First, they have an actual stage coach. Sort of. It’s really a reproduction, although it looks authentic. Sort of like our dinners.
I ordered Chicken Parmigiana with Capellini and Marinara Sauce. My wife ordered Fillet Mignon and French Onion soup.
The waitress brought out a basket containing a few pieces of sliced bread. White bread. Cold. Like what goes well with peanut butter and jelly.
Then the food came out. It all looked great, but that’s as far as it went.
My chicken parm was very thin and tasted salty and processed. I’m guessing it was either food-service frozen chicken parm, or a Sam’s Club frozen chicken breast sliced in half. The pasta had obviously been pre-cooked, rinsed off, then reheated, since it was limp and soft and the sauce wouldn’t stick to it. Which was no great loss, since the sauce was runny and way too sweet and didn’t taste like much of anything.
My wife’s soup was almost too salty to eat and tasted tinny, like it had been made with canned beef broth. There was a slab of inappropriate cheese on top that refused to melt.
And just to top off the evening’s enjoyment, there was a guy playing 40′s and 50′s classics and jazz on a synthesizer, which would have actually been really nice if he wasn’t competing with the band playing wedding music in the next room.
The meal wasn’t awful, but it was just repeatedly disappointing. Evey time something appeared, it looked like it was ready for a photo shoot, but tasted like it was an expired TV Dinner pulled out of the freezer.
I can see where in it’s day, it must have been a great place, but it looks like it’s had a long slide. A complete refresh of the menu and cooking techniques would do the place a world of good. I’d much rather see a simple, short menu where everything is really excellent, than a large menu where nothing is even passable. Even starting off with nothing more than really excellent bar-food (burger, fries, wings, sandwiches, pizza, etc.) would bring this place right back to life.
