Karen R.
Yelp
Mixed feelings...
We had tickets for 2 to the Bacon Brothers show September 10th. This was our first time at Dosey Doe Big Barn and our first evening out since Covid began. We arrived 15 minutes before the doors opened. The front lot is small and was filled, but a parking attendant guided us to the Pawn shop lot next door (also small). I can't advise how the parking was in the rear lot. Check in went relatively fast and smooth. The exterior and interior is rustic with cool touches of nostalgia and past artists. All of the staff were very friendly and helpful all evening. The wait staff were stretched thin and worked their butts off.
After being seated, my chair was so uncomfortable that I switched with one next to me. It was smaller, rickety and with almost no padding (I could feel the bones). I switched to the next one and it was so tiny as if for a student desk. I ended up back with my original chair. Seating is very tight and you are shoulder to shoulder.
After an embarrassing game of musical chairs our drinks came. Hubby had a beer and I, a Rum Punch. Usually this comes in a highball glass with a shot each of 2 different rums; but this came in a tall tea glass. It was weak and tasted watered down. (There was NOT 2 shots of Rum in it.) I thought maybe it sat for a while, but the second one came the same way. At $14 each - I stopped there. This was a Pre-fix dinner with a choice of (1 of 4) entrée and (1 of 2) dessert. Salad was the only choice as appetizer. The salad was a half head of little gem lettuce (not chopped), 2 wafers of spicy cucumber, 1 tiny piece of bacon (like 1" long by ¼" square - literally a sliver), and a sprinkle of breadcrumbs. We opted for no bleu cheese. The avocado dressing was creamy, delicious and served in a plastic to go cup. It was ok.
When we ordered, we asked for dessert to be wrapped to-go because we anticipated being too full from the meal. Dinner arrived shortly after the salad was done. Both were cold. Husband ordered the Seared Flounder and I had the Blackened Chicken. He said his Flounder was cooked well and had good flavor; but the risotto was tasteless (I tasted his and agree), with a few slivers of mushroom and a lot of corn that didn't taste like it was roasted. He only ate the fish and mushrooms. There was no "bacon drizzle" flavor to be found. Don't ask what the dark things were in the dish... greens? Everyone was questioning it and leaving it.
The Blackened Chicken had thick, white, rubbery skin and was dry - as if poached too long. No Blackened skin - No spice - no salt! I peeled it away because I was unable to cut through it. The farro was so bland and tasteless that after one bite I was done. Even salt and pepper couldn't save it. There was no black garlic flavor anywhere in this dish. The WHOLE greens were so undercooked that I had to spit them back out because they were too tough to break down! (Even hard to cut with a knife!) And no bacon flavor in them as well. The people on both sides of us ordered the same and it arrived the same as ours. One man commented that perhaps the executive chef was borrowed from a hospital. I have to say, sadly, I've had better food in a hospital. I saw many full plates going back after the meal.
After the meal we didn't eat, we both had a cup of coffee. (A Mocha Cappuccino and a Vanilla Cappuccino.) Both were large and excellent. The only 2 desserts offered were very sweet ones. We ordered one of each to go. Our neighbors on both sides were not happy with them. The brownie looked like something you made at home with a dollop of whipped cream from a can and a hint of crumble on top. The Bread pudding looked odd and the caramel sauce tasted burnt. No bacon to be had. We threw them out.
The show was excellent and the sound quality very good. I don't think there is a bad seat in the house because of the layout. If you get stuck behind a post, you are allowed to go up to the birds nest on the 3rd floor. We had premium seats, so this was not a cheap evening. I know we were there for the show; but if you are going to offer an executive chef meal with it - then do it right! I was very disappointed with the meal. I read all the reviews and no one said anything like this about the food. (I wish I had ordered the Chicken Fried Steak - It was the only one the ladies in the powder room didn't complain about!) I don't know if this was a new chef or what but someone there needs to oversee and TASTE what they are putting out! Oh, and if you are going to do a BACON theme in honor of the BACON Brothers... Put some dang BACON in there!!!
Last but not least. It was a tad bit annoying that the staff kept standing in the way during the encore as they were scrambling to close out tickets.