Casey’s Tavern East. Casey’s it ain’t.
Went for lunch today to the new location in the former Carson’s space off Plymouth Road. Ordered the usual ultra-reliable Casey’s trifecta: burger, fries, onion rings. Kitchen was sloooooooow. And as soon as I took a look at my plate I knew I was in trouble. Burger was nothing like the Depot St. original: ordered it medium, came well, WELL done and dried out. Patty appeared to be a frozen puck that was immolated on the grill. Bun tasted like a packaged brioche, reasonably toasted, but far too big for the patty. Shredded lettuce? Uh, ok. Whole thing was unappetizing and I refused more than a couple bites. Again, it bore no resemblance to the burger downtown.
Where was the usual condiment caddy Casey’s keeps on the table? Nowhere to be found. There wasn’t even salt and pepper on the table. In a tavern.
The fries were not the planked steak fries from downtown I expected, but were some narrow, coated monstrosity that felt like processed, bagged product—edible but generic and definitely not Casey’s quality.
On a brighter note, the onion rings tasted mostly like what they serve downtown, but the batter was thin, and they came wadded up in a single inextricable mass, like they had been dumped by a handful into the fryer all at once. They had to be cut into edible bits with a knife. Really disappointing. IYKYK with Casey’s rings.
Server was very good, friendly and attentive, and when I expressed my disappointment in the food they seemed, frankly, unsurprised, and offered to replace it. However, by then I’d lost my appetite and decided to cut my losses and go. The manager kindly comped my ($19!) burger and fries and I left feeling like the place was Casey’s in name only. I won’t be back until I know they’ve fixed the basics.
What the heck is going on here? Is this some sort of franchise thing? ‘Cause Casey’s it ain’t.
