Alexander P.
Yelp
For my mother's birthday, she wanted to check out this spot. So I made reservations for our family at 5:45 pm the Saturday immediately after her birthday. We arrived around 5:40. We weren't acknowledged at the host stand until 5:55 nor seated until ~6:25. While normally that wouldn't be too much of an issue, we had a 3 year old + 12 month old and (admittedly our fail) no tablets, coloring books, and not enough snacks to last the 40+ minute wait (on top of the 50 min drive). Word to the wise for folks with small children--pack like you're going to be in the Atlanta airport with them, and your TSA/Clear has lapsed, and it's the Friday before a minor-holiday weekend (like Columbus Day).
When we were finally seated at a shaky table, we took advantage of the limited menu and immediately ordered a couple of Blaze Cheeseburgers, Crab Cakes, NY Strip, and a Caesar salad with chicken. My toddler's burger came out about 15 mins later, but unfortunately the patty was too salty for him to enjoy it. We waited another 20 or so minutes for most of our food to come...most. Guess which item wouldn't come out for another 20+ mins? My mother's Caesar Salad with chicken. And to make things more...umm, exciting...the chicken wasn't fully cooked and the salad had to be sent back.
What about the other food? Well, it reminded me of the phrase one of my older cousins, Marvin, would regularly say when he ain't have nothing better to say about something he just ate, "it'd do the job." If you need something in your stomach, this will at least do.
The crab cake was super bready. It encouraged the eater to lean into their imagination--imagining whether there was actually crab in it. I had the NY Strip steak and it almost caused a little debate between my mother and me. When my wife asked me what I thought? I told her it reminded me of being a little boy growing up in inner-city Chicago, eating a steak from the local Aldi's grocery store. It was that quality. Then all of a sudden, my mother swore that we only got steaks from the meat house in the near our neighborhood. I was ready to debate her cause there's no way we only ate meat from the meat house. But she already had already waited an hour for an inedible salad -- so she needed the win. I can't remember what my mother-in-law had but I none of us got to-go boxes.
In terms of sides, we had fries, brussels, twice baked potato, mac and cheese. The fries were cool for me. Turns out whatever seasoning they put on them is too much for 12 month olds--but they're fine if you're an adult and won't get your blood pressure taken for a little while afterwards. The mac + cheese wasn't bad. It ain't nothing to write home about but it ain't bad. The brussels sprouts and twice baked potato were the best part of the meal. Definitely include them as your sides.
By the end of the meal, we opted not to cut the birthday cake we'd brought there and just pick everything else up at home.