Cane Garden - A snippet too good not to share

[golf79]

My golf group had lunch today at Cane Garden after a rather undistinguished round of golf.

When the bills were handed out, one of the guys broke out in hilarious laughter. After a brief pause he showed us his bill which clearly indicated (A $.25 Charge for Onions)! Appears he had the audacity to ask for onions on his Hot Dog, a request that all of us might have made at one time or another at virtually every Restaurant on earth.

What's next Cane Garden? Will you charge us for Lettuce and Tomato on our next Hamburger? Will Catsup and Mustard qualify as upcharge items? Will there be an additional charge for a toasted bun? Will our Iced Tea refills still be on the house?

How about if you charge an extra two bits for the Hot Dog as an alternative to this obvious display of your lack of class and blatant stupidity!

[Russ_Boston]

I've seen (and maybe can understand) a charge for caramelized onions but never just for cut up raw onions. Weirdly strange.

[tkret]

Hacienda Hills Country Club allows one free refill on soft drinks. When someone in our party questioned this, the manager told us that his rent is very high and Villagers drink too many iced teas and not enough liquor. Yeah, some restauranteurs think it makes sense to jeopardize their business by charging for things that actually cost them pennies but leave a real bad taste in the customer's mouth (no pun intended!).

[Talk Host]

a .25 cent charge to leave the cheese off the cheeseburger!!!!:jester:

[finley]

We were at Havana two weeks ago, and someone in our party asked for another small cup of sour cream and was charged for it. She was advised that there would be an additional charge before it was brought to the table.

[alemorkam]

.25 additional for onions, and 2.99 for the mouthwash afterward. worth it?

[Whatever]

We went to Naples in Leesburg a couple of months ago. I asked for olive oil and balsamic vinegar in place of the usual butter to put on the bread. I was charged $1.25 for this "extra" and not notified by the waitress beforehand. Guess who wound up paying for the oil and vinegar. It may not be her fault, but let her give the boss an earful. By the by, the O&V were given in a plate and not in a carafe.
I will not be going back in the near future. Naples seems to have changed.

[finley]

It gets even better! After playing 18 at Cane Garden on Saturday, the four of us decided to have a quick beer. After seeing 4-6 containers on snacks under the bar, we asked if we could have a small bowl. It was not Happy Hour. The request was refused. Those snacks are only available during Happy Hour. So if you pay full price, no snacks. But if you wait for Happy Hour, the price is reduced and you receive the free snacks. And you wonder why the bars and country clubs have financial problems.

[katezbox]

It gets even better! After playing 18 at Cane Garden on Saturday, the four of us decided to have a quick beer. After seeing 4-6 containers on snacks under the bar, we asked if we could have a small bowl. It was not Happy Hour. The request was refused. Those snacks are only available during Happy Hour. So if you pay full price, no snacks. But if you wait for Happy Hour, the price is reduced and you receive the free snacks. And you wonder why the bars and country clubs have financial problems.

Honey,

If they aren't going to serve them, they shouldn't be in full view of those of us sitting at the bar!

k

[golf2140]

It gets even better! After playing 18 at Cane Garden on Saturday, the four of us decided to have a quick beer. After seeing 4-6 containers on snacks under the bar, we asked if we could have a small bowl. It was not Happy Hour. The request was refused. Those snacks are only available during Happy Hour. So if you pay full price, no snacks. But if you wait for Happy Hour, the price is reduced and you receive the free snacks. And you wonder why the bars and country clubs have financial problems.

That's just incredible :cus:

[Grill Meister]

What you are telling me is very hard to believe. I do know that the reason for the $0.25 charge for onions is due to the ordering system that they use....they have to "key" into the system and it automatically adds the charge, but usually the wait staff will "comp" it.

Cane Gardens has the reputation for having the most consistent menu of great food and a wait staff that is far and away better than practically all others in TV....the exception is Nancy Lopez and Bone Fish, which are both excellent.

Can't say enuf good about Cane.....sumpn' ain't right here....they're too good for that to have happened.

[The Great Fumar]

What you are telling me is very hard to believe. I do know that the reason for the $0.25 charge for onions is due to the ordering system that they use....they have to "key" into the system and it automatically adds the charge, but usually the wait staff will "comp" it.

