Disappointed with Limestone

Lukewarm food and not bringing the check are real issues.

As to the bread basket, in my experience, fine dining restaurants never have them. Chains and more lower-end restaurants do. So I don't see how you can fault the restaurant for this.

And the wine poor, again, might or might not be a problem. Lower-end restaurants tend to pour the glass to the top. Higher end restaurants tend to use very large stemware, then do a reasonable pour. If you're not used to this, pours may look large.

Better luck next time.

Why can’t independent restaurants be consistent? We've gone to 21 restaurants and I can count the number of good experiences on one hand. I hate to say it, but I’m beginning to favor chain restaurants.

It sounds as though you really did have a bad experience at Limestone. Assuming you did a little homework before choosing your restaurants, which I gather you did, you have really had some bad luck batting 5 for 21. Cheer up, if you were a baseball player you could still make millions with a .238 average.

Seriously. If you are looking for the exact same experience time and again chains might be the way to go but you are guaranteed to miss out on that ethereal experience that can only come from an independent establishment. Chains can and do provide poor service too. I would hazard a guess that rating service experience of chains vs independents overall, mine would overwhelmingly be more positive for independents. They have more personally invested than managers of chains.

A lot depends on your personal perspective regarding what you want.

I have been over a dozen times and my experience has mostly been good. I usually go for lunch because it is close, good value, and you can't beat the starter bar included with each entree. My only complaint is that the lunch menu needs more updating. I really wish they would blow it up quarterly and bring some of the innovative concepts they do for dinner. Other than that it is one of my top spots in that area of town.

I wanted to respond to Derrick Dones’ post. I’ve been to Simply Thai and have remained loyal to them, despite some very long waits, because their food has always been good. I’ve given up on Tumbleweed. No problem with service but the food has consistently been disappointing; I haven’t been to Zaytun, yet. And you’re absolutely right that chains can give poor service / bad food too, but I don’t experience the same inconsistency with chains. And, yes, I do tend to be picky when I’m paying $100 for dinner. The other places that disappointed me were for the reasons I’ve already mentioned.

Thanks again to everyone who responded. This forum gave me some food for thought…

I think you might have been there on an "off" night. I love Limestone. And I've never had bad service there.

I'm surprised that one of the 5 restaurants you enjoyed was Napa River. I mean, it's ok, but I've had a lot of "blah" experiences there. The food never blows me away. I'm curious to know the other 15 restaurants that you did not enjoy. I am with you on the Rover and North End though.

Thank you for all your replies. I'll attempt to answer the questions that were posed.

To Gary F: Normally, I would have talked to the manager but I wanted to use this Forum to find out if other people had a similar bad experience or if it was just a bad night for them. If it was just a bad night, I'll go back. I would like these independent restaurants to figure out how to deliver consistent quality like the chains. They have it down to a science.

To Mark Head: My top 5 restaurants are:

* The Irish Rover-the owner of this restaurant was the only owner who called me to follow up after our dinner and the food / service has always been good
* Varanese-been there a few times and each meal has been memorable - Chef Varanese came to our table each time to see if we were happy with our meal
* North End Cafe-I like the flexibility of the menu (you can order breakfast for dinner) & the food / service has always been good
* Gary's on Spring-nice atmosphere, innovative menu, delicious food, good service
* Napa River Grill-I'll never forget the Sea Bass I had at this restaurant - I really like the atmosphere and the food / service has always been good

Funny how most of these are on Frankfort Avenue. If I have a good experience, I'll always let the manager / owner know.

Stephen D: What restaurant are you recommending?