One of the benefits of a guided tour is meals being inclusive. I don't have to figure out where and what to eat in an unfamiliar place three times a day. This program was no exception. Aside from Day 3 lunch, Day 4 dinner and Day 5 lunch – which we were to find our own – all the other meals were pre-arranged for us.
In this entry, I focus only on the four restaurants (full-service providers including waiters, silverware, etc.) that were included in the program: Tick Tock Diner, Paesano's on Mulberry Street, Hill Country BBQ Market and SIMÒ Pizza. They were evaluated and curved on food, service and ambience ("1" for best, "4" for worst).
On Day 1, our first complimentary meal was at Tick Tock Diner. The entrance was conveniently located next to the entrance to "Butcher & Banker" (see below left photo), which was located to the left of the elevator hall. We were not provided with a printed menu, so the waiter told us what we could have. I don't have a photographic memory, so I asked him to repeat the entrees. For appetizers, Son and I had chicken noodle soup, and wife had salad; for entrees, I had steak (medium rare) with onion rings, Wife had grilled chicken with veggies, while son had spaghetti.
The chicken noodle soup was salty, easily the saltiest chicken noodle soup I ever tasted as well as the smallest in portion size (slightly larger than a Chinese tea cup). As for the entree, the steak was slightly bigger than my hand, and served well-done instead of medium rare. I did not see any red inside the meat. The onion rings tasted like they came straight from the fryer and without any seasonings. I commented that the onion rings at Burger King tasted better. Wife remarked that her chicken looked pan-fried than grilled. Dessert was a scoop of vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup, which wasn't bad. We would return to the Diner four more times for breakfast. The provided coupons showed us what we could order.
On Day 2, I had (scrambled) eggs with hash browns, two sausages and two slices of toast. (The coupons called the hash browns "potatoes".) Wife had waffles with two sausages. She said the waffles tasted like flour and eggs than real waffles. Son had pancakes with bacon. For beverage, everyone was provided with a tall glass of water and a small glass of orange juice. The waiter misunderstood the order for coffee and brought two cups when we specifically requested one. Since Wife don't drink coffee, that extra cup was mine. While waiting for our orders, I took more pictures of the restaurant.
My order had a generous portion size, so much so that I still felt full at lunchtime. Like Day 1's dinner, the food was served plain without any seasonings, giving a bland taste. Thankfully, excess pepper compensated for that. Comparatively speaking, IHOP's version was better. However, it was good enough for me to order this again before the program was over.
On Day 3, I had Greek omelet with hash browns and tea. Wife and son had pancakes with bacon. My omelet had tomatoes and sour cheese. The portion size was almost as large as yesterday's order. I didn't like the strong taste of sour cheese, which made this the worst of all the dining experiences in Tick Tock. Water and orange juice were complimentary as usual.
On Day 4, Wife had cheese omelet with hash browns, Son had pancakes with bacon, and I had western omelet with hash browns and tea. My western omelet had about the same portion size as yesterday's greek omelet but with more ingredients - such as bell peppers, onions and ham – and tastier. The tea and orange juice were each smaller than 8 fl oz, so drinking both in one sitting wasn't a problem. I used the glass of water to fill up my water bottle, which I had been doing every time at a restaurant.
On Day 5, I ordered what I had on Day 4. It was either that or Day 2's order. I decided to save the latter for Day 6. Wife had what I was having (western omelet but without tea). Son was a stickler for routine with the usual pancakes with bacon.
On Day 6 (final day) – expecting to skip lunch – I had (scrambled) eggs with hash browns (and tea), two sausages and two slices of toast. Wife had western omelet with hash browns, and Son had pancakes with bacon. Drinks were the usual orange juice and water. I tried to drink some of the water since it wasn't going into my water bottle – it had to be empty when in the luggage per TSA policy.
Of the four entrees, eggs with hash browns, sausages and toasts had the largest portion size, while steak with onion rings had the smallest. Service was consistently good, and the booths had sufficient legroom and comfort. Every time we were there, the TVs were set to local news but the muted sound level was conducive to making ourselves heard. Tick Tock was never crowded every time. Not once did we ever had to wait for our table.
While the quality of the food is the lowest of the four restaurants, generous portion sizes and convenient location compensates for it. When you have a full breakfast at Tick Tock, you don't need to take lunch.
Ranking the food from best to worst:
1) western omelet with hash browns (twice)
2) eggs with hash browns, two sausages and two slices of toast (twice)
3) steak with onion rings
4) greek omelet with hash browns
When: Day 2 (dinner)
Food: 1 | Service: 1 | Ambience: 3
When we arrived at Paesano's for dinner on Day 2, the shift manager – wearing a green polo with the restaurant's name on the upper left chest – kept the door opened for every member of the group to enter. A good impression before we entered. Once inside, I was trying to get a sense of the rustic decor, the dimmed lighting (affecting the quality of my photos), the cramped tables and... "is that a birdcage?!" I exclaimed.
The dimmed lighting would be ideal for a romantic dinner if there were more space between the tables. Instead, the back of a seat at one table was almost touching the back of a seat at the next table. Wife sat closer to the wall. When she needed to get out, I had to move out of my seat and turn it sideways so that she could pass. The restrooms weren't customer friendly. Only one person at a time could use it. It was a long, near 12-minute wait for me to use the men's room.
