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Catfish and eggs with grits.
My second time dining at Harvest Moon Grille was on June 24, 2012 for brunch. My mom had friends visiting from out of town and she made a reservation for 5 of us at 11 AM. The first bad sign came as the host greeted us: "The kitchen is running about 30-45 minutes behind and your table isn't ready yet." Our friends were running a bit late themselves so we thought this would be OK. They arrived about quarter after 11 and we waited quite a bit longer before being seated around 11:45. The host also promised "As soon as you sit down we'll bring you some biscuits and jam." That sounded promising. Unfortunately only after 4 requests to 4 different staff members and about an hour later did said biscuits and jam appear. They were delicious - actually the best part of the meal - hot with fresh raspberry jam. I could have eaten 3 by that point but settled for 1.5.
But the late-arriving biscuits could only do so much. For a party with a reservation, the wait time we endured is totally unacceptable anywhere. I was literally about to walk out. Two couples did. One had to be at the airport and they had waited over an hour for breakfast. I was embarrassed for the city of Charlotte as many of the waiting patrons were tourists. To think this might be their lasting impression of our fair city! Very unfortunate. I advised one couple to visit Queen City Q since it was past noon. I seriously considered getting up and going elsewhere again. I felt bad for the Dunhill, an excellent hotel, that its reputation may be scarred from its proximity to the restaurant. The front of the house staff could not have been nicer although our waiter seemed overworked and was probably avoiding us because he could not bring us anything to eat.
We finally got our food just after 1 PM - yes, two hours after our reservation time. The catfish and eggs with grits is a unique and very tasty dish. Everything else was nothing special, similar to the previous brunch I had here. So disappointing. The concept of farm to table cuisine is admirable but based on my experience, this place does not yield satisfactory results. Harvest Moon Grille seriously needs to take a look at its business operations and be sure they have backup. And about those biscuits: they should come out gratis to every table as soon as folks are seated, even if the kitchen is running on schedule.
Another negative note: parking is supposed to be free in the Dunhill deck when you eat at Harvest Moon. When we exited, it showed a balance of $2. Although this is not a big deal in theory, considering the strife we went through just to eat, this was the last straw. We went inside and someone had the audacity to tell us that it was $2 "because we were there too long". No kidding. They finally gave us the $2 in cash to use at the machine after a lot of argument. I'm not sure if this was the hotel or the restaurant but either way, the restaurant needs to figure out how to handle this issue as well. Good thing there are more and more places to eat downtown. Some advice: find another one.
But the late-arriving biscuits could only do so much. For a party with a reservation, the wait time we endured is totally unacceptable anywhere. I was literally about to walk out. Two couples did. One had to be at the airport and they had waited over an hour for breakfast. I was embarrassed for the city of Charlotte as many of the waiting patrons were tourists. To think this might be their lasting impression of our fair city! Very unfortunate. I advised one couple to visit Queen City Q since it was past noon. I seriously considered getting up and going elsewhere again. I felt bad for the Dunhill, an excellent hotel, that its reputation may be scarred from its proximity to the restaurant. The front of the house staff could not have been nicer although our waiter seemed overworked and was probably avoiding us because he could not bring us anything to eat.
We finally got our food just after 1 PM - yes, two hours after our reservation time. The catfish and eggs with grits is a unique and very tasty dish. Everything else was nothing special, similar to the previous brunch I had here. So disappointing. The concept of farm to table cuisine is admirable but based on my experience, this place does not yield satisfactory results. Harvest Moon Grille seriously needs to take a look at its business operations and be sure they have backup. And about those biscuits: they should come out gratis to every table as soon as folks are seated, even if the kitchen is running on schedule.
Another negative note: parking is supposed to be free in the Dunhill deck when you eat at Harvest Moon. When we exited, it showed a balance of $2. Although this is not a big deal in theory, considering the strife we went through just to eat, this was the last straw. We went inside and someone had the audacity to tell us that it was $2 "because we were there too long". No kidding. They finally gave us the $2 in cash to use at the machine after a lot of argument. I'm not sure if this was the hotel or the restaurant but either way, the restaurant needs to figure out how to handle this issue as well. Good thing there are more and more places to eat downtown. Some advice: find another one.
Harvest Moon Eggs Benedict with pulled pork.
Pulled pork sandwich with potato salad. Pork and potato salad were bland and the sauce (I had to ask for it) was sadly not much help.
1 Comment:
That is seriously crazy to charge you $2 for parking. This may really change my mind and may dissuade a friend from going there especially since she is a Yelper and one a stay at the Dunhill and a breakfast/brunch for 2 at Harvest Moon Grille. She is definitely not patient and would be unbelievable upset if she had to wait that long.
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