Jarrod K.
Yelp
No Longer Prime Time:
It'd been a while since our last time at Duane's, but it's one of those spots that left you wanting more. A literal diamond in the rough, or four of those precious stones if one's paying attention to its AAA rating. By all appearances, something special awaits. Bone china, crisp linen, surrounded by the warm glow of candlelight, inside the iconic Mission Inn. Expectations are high but so is the $65 opening price for steak. After we ordered, we were lost in conversation, having a great time, when we noticed it had been two hours, now 9 PM. This is when Duane's began to lose its sparkle. Apologies bought some time but we were hungry. At about 10 PM, dinner was served, two filets and the airline chicken dish. It was clear that what was in front of us was no longer a Prime experience. Instinct guided our knives into the center of the filet to confirm what the eye already knew. The temperature ordered was medium. The steaks were carbon, black and inedible, completely ruined. The chicken was equally "fowled" up, also a wasted effort. After about 3 hours, we were now deciding whether to leave hungry. The staff rallied and the manager took the lead, with explanations and assurances, even promises of comping our meal. We stuck around for round two. Next up, the chicken was a repeat performance, another rubber ducky. The steaks had the right temperature but considering its billing as center cut and 8 ounces, punched below its weight on both accounts. One of the steaks was a feather weight to be sure. All considered, we were hungry enough to lower expectations by a lot and make the best of a bad situation. The chicken, though, was akin to Chicken Little, not only a little too late, but the flavor had fallen from the sky on the way to the table. Despite all of the assurances, we did end up leaving hungry. And, the original offer of comping our meals was not our idea. However, it became a struggle. On principle, we pressed on Duane's manager to hold up their end of the bargain, keep a promise, meet a commitment, deliver on an expectation. It's a house full of diamonds after all. It all proved unsuccessful. We ended up paying a good part of the bill. Was there a joker in the deck? After wasting about 4 hours, apparently, "just kidding" was served up as the finale. Frankly, the bar was so low at the end we were intent on leaving. Ironically, it was the bar just outside where I ordered something to eat, to save over what we'd just experienced. There's a great spot across the street named Mario's. Regrettably, we will probably not return to Duane's even with future stays to the Mission. Our son is a freshman at CBU and we were looking forward to Duane's for special dinners with him during occasional visits. Mistakes happen, the unexpected causes challenges. We were actually understanding of the explanation that was given this night. The problem was, the response. It turned out to be misleading and made the whole situation that much more disappointing. This review is offered for merely a heads up, maybe the problems have been addressed, but for us, Duane's left too bad a taste for us to return.