RESTAURANT REVIEW: Gallagher's Eatery & Pub, in Kalamazoo, MI
Today, August 22nd, is my Hubby's and my "Mona-Versary" (monthly anniversary). We got the idea from a wonderful, favorite couple of ours. Consequently, we always try to do something fun and special on this date-- even if it is just popcorn and a movie at home.
However, we thought that we would go to one of our favorite places--
Gallagher's Eatery & Pub (Irish/American), located at 4210 Stadium Dr., Kalamazoo, MI 49008.
This restaurant, and the pub-side of it, are well known for their Irish fare of food, beers, beer club, and other such things. If you do seek a good pub experience, check out that side of the restaurant!
(The below double-decker bus is one of my favorites! It is also available to rent!)
THE EXPERIENCE:
It was 6:45pm on a Monday night-- we had the restaurant side to ourselves. Our waitress took our order by memory. We ordered the Potato Skins with only bacon & cheese, no chives, extra crispy ; The delicious Ol' Pepper burger (1/4 lb version, not the 1/2 lb)-- well done; & The Steak Dip sandwich with au'jus.
The inside of the restaurant-side is beautiful, surrounding you in warm-wood walls and trim with casual decor and light music. The bar-side is robust, also very warm-colored, with lots of natural light with a hearty, good Pub feel to it and great atmosphere. When we have been to this restaurant in the past, we have had VERY good experiences. However, the kitchen was not on it's "A-Game" today, and the visit did not go as well as it should have.
We were very disappointed off the bat when the potato skins came out. They looked amazing, ignoring the small size and relatively little amount of fillings. What was most disappointing was that they could be folded due to their lack-of-crispness-- when they were ordered "extra crispy". I am not sure if they come in frozen and pre-made, as I suspect, and then just have a couple fresh ingredients added on top (like some restaurants), but they were terrible when critiquing them at regular standards. (When we told the waitress, and showed her how embarrassing they were, she apologized and was quite polite, but made no offer to talk to management (that we know of), nor to take them back and have them redone, nor to have them removed from the bill.)
When the food came out, there were more mistakes, even considering the restaurant was empty except for one other "2-top" (table with two people). My Steak Dip platter was missing the fries, and my husband's burger had fries instead of the chips that he had ordered. On top of that, the Ol' Pepper (ordered well-done) came out medium... and had to be sent back. (NOTE: Our waitress said that there was an honest mix-up with someone else's perfectly done, 1/2 lb, medium-burger was sent out to us on accident! So, with respect to the kitchen, they CAN make the challenging medium burger perfectly.)
Once the replacement, correct-size Ol' Pepper 1/4 lb burger came out again-- it was perfect. The Ol' Pepper is juicy, with an herbed, pepper kick to it. The bacon was crispy, as ordered, and added the perfect salty compliment to the beef and cheese and the grilled bun.
The Steak Dip sandwich of mine was perfect. The high-quality, low-fat, and no-grizzle meat was excellent. The bread was the perfect consistency to absorb the au'jus (dip) and yet retain enough foundation to be able to hold and eat properly. The au'jus was a decent flavor with a pinch of added herbs floating on the top. The au'jus had a high sodium content, which might be too much for some people, but I love it and wouldn't have it any other way (at least for me, personally).
When the replacement fries came out, they were perfect and just as I was expecting the first time around. Even though they are no frills and non-seasoned, they are still very good, honest fries.
POSITIVES: The meat and the bread combination in the Steak Dip sandwich was delicious. The Ol' Pepper burger has great flavor and is perfectly complimented by the salty, rich bacon. Even with the errors in the order (presumably by the kitchen), our waitress kept up a professional, cheery attitude and continued being punctual on all drink refills.
TO-GROW-ONS: The potato skins: Ugh. They tasted and felt like pre-frozen, pre-made skins. They never used to be on the menu, until the last year or so, and I cannot, in good faith, recommend them. Also, a note for Management: I would work on having the back-of-the-house, and cooks, follow server instructions, and double check servers being clear to the cooks. When things are requested crispy (for a reason), with an empty restaurant, on a Monday night, there should be no problems accomplishing it. (The staff did, however, have time to talk in the backroom so that it was audible to the dining room. I was *always* guilty of that...) There was no good reason why we should have had to send back food twice on such a quiet night. Very disappointed, and quite shocked, by this visit. Not the romantic night my husband and I planned... not at all. Also, I don't particularly like it when the waitress removes the drink glasses from the table and then refills the same glasses and brings them back. It is slow, leaves the guests without liquid, and not as sanitary as I like to see. Lastly-- when there are mistakes or accidents, even small ones, it would be nice to see management coming to the tables and trying to make it right. That always worked well in my personal experiences. After all, it isn't about fixing or "making right" one meal or one experience, it is getting people to come back in and become established patrons.
PLEASE NOTE: This restaurant was not told ahead of time that we would be coming, critiquing, and reviewing the restaurant, food, or service. We came and dined as typical patrons, paying for our own meals.
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