The little pot in photo number three is the pot from which I propagated all the strings of pearls in the birdcage planter; it used to have a massive amount of pearls several feet long, all coming from a tiny compartment on the planter. The other hanging planter I found at Home Depot.
These were all propagated from a single small plant about 15 years ago. Number eight, the somewhat bedraggled one on the table, was absolutely full and gorgeous until it got knocked off the table accidentally; thank God the pot didn’t break. 🪴 😅
So my son made a reservation at a restaurant I’d been to once years ago, that I remembered having really good food in a really cool setting, a beautiful old stone castle, a fortress like building with lush elegant landscaping. I checked out the website, but didn’t see anything about a Mother’s Day brunch and he made reservations for 3 o’clock; he too hadn’t seen anything on the website about a Mother’s Day brunch, so we all thought we were going to a full service dinner.
When we arrived on time for our reservation, they asked for payment upfront of $100 per person and then added on a ten percent kitchen surcharge in addition to tax of course. This was a complete surprise, not only that it was a brunch, but also that it was so pricey. I am a pretty picky eater, and I’m not a fan of buffets in general, but I agreed because we basically had very few decent options at 3 o’clock on Mother’s Day.
The little bit I ate was good, even though I got the last dregs of the prime rib and they even gave me the end crust which I found to be inedible, but the horseradish sauce was delicious and the small edible slice of meat was actually enough for me since I eat very little. I also had a scoop of plain unremarkable mashed potatoes and a salad with blue cheese dressing which was very tasty, but there were no croutons, which I would have liked; they did have freshly ground black pepper. Unfortunately my roll was stale and the various desserts I tried were mediocre. They started cleaning up and closing down the restaurant not long after we got there at about 5 o’clock, I suppose.
They also had king crab legs,
pork ribs, meatloaf, and lamb, lobster pasta, and lots of breakfast stuff, but they were out of pancake batter. The onion soup wasn’t good at all, according to the others. They offered ramen, and the small sushi bar offered only two types of sushi and shared half the table with the ho-hum desserts. All in all, it was quite small, and very compact, just your basic low budget Everyday Sunday buffet and we all agreed it was about a 6 on a scale of 10; everyone said the desserts were mediocre, and the mimosas were made with the cheapest champagne while the pineapple and cranberry juices were brought to the table in small disposable cups. For the price it was a disappointment for all of us.
We’ve been to the Huntington Gardens Mother’s Day buffet on several occasions and it is $100 per person now, but it’s worth it with lavish displays on rows and rows of buffet tables absolutely laden with fresh seafood, oysters, you name it, fresh omelettes made to order, fabulous desserts galore, and impeccable service. It’s about 10 times bigger and more extravagant than what we experienced yesterday. The mimosas are served by the elegant and proper wait staff. Plus one has access to the gorgeous gardens, all for a paltry $100 per person; paltry in comparison to yesterday‘s disappointing experience which left me feeling ripped off.
So would I be the AH if I put a negative review about the restaurant, basically saying what I’ve said here?