Like the dinner at Tick Tock Diner, we were not given menus so we chose what was offered by the waiter. I had rigatoni a la vodka and Sprite, wife had lasagna tradizionale and lemonade, son had spaghetti bolognese and Coke. Speaking as someone that doesn’t care for Italian cuisine, the rigatoni could use real vodka. If it had any, I did not taste it. The pasta sauce was very similar in flavor to the traditional Italian spaghetti. Though noticeably salty (but nowhere near as Tick Tock’s chicken noodle soup), it was reasonably tasty. After our entrees, we were each served a delicious slice of chocolate cake.
Wife and I were in agreement that the waiters were impeccable. After we sat at our table, they brought out the complimentary basket of bread, three glasses of water, and three plates of salads for appetizers. Every waiter knew his role. One was assigned to our table, another had a pitcher of water to refill glasses, and yet another showed up with a cheese grater when the entrees were served. The cheese grater waiter asked if we wanted any cheese and how much. But the service wasn't perfect. We weren't ask about drinks until after the entree orders were taken, and the drinks were served while we were far along in chowing down our food. As we left, the shift manager kept the front door opened for all of us as he had earlier.
Paesano's was the best in service and food (though I didn't care for the salad), but the worst in ambience. It is the only restaurant in the program that I will consider coming back.
When: Day 3 (dinner)
Food: 3 | Service: 4 | Ambience: 2
Now I enjoy a good BBQ cookout as much as the next family, but don't care for it as a dining experience. My employer catered BBQ luncheons from time to time, and even then I wasn't crazy about it. Here in Hill Country, a room was reserved for us (party of 36). Our dinnerware resembled army mess tins lined with sanitary papers; our glasses resembled moonshine jars complete with screw threads at the rim for lids (not included).
Our dinner was a catered set of longhorn cheddar mac & cheese (quite good), sliced brisket (meh), market chicken (a little tough), fresh baked cornbread (dry & hard) and collard greens (good but could be saltier). I consumed massive amounts of mac & cheese and collared greens to help swallow down the almost rock-hard cornbread. Desert was chocolate chip cookies (that wasn't bad). Some members of the group ordered liquor (at their own expense) to celebrate the good time they were having.
Customer service was less than stellar. The restroom was located downstairs past the bar room. During my two visits – before and after the food was served – the same staff member was there cleaning. He had just finished the sinks when I went in the first time. On the second time, the front door was blocked by a pail – he was mopping the floor. Couldn't he have waited till the off-peak hours to do that?? That wasn't all. The waitress did not inform us that soft drinks were complimentary until after we finished eating. Customer service and cornbread was enough for me to not recommend this restaurant.
When: Day 5 (dinner)
Food: 2 | Service: 3 | Ambience: 1
Upon entering the restaurant, we discovered that the entire place was reserved for us – it was a small establishment. The manager – who appeared to be of Indian ethnicity – juggled between serving drinks and maintaining smooth customer service. Among the staff was a Latino of probably Mexican heritage in charge of serving the food. I wished the manager had picked someone else for that. When he named the food out loud, the names were butchered by his thick accent. The unisex restroom was easy to get to but has only one stall.
There were pizza already at the tables when we sat down. They didn't appear to be plain cheese – Son's exclusive choice – and were in New York thin crust. According to the manager, these were Margherita pizzas. So I went up to the cashier to order plain cheese pizza and drinks. While making my order, I noticed that the tab on the register showed $212 and rising with every order. For drinks, Wife had limonata aka Sicilian lemon soda, Son had MoleCola classica aka Italian Coke, and I had an Aranciata di Sicilia, aka Sicilian blood orange soda.
Waiting for the plain cheese pizza was trying my patience. Following-up between Joe and the manager, I discovered that the Margherita pizza and plain cheese pizza were one and the same. That was news to me as the Margherita pizza I had elsewhere had toppings. This was confirmed when the pizza served was Margherita. Furthermore, Son had already eaten two slices of the pre-served Margherita so it wasn't an issue for him. But two thin-crust pizza pies with no toppings were not filling, so we ordered a salsiccia e cipolla. It was tasty but I felt that the pizza could use more (minced) sausage toppings.
According to the ingredients listed on the bloody orange soda can, it contains black carrot juice. I had plain carrot juice when I was a child and didn't like it. When done right, carrot juice can taste good as demonstrated by the bloody orange soda. Wife noted that neither hers nor Son's drink had black carrot juice. A quick search on the Wal-Mart app revealed that they have stock on the bloody orange soda. We are looking to purchase more.
I don't recommend this place because the service was a bit of a hot mess and the serving portions felt light. Despite the pizzas being medium sizes, one person can consume the entire pie and still feel hungry. Adding tax and service charge to that, you're looking at a $20 tab on just the food alone.
Tabulating the scores, Paesano's of Mulberry Street is at first place, SIMÒ PIZZA is second, Tick Tock Diner is third and Hill Country BBQ Market is last. Had the customer service at Hill Country been better, it would have moved up. The rankings made sense as Paesano's is the only one out of the four restaurants that I will consider coming back.
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