Michael S.
Yelp
After hearing and reading all of the hoopla about the Billy Gail's restaurant at the Branson Mill here in Branson, I hesitantly caved and went there with my wife for breakfast today. We ate at the Republic location almost 2 years ago and our experience was sub par there, with our entire party underwhelmed by the service, food, and all around experience.
My experience this morning at Billy Gail's at Branson Mill was even worse, which astounds even me. When we entered the restaurant , it was hot and muggy, which I was hoping was just because we were near the door and it was hot outside. My hopes were dashed because we were seated at a tiny booth which was directly under some sort of fan which was blowing hot, humid air down directly onto our table. I could barely breathe. I had to get up and find somewhere that I could comfortably breathe. We were seated in the opposite end of the restaurant, where I quickly realized that if that establishment HAD air conditioning, it clearly wasn't working. We looked at the menu and prepared to order.
I ordered Gail's Ranch Breakfast and my wife had their Monte Cristo. Both of our breakfasts arrived at our table just minutes after we ordered them, which seemed quite odd to me because the place was packed with a line out the door.
Our server brought my wife's Coke and my "coffee" to the table. I stirred some cream and sweetener into it and took a drink. The "coffee" was room temperature and was the absolute worst excuse for coffee that I've ever tasted. I informed the server of my displeasure with the coffee when she came to the table with our meals. Her reply was immediate, blunt , and as cold as the coffee. She curtly replied , "That's the first time I've heard that in the four years I've been working here", which I assumed she meant the company because that particular restaurant hasn't been open for nearly that long. My reply to her was thatI my coffeewas cold and it tasted bad. Her solution was to offer me some coffee from a fresh pot. She HAD to be kidding me. I actually had to look up at her face to see if she WAS kidding me. She was dead serious. I politely declined , telling her that I doubted a fresh pot of the same coffee would change that flavor. It honestly tasted like dirt with year-old used coffee grounds were used in the coffeemaker. I am not exaggerating. The coffee was THAT bad. The server took my coffee cup and walked away.
Now to the food. When I took my first bite of my hash browns, I immediately realized why our breakfasts arrived at our table so quickly: they must've been already prepared and sitting under heat lamps waiting for someone to order them, because my meal was room temperature cold - COLD hash browns, COLD eggs, COLD bacon, and I use that term loosely because whatever sort of meat that was, it was cut to resemble bacon, and was so heavily seasoned with barbecue and smoky flavoring that the "meat" wasn't visible, and it was colder than the eggs and hash browns. Part of it hadn't even thawed completely, giving me the impression that it came from a package of frozen processed smoky bacon flavored "meat". I pushed my plate to the edge of the table so the server would see that I was done.
My wife had ordered a side of fried okra because she knows how much I enjoy it. I took one bite of the fried okra and was done with that as well. It was beyond disgusting. The okra was dreadfully undercooked and slimier than a slug on a rainy day. How the breading was crispy and the okra was so cold and slimy, I actually have no idea, but that one bite almost gagged me. The server took the okra off of our bill. She left the nasty coffee and my frigid breakfast on the bill. I said nothing . I just wanted to get out of that hothouse that served cold, nasty food and cold, terrible coffee.
My wife couldn't finish her breakfast either. We both got sick to our stomachs when we got home. After that experience, we won't be going out to eat again unless the eatery is guaranteed farm to table fresh with NO bioengineered foods, no preservatives, no processed foods, no antibiotics, and always cooked to order.
THAT was $52+ wasted.