Cane Gardens has the reputation for having the most consistent menu of great food and a wait staff that is far and away better than practically all others in TV....the exception is Nancy Lopez and Bone Fish, which are both excellent.

Can't say enuf good about Cane.....sumpn' ain't right here....they're too good for that to have happened.

I have to agree with GIL , Cane is our favorite place in the Villages and this alleged incident is totally our of character......

fumar

[golfnut]

The wait staff may have to key it in to get it, but someone in management set up the .25 cent cost, s/b be set at zero cost.....GN

[joannej]

At a Greek diner in Myrtle Beach, I was charged for a second cup of tea, while my husband, who was having coffee, could have all the coffee he wanted! This additional charge for the second cup of tea was not on the menu either! If I knew that I would have held on to the first tea bag; but they probably would have charged me anyway for the hot water! Unbelievable!!! After talking to the owner about the price difference between tea and coffee, he stuck to his guns! Needless to say, we didn't go back there!!

[RCT]

Are we REALLY having a conversation about .25 cents here? Or is it the principle of not letting you know that it would be .25 cents for the onions? Personally, I feel the prices at the Country clubs are very reasonable, compared to ones I have been affiliated with, and visited during my lifetime. So, so be it, if they want to charge .25 cents for onions, ok. Maybe they should have a change bowl for people, like they have at some convenience stores, to use if they don't have enough. Would that be acceptable?

[dominick]

I saw a guy at Fresh Market today who has raised snitching the candy to a new art form.
He had one of those small cups that they use for the free coffee samples. He was walking around the candy bins and taking the candy and putting it into the cup. Then he'd pretend to drink the coffee while actually eating the candy. I saw him 10 minutes later and he was still "sampling". Cheapo!!!

[Muncle]

My golf group had lunch today at Cane Garden after a rather undistinguished round of golf.

When the bills were handed out, one of the guys broke out in hilarious laughter. After a brief pause he showed us his bill which clearly indicated (A $.25 Charge for Onions)! Appears he had the audacity to ask for onions on his Hot Dog, a request that all of us might have made at one time or another at virtually every Restaurant on earth.

What's next Cane Garden? Will you charge us for Lettuce and Tomato on our next Hamburger? Will Catsup and Mustard qualify as upcharge items? Will there be an additional charge for a toasted bun? Will our Iced Tea refills still be on the house?

How about if you charge an extra two bits for the Hot Dog as an alternative to this obvious display of your lack of class and blatant stupidity!

Gotta agree w/Gil and Fumar here. Cane Gardens has always been and remains exceptional. Solid food, decent prices, quality service. In 4 years of going there, I've had one less than very good meal. Everyone lauds the meatloaf (justifiably) but the onion rings are just too, too retro that I want to hang them on a metal tray, out the window of my '57 Ford, with a Winsteads double cheese and a chocolate shake. Ooooh, deja vu all over again.

But I digress. When y'all asked the waitress about the charge, what was her response? Obviously it was not satisfactory, so what was the manager's reply? Don't tell us that $0.25 was too small an amount to ask about, since it is obviously enough to mention on TOTV.

A boring story to show my point: Sunday evening, my sister took a visiting nephew and niece to Cane. Firstly, the visitors loved the meatloaf so much, my nephew commented that he used extra bread to soak up every bit of gravy. When the waitress asked my niece about dessert, she ordered the cheesecake w/caramel sauce. Erica told me that she just commented, aside like, to the waitress that since she had eaten up all her dinner, maybe she could get extra caramel. She told me the cheesecake was floating in that great tasting sauce. Meanwhile, my sister was packing up the 1/2 of her dinner remaining to bring home to me. She commented to the waitress that a little more gravy for the meatloaf and potatoes would be nice. The waitress brought her the gravy boat. Oh, no extra charge for any of these.

CG, like so many places around here, is pretty decent. Unfortunately, we begin to assume that we deserve everything however we want it. If the bar puts out snacks for a certain period of time, why the hell can't I have them when I desire, especially if I can spot them behind the bar? Free refills -- hey, that's a right.

[zcaveman]

Raw onions on a hot dog seems like a normal thing. It might be only .25 but it is the principle of the thing. What did the manager say?

A lot of places charge extra for grilled onions, etc. There is a place in Belleview that charges .75 for onions and peppers on the home fries. Some places give you free salsa for your omelet. Others charge up to $1.00. Others charge you for onions and cheese on your chili.

