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Old 04-11-2008, 03:34 AM
Hyacinth Bucket Hyacinth Bucket is offline
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Default Re: Best Crabcakes Anywhere?

Dear Gentle Reader,

In todays digest I will be reviewing two establishments - Ruby Tuesday and Tierra del Sol's crab cakes. In the future I or two of my staff will present our findings at the Village Eatery.

From my perspective the company was EXCELLENT at both restaurants. They were knowledgeable, fair critics and quite observant of any possible flaws in service or epicurean delights.

Ruby Tuesday - Crab cakes were excellent. Lumps of crab, no bread filler. Presentation was appealing to the eye, to the palate exquisite. A joyous experience.

Service - Request Angel, he was excellent. If you know Spanish you can converse with him in Spanish. He performed up to my rigid standards. He was prompt with taking our order, had knowledge of how item was prepared and did not forget anything that we requested.

Overall rating of crab cakes - 5 stars
Value for money - 5 stars
Ambiance 3 1/2 stars
Service - five stars
Cleanliness - 4 stars
Table was clean, no round water stains on table top, flatware and crystal had no water stains. Floors appeared to be clean.

Highly recommend crab cakes.

Tierra del Sol - Crab cakes were primarily all a sticky filler and occasionally I could find a shred of crab - that is if I used a magnifying glass. Presentation was okay. To the palate - horrible. I was left with a sticky feeling on my palate due to stuffing mix that was not cooked properly.

Service - appeared to be non-existing. Request was made for lemons for the water six times. Lemons were never brought. Bread was brought toward the end of the meal and with out butter, French onion soup was ordered by two of our party. Waitperson informed party who ordered soup that the bottom plate was hot and to be careful when she served the soup. When the party took their first sips they were woefully dismayed. The soup was cold. Never warmed up. They spoke with the wait person and soup was warmed. I am assuming in the microwave. Since the soup was originally served with the cheese already melted on it, as if it had just been made, one can only wonder how long it had been in the refrigerator. Need I say more Dear Gentle Reader.

Restaurant was approximately 95% empty and yet service was extremely slow.

Knowledge of crab cakes - I was informed that the crab cakes were primarily pieces of lump of crab. Would have to rate knowledge of crab cakes served here as zero.

Overall rating of crab cakes - no stars
Value for money - no stars
Ambiance 3 1/2 stars
Service - no stars
Cleanliness - 3 stars
Table was clean, no round water stains on table top, flatware and crystal had water stains on them. Did not find any dried food on either the flatware or crystal.

Do not, and I repeat, it is only my humble opinion that you should NOT order the crab cakes. I personally was very upset with what was served to me as compared to what I was informed would be served. My palate - that is another story for a later time.

French onion soup - it is my opinion that you should be aware that the soup may be served cold.

Please be patient with myself and staff. We are extremely busy as you are well aware. We will break away from our schedules as soon as possible.

I feel it is imperative for me to mention that neither restaurant used leaded crystal or sterling flatware.

Yours in Pursuing Epicurean Delights and Pleasure,

Hyacinth Bucket