On the Border
Last night, a group of us went out to On the Border at Hacienda Crossing in Dublin for Abouna Bishoy's birthday. The past 3 times a large group of us has gone to this particular restaurant, the service has been particularly bad especially in regards to me. Each of the last 3 times, for some reason, my order always seems to have magically disappeared, was somehow forgotten, or just disregarded. It was as if they were singling me out. Everyone got their food late but I was always the last one to get mine. Each time, everyone had been finished and were looking to get the check by the time my food came out. One of those occasions, my food never came out and I canceled it. As we were getting ready to leave the waitress said that they had finished my order and asked me if I still wanted it at no charge. I figured it was going to get tossed out if I didn't take it so I asked her to box it up and I would take it home with me. I usually get a coupon for $5 off my next visit. Even though the food is really good, the service sucks and I avoid going there at all costs.
We had originally planned to go to Sweet Tomatoes since it's more "Fasting Friendly" but they close at 9PM and we knew that we would be late since there was vespers and a meeting earlier at church. Our fall back was On the Border, much to my dismay. I was prepared for the worst. We were arriving late and we had a large group of loud Egyptians. Combine that with the bad service that I have experienced there and it was a bad combination.
Once we arrive, get our table and get seated, the waiter informs us that the kitchen is closing at 10PM. At the time that he said that, it was 9:52. I quickly decided what I was going to order. Their really isn't much there to choose from that is in line with fasting. As my wife and I place our order, I make sure to ask the waiter to if he can put us on a separate check so it's easier for us to pay. I hate having to deal with splitting up the bill especially with such a large group. It was already late and I knew that my wife wasn't going to want to stick around as we figured out the bill. She usually goes to bed between 9:30-10 on weeknights because she wakes up pretty early to get to work. I made sure to ask very politely and to say thank you anytime the waiter or anyone else did anything for us. I was hoping that if I was extra nice to them, I would get better service.
As it typical with Egyptians, many people showed up pretty late. It was just after 10PM and I was reiterating to them what the waiter had told us about getting our orders in as soon as possible. Of course this time constraint stressed out everyone at the table as well as the waiter. Eventually everyone ordered. There were a few extra late arriver's but by the time they had arrived it was much too late to order. They were forced to share with those who had already ordered.
I ended up eating a bunch of chips and salsa. I wouldn't really say that their chips and salsa was good but it had been about 10 hours since I had last eaten and everything tastes better when you are hungry. The problem with the chips is that some have no salt at all and then the next one will be completely covered in salt. It's kind of annoying.
Out comes the food. I am pleased to say that I actually got my order in a timely fashion. Even though I was pretty hungry, I waited for everyone to get their meals before I started. Once everyone had their orders, I wolfed it down. I had ordered fish tacos. They were fairly good. I would have much rather had a steak burrito but sacrifices must be made.
Once everyone had eaten, it was time for the checks. I could tell that my wife was getting tired so as the waiter walked by, I asked him again if we could get a separate check. I had assumed that I was just reminding him instead of making a new request. He had made no effort and included us with everyone else. He asked what we had ordered and I told him that it was fish tacos and veggie nachos. He told me that we owe about $20 and that he can put our total on our card easily. My guess is he didn't want to put us on a separate check because on a large party the tip is included at a higher percentage. I just looked at him with my credit card in my hand, shrugged my shoulders and said, "Well, okay." I think he could tell that I wasn't happy about it but I wasn't about to put up a fight. He then went back to the cash machine and gave us a separate check. I quickly checked the total and handed him my credit card making sure to be as polite as possible. I ended up leaving him a 25% tip which I thought was pretty good considering that he completely ignored my original request and only gave me what I wanted out of guilt. I felt sorry for him since he had to stay late because of us (even though there were 4 or 5 other tables of people at the restaurant plus those at the bar) and he had to deal with a bunch of Egyptians that were always bothering him for one thing or another. Some of us are very picky about what we eat. I have found that it is pretty rare for Egyptians to order off a menu with having some sort of add on request. I find that I rarely ask for anything more than what is on the menu. In this case, when I was asked what I wanted to order, my answer was "Fish Tacos" and nothing more.
Service at On the Border is still sub-par in my opinion but this time was a bit better only for the fact that I got to eat something other than chips and salsa while I was there.
We had originally planned to go to Sweet Tomatoes since it's more "Fasting Friendly" but they close at 9PM and we knew that we would be late since there was vespers and a meeting earlier at church. Our fall back was On the Border, much to my dismay. I was prepared for the worst. We were arriving late and we had a large group of loud Egyptians. Combine that with the bad service that I have experienced there and it was a bad combination.
Once we arrive, get our table and get seated, the waiter informs us that the kitchen is closing at 10PM. At the time that he said that, it was 9:52. I quickly decided what I was going to order. Their really isn't much there to choose from that is in line with fasting. As my wife and I place our order, I make sure to ask the waiter to if he can put us on a separate check so it's easier for us to pay. I hate having to deal with splitting up the bill especially with such a large group. It was already late and I knew that my wife wasn't going to want to stick around as we figured out the bill. She usually goes to bed between 9:30-10 on weeknights because she wakes up pretty early to get to work. I made sure to ask very politely and to say thank you anytime the waiter or anyone else did anything for us. I was hoping that if I was extra nice to them, I would get better service.
As it typical with Egyptians, many people showed up pretty late. It was just after 10PM and I was reiterating to them what the waiter had told us about getting our orders in as soon as possible. Of course this time constraint stressed out everyone at the table as well as the waiter. Eventually everyone ordered. There were a few extra late arriver's but by the time they had arrived it was much too late to order. They were forced to share with those who had already ordered.
I ended up eating a bunch of chips and salsa. I wouldn't really say that their chips and salsa was good but it had been about 10 hours since I had last eaten and everything tastes better when you are hungry. The problem with the chips is that some have no salt at all and then the next one will be completely covered in salt. It's kind of annoying.
Out comes the food. I am pleased to say that I actually got my order in a timely fashion. Even though I was pretty hungry, I waited for everyone to get their meals before I started. Once everyone had their orders, I wolfed it down. I had ordered fish tacos. They were fairly good. I would have much rather had a steak burrito but sacrifices must be made.
Once everyone had eaten, it was time for the checks. I could tell that my wife was getting tired so as the waiter walked by, I asked him again if we could get a separate check. I had assumed that I was just reminding him instead of making a new request. He had made no effort and included us with everyone else. He asked what we had ordered and I told him that it was fish tacos and veggie nachos. He told me that we owe about $20 and that he can put our total on our card easily. My guess is he didn't want to put us on a separate check because on a large party the tip is included at a higher percentage. I just looked at him with my credit card in my hand, shrugged my shoulders and said, "Well, okay." I think he could tell that I wasn't happy about it but I wasn't about to put up a fight. He then went back to the cash machine and gave us a separate check. I quickly checked the total and handed him my credit card making sure to be as polite as possible. I ended up leaving him a 25% tip which I thought was pretty good considering that he completely ignored my original request and only gave me what I wanted out of guilt. I felt sorry for him since he had to stay late because of us (even though there were 4 or 5 other tables of people at the restaurant plus those at the bar) and he had to deal with a bunch of Egyptians that were always bothering him for one thing or another. Some of us are very picky about what we eat. I have found that it is pretty rare for Egyptians to order off a menu with having some sort of add on request. I find that I rarely ask for anything more than what is on the menu. In this case, when I was asked what I wanted to order, my answer was "Fish Tacos" and nothing more.
Service at On the Border is still sub-par in my opinion but this time was a bit better only for the fact that I got to eat something other than chips and salsa while I was there.
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