It always pays to double check your bill for items like that.

[j.sanders]

With the economy the way it is more and more resturants are finding ways to make up for loss of business and food costs. instead of giving us bar snacks these resturants would like you to order an appitizer. I believe all of us have been seeing more and more of this. Expecially in the country clubs and independant resturants, due to the fact that most do not have the ability to order in bulk like some franchise's.
I did visit the new local steakhouse in sumpter landing last night. Monday was Cody's opening day, i have to say that i actually impressed. There happy hour was 2 for 1 on all drinks, include top shelf and non-house wines. Endless peanuts to snack on, and you jsut get to threw them on the floor. though not all my drinks were as strong as i hoped. It was the 1st day so i gave them a break.
Moral of the story is there are plenty of free snacks at CODY's. One of the owners actually bought me a round and gave my wife a free t-shirt............

[GatbTester]

If you are looking for a break at Cane Garden, you would be better off jumping off a ski lift and then checking your leg. You get nothing for free there, one minute late and you are cut off during happy hour, and also no free lunch as in snacks, after all it means so much to the owner to save a few fish and cheese it's.

[bobolink46]

Cane has always been our favorite restaurant in The Villages, however we took guests there on Fri and were disappointed. the fresh tuna salad of which they have always been so proud arrived with canned tuna instead of fresh and the crab cakes were 1/2 the size that they used to be. I am assuming that this is a sign of the economic times.

[joannej]

The computers in many restaurants are programmed to begin and end special prices at designated times. At a breakfast buffet I went to in TV, a person at the next table wanted to order a beer but had to wait until the designated time that it was legal to drink in that county (12:00 pm) appeared on the computer; otherwise, the waitress would have lost her job.

[Tamma49]

It gets even better! After playing 18 at Cane Garden on Saturday, the four of us decided to have a quick beer. After seeing 4-6 containers on snacks under the bar, we asked if we could have a small bowl. It was not Happy Hour. The request was refused. Those snacks are only available during Happy Hour. So if you pay full price, no snacks. But if you wait for Happy Hour, the price is reduced and you receive the free snacks. And you wonder why the bars and country clubs have financial problems.

I would question why the snacks were sitting out and not properly contained until Happy Hour. Not sure I would want to eat them when not properly contained until serving time.

[Muncle]

I got a great idea. All those folks who dislike CG for whatever reason, be it overcharges for onions, canned tuna, potentially stale snacks that you can't get whenever you want, whatever -- go east a mile or so to Mallory or down to Havana or to one of the restaurants at LSL or to Palmer. Many of them have great food. There are some outstanding places off-campus, too. Nobody makes you go to CG. And the lines there will be shorter for those who chose to go.

[chuckster]

Great plan Munc........anything to shorten the lines at CG..:beer3:

[gemorc]

I got a great idea. All those folks who dislike CG for whatever reason, be it overcharges for onions, canned tuna, potentially stale snacks that you can't get whenever you want, whatever -- go east a mile or so to Mallory or down to Havana or to one of the restaurants at LSL or to Palmer. Many of them have great food. There are some outstanding places off-campus, too. Nobody makes you go to CG. And the lines there will be shorter for those who chose to go.

Mallory has improved so much lately, please take them off your list. I don't want the lines getting too long there either.

[The Great Fumar]

Went to Cane Gardens last nite and ( you guessed it ) I ordered Onions,,,,SURE ENOUGH, the bill was $0.25 .........

Next I'm going to order SNACKS.......

FUMAR ..:icon_hungry:

[gemorc]

Are onions, for hot dogs and hamburgers, considered a condiment? If so, watch out for the mustard and ketchup fees.

[Bogie Shooter]

I have yet to see a response to the question " what did the manager say?"

[borisj]

I have yet to see a response to the question " what did the manager say?"

Good Question Bogie,

I found out a couple of days ago that this Thread was started by one of the guys I golf with. He initiated the Thread using the TOTV Name "Golf79" (I believe) He told me at golf yesterday that he won't be able to respond to your obvious question since he has since been Banned from TOTV . He has apparently inquired about why he was banned but has not received a response from the Administrator. Sorry but that's all I know about it except that I can vouch for the fact that a 3rd player was in fact charged an extra quarter for the chopped onions on his Hot Dog.