact that we were never asked if we cared for more. That was cheap as hell. Our order came out in due time, about 15 minutes. I have got to say that everything on my plate was very tasty. I really don't like skins in my mashed pots, but the flavor was quite good anyway. I tasted the Portabella Sauce which was divine and decided it would go superbly over my potatoes. I was not wrong. Wow, what a flavor. I have been looking for a flavor near that since the mid-nineties on Put-in-Bay when I had a Portabella Sauce very similar but with a very slight sweetness. Bravo guys. Great sauce. The Cheesy Rockefeller would have been better as a dip. Too many competing flavors to be good on a good cut of meat. It was good, don't get me wrong, just not for a topping except maybe on a baked potato. My Prime, though rare and not medium as I asked, was very flavorful and tender. Last, but most assuredly not least, the ribs. I have never had ribs better than those made by Damon's. They have always been very meaty, fall-off-the-bone tender, and have the best sauce on the planet, next to mine. These are the best.
My companion did not have such a good time with her meal. She felt that her shrimp were overly "mushy" and seemed "greasy." We have all had that feeling when a deep fried dish seemed to be much more oily that normal; I tried her dish and agreed. It also tasted somewhat onion-like as if fried in oil being used mostly for the onion loaf. Then we get to the Salmon. The menu says Salmon is cooked to order, which it should be, but I beg to differ. When my companion got her fish, she noticed that it had rice on the bottom. How could that be if it was cooked to order and was requested without the rice? Hum?????? AND, if it was accidentally plated the "normal" way, why was it not scrapped and done again? If someone orders something in a specific manner, it should be served in that manner. The rice on the bottom was completely unacceptable. I ate her coleslaw which was nothing more than barely average. I did, though, add some of the horseradish sauce I received with my Prime and suddenly the slaw became pretty damned good. You might want to think about that addition.
Back to Mark. Relax little man. The boy looked very nervous but did well enough. He did get in front of the TV when we were trying to answer questions, three times, and should have known better. He will learn. I think he did one hell of a job overall but probably needs a bit more training. Better door than a window and all that shit.
We decided to take a trip to the area known as Diamond Center at Route 2 and Heisley road on a Monday afternoon around 5:30PM. Although the area is an outrageous cluster-fuck at many times during the day, there are some interesting places to shop and eat and, for some reason, the traffic was minimal and the restaurant was not overly crowded. Upon our arrival into the store we stood by the host/ess station while a blond woman, later self-introduced as Stacey, talked to someone on the phone. There was no one else at the station and she did not look up while on her conversation. I would have appreciated an index finger in the air denoting that she had at least seen us, which I know she had, and would be with us as soon as she was able, but that did not happen. Very soon, though, a thin young man came up, asked us which area we would prefer and efficiently led us there. We were seated in the "clubhouse" area which allows for watching and listening to multiple TVs as well as playing the always intriguing Trivia Game. The problem one has at times is that some people are incredibly rude and turn their particular volume knobs up so far others cannot hear their own. Then, of course, they talk so loud it makes the experience at little less pleasant than it could have been, but I digress. (Haven't seen that one in a minute, huh?)
Anyway, we were quickly greeted by our server, Mark. He was definitely young and seemed inexperienced. He never mentioned specials, and expected an appetizer order before taking our drink order, in fact, as soon as we sat down. We did not order any appetizer this time as we knew our entrees would be enough to satisfy our collective appetite. Mark came to our table after about five minutes to take our order. I ordered the Damon's Ultimate Combination, which includes 1/2 rack of ribs and 8 oz. Prime Rib. He asked me what size Prime Rib to which I replied that It came with and 8 oz. (Again a reason I feel he was quite new.) I also ordered the Garlic Mashed. I also noticed that there were some sauces newly available. For that reason I decided to ask for a side of the Cheesy Rockefeller and Smokey Portabella Burgundy. Mark seemed a bit taken aback by this and asked if I would mind having one of them put on my Prime. I said that I definitely WOULD mind which is why I asked for them on the side. I want to know flavor before I put something on a cut of meat as good as Prime Rib. My companion ordered the Jumbo Breaded Shrimp and Bourbon Grilled Salmon Combo with a side of Cole Slaw and Baked Potato. According to the non-combo portion of the menu, the Bourbon Salmon came atop a bed of Garden Rice. She asked to have no rice with her fish.
Mark returned in about two minutes with a bread basket. I almost laughed when I looked inside. There were two measly rolls. Although they were wonderfully seasoned, I was shocked at the quantity and the fact that we were never asked if we cared for more. That was cheap as hell. Our order came out in due time, about 15 minutes. I have got to say that everything on my plate was very tasty. I really don't like skins in my mashed pots, but the flavor was quite good anyway. I tasted the Portabella Sauce which was divine and decided it would go superbly over my potatoes. I was not wrong. Wow, what a flavor. I have been looking for a flavor near that since the mid-nineties on Put-in-Bay when I had a Portabella Sauce very similar but with a very slight sweetness. Bravo guys. Great sauce. The Cheesy Rockefeller would have been better as a dip. Too many competing flavors to be good on a good cut of meat. It was good, don't get me wrong, just not for a topping except maybe on a baked potato. My Prime, though rare and not medium as I asked, was very flavorful and tender. Last, but most assuredly not least, the ribs. I have never had ribs better than those made by Damon's. They have always been very meaty, fall-off-the-bone tender, and have the best sauce on the planet, next to mine. These are the best.
My companion did not have such a good time with her meal. She felt that her shrimp were overly "mushy" and seemed "greasy." We have all had that feeling when a deep fried dish seemed to be much more oily that normal; I tried her dish and agreed. It also tasted somewhat onion-like as if fried in oil being used mostly for the onion loaf. Then we get to the Salmon. The menu says Salmon is cooked to order, which it should be, but I beg to differ. When my companion got her fish, she noticed that it had rice on the bottom. How could that be if it was cooked to order and was requested without the rice? Hum?????? AND, if it was accidentally plated the "normal" way, why was it not scrapped and done again? If someone orders something in a specific manner, it should be served in that manner. The rice on the bottom was completely unacceptable. I ate her coleslaw which was nothing more than barely average. I did, though, add some of the horseradish sauce I received with my Prime and suddenly the slaw became pretty damned good. You might want to think about that addition.
Back to Mark. Relax little man. The boy looked very nervous but did well enough. He did get in front of the TV when we were trying to answer questions, three times, and should have known better. He will learn. I think he did one hell of a job overall but probably needs a bit more training. Better door than a window and all that shit.
posted by johnathan e at 11:25 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home