Two anniversaries

Posted by Chuck at 9/23/2008 9:15 PM
Categories: Antelope Valley Restaurant Reviews, California, Moving
Today is Kelly's and my second wedding anniversary, and the first anniversary of us moving to Southern California from Syracuse, New York. Well, actually it's my anniversary here, Kelly came two weeks later, so it's actually the first wedding anniversary we've been on the same coast.

And tomorrow is my mother's birthday. Peace, mom!

It's a bittersweet California anniversary, since we miss our families and friends desperately and know how much we're missing there, but also are intensely proud of the humble life we've made for ourselves here.

This site, as well as Jeffrey's, Adrienne's, and Chaley's really help with that, but still. It's hard knowing how much of life you're missing out on back home.

For our celebration tonight, we went to a new restaurant in the AV Mall, Claim Jumper. My expectations weren't high and the restaurant didn't exceed them.



On the positive side, the entire army of wait staff seemed very professional and other than a star sheriff's badge that doubled as a name tag, they were not overly themed in their dress. Most, men and women, wore a tie and all black top and bottom. It looked professional and functional.

Also, they take reservations, something that most of the Applebees and clones went away from in the '90s. The kitchen was fully viewable from all of the floor except the bar. Having been a restaurant employee once, this makes me feel better. It keeps the professionalism up in the kitchen staff and makes them a part of the whole deal.

On the negative side, the place is loud, like it's not properly sound-proofed, and it's chaotic. There really is an army of wait staff and hosts and you notice them. Nothing about the place is relaxing because of this. While the collaboration was nice to see, we had 5 different people drop off food or drinks. My guess is that they pool all tips. We never wanted for anything and I do have to say we saw enough of our server that we knew who she was and saw her as much as we saw all the others combined.

So the food: we got the fried calamari as an appetizer and Kelly and I liked that it wasn't the typical sphincter rings, but they cut the squid tubes into thick strips, which made it a little more about the meat and less about the breading. It worked.

Kelly got the chicken pot pie. It was really good. To big, but good.

I got a shrimp and scallop skewer with peppers and onions. It was served on a plate of basmatti rice and had a side of mixed greens with a delightful balsamic vinaigrette. It didn't have much seafood, but it was also only $10.00.

I really wanted a steak, but they were all in the $25-$30 range. I'm not naturally cheap, but the modern economy makes me that way. That just seemed too much. They are supposedly USDA Grade A Prime and actually dry aged, which should make them rather special, but I just couldn't justify the cost.

The bottom line: $85 dollars for two after 20% tip. Appetizer. Four alcohol drinks. Two entrées in the bottom 30% of the price range. Maybe I should have tried the steak, since that should be the specialty, but then the bill would have been over $100. Noisy and chaotic, not relaxing at all. Had I had a steak and felt as I do, I'd never go back, however, I'll probably go back just to try a steak. But I'm 70% sure I'll be disappointed and will still consider the place too expensive and factory-like to bother with if you have access to a grill.

 
Trackbacks
Trackback specific URL for this post
  • No trackbacks exist for this post.
Comments
Display comments as (Linear | Threaded)

Leave a comment

 Name

 Email (will not be published)

 Website

Your comment is 0 characters limited to 3000 characters.