Daniel L.
Yelp
While I support the corporate politics of the Barnaby chain, including their meaningful participation in the Dining Out For Life programme, not all of their chain locations are created equal. When I worked in Uptown years ago my dad joined me for lunch at the Woodway location for our first and only visit at that location. That is one of the worst lunches I have ever had - they were saddled with one of my more memorable one star reviews during that period of my life. Meanwhile their Museum District location (next to dak&bop) received a four star review shortly after they opened.
Shortly before the misery of the first father's day without my dad the remaining bits of the family assembled and for purposes of the baby who was coming this location was chosen, still not sure why having completed my first and only dining-in experience now at this location as well.
My first strike against this location is that it was as loud as a wind tunnel inside. It was so loud! You could not have a conversation at a normal volume. We had to shout to be heard and people were not hearing the shouts correctly so there was a fair amount of crossed wires/miscomm - "What are you going to order?!?" (shouted thirty six inches across the table like a frustrated Yossarian) -- "About 7:30!!!!" (shouted back across the table like an even angrier Daneeka.)
The resto was very busy and our waiter (who looks like my CPA friend Mike; if it wasn't so MF loud inside I would have seen if they were possibly related) didn't take our order until about 30 minutes in. He was running all over the place and busy, sweating. It's not like he was out back taking a 30 minute smoke break with his feet up. The place was just that busy we were a distant afterthought, which is what happens in busy places and is why I do not go to them when I choose muh restaurants to dine in with dandy foppish gents who would rather be the centre of attention in a quiet place (it's called fashion, sister) rather than one of the crowd in a large nondescript crowd.
When the food finally came one of my dining companions found their food inedible, but due to the noise and hustle/bustle of the busy resto was not able to send the food back. Also after waiting that long to get it in the first place some people would chew the business end of a mop ... I am told.
The aspect of my salad I enjoyed the least was the bowl architecture - it was monstrously tall shooting into the airspace well above the table surface but relatively shallow, as if eating a salad out of a champagne flute. Keep in mind your table is right on top of your neighbors in a very crowded cramped space so you can't swing the bitch out and get your elbows going as you really put in work on a salad such as this. Instead you peck at it like a delicate little bird so everyone thinks you are genteel and refined, not swearing and saying some very unchristian things at the time that nobody can hear in such a loud resto. Having to eat like that was basically like eating in the prison mess hall where you have to hunch over your food and protect it from Nasty Nate who wants your fruit cup, in more ways than just the one.
The high point of the meal was when we were trying to get out of there and the server brought not just a to-go box and a plastic bag for easy carrying, but without having even been asked, provided to-go plastic cups filled with salad dressing. That was a very nice gesture and quite memorable. He did not need to do that. But I appreciated it. Any stars this joint gets from me in the yelp review is just because of his last act.
The other high point of the total experience was reviewing the yelp business page photos for pics of the food to avoid my Woodway experience. The third highest rated photo on this thoroughly-contributed-to biz page is the twink holding a piece of cake, which should have been a caution about the food being the aspect of the experience nearly all visiting yelpers feel is worth writing home about.
At no point did a $14 salad even come close to impressing me. When Georgia's was still open downtown I thought $15 for a true gourmand's salad at lunch was a bit rich for my blood to have some rabbit food with exquisite fancyboy toppings, but I felt like such a fancy lady who lunched whilst eating it, it became something of a status symbol to flex on everyone else walking into the nearby Subway or Jason's Deli. This $14 salad would have been a slap in Georgia's face, god rest her.
This overall was not near as bad as the Woodway location experience, and the homey made it rain with to-go salad dressing containers, so there is no way I could go to one star with the waiter having pulled it out at the end. Two stars seems accurate. I do not intend to go back ever. But the experience could have been slightly worse than it was if someone at my table was actually maced in the face Jack Whitman-style, or if my high school bully was finally off probation and gave me a swirlie in the men's restroom.