We had our medschool semi-formal here and I had high expectations going in after looking at the website. Upon arrival, the manor was as stunning as advertised. This is what I envision plantation homes looking like - gorgeous white columns, bright chandeliers, and decorations upon decorations. I bet this place is even more impressive during the day w/ the fountains and the gardens. Our banquet hall was massive - clearly fitting for weddings and conferences albeit the "dance floor" didn't look like it could fit anymore than 30-40 people (we had a good 100+). The evening began with a full open bar (+++) but even that could not prevent everything from subsequently spiraling downwards.
Our hors d'oeuvres were nothing more than a cold platter of vegetables that look like they sat a week too long in the fridge and confusing mix of cheeses (one option was sliced deli provolone - I got some of that in my fridge from Wegman's for a few bucks).
When our salad came, it was clear to me that the staff felt they should be applauded merely for being able to serve us all and that that should excuse them from having to put any care/thought into the plating. Case in point - I looked around and ppls salad's were hanging off the edge of the plate as they were being served. Having to scoop dangling lettuce back onto my plate is not exactly the way I would like to start any meal. Oh, thanks for the soggy croutons and the two tiny mandarin oranges from a can too.
Next, my entire table was served their entree and it looked like they had run out when it came to me. I made eye contact with the server ,and she nodded to me and mouthed that she was out. I assumed that meant that she would go back to the kitchen and get more. But nope, she served other tables and stood around twiddling her thumbs and avoided me when I tried to get her attention again. You picked the wrong guy to not serve. It wasn't until another server came by 5-10 minutes later was I able to get an entree that was meant for another table. Oh yea, he handed the plate to me, watched me burn my hands, then decided to warn me that the plate was extremely hot. Thanks buddy! By that time, my table is halfway through w/ their plates and I see just empty looks as their go through their food. Well, the prime rib cut, though sloppy, was tasty and juicy. The baked potato was, well a baked potato (they weren't so bad to be able to screw that one up). The chicken cutlet was covered in a soggy batter only leaving me to wonder if it was meant to be like this or if it was due to the fact that all the plates came out w/ steam covers on them. Oh yea, there were carrots on the plate too. Oh boy! Well in all, not terrible, but again the plating was a mess - about as well as I would do if this was a buffet = NOT GOOD.
Last was our ice cream w/ a drizzle of chocolate syrup which again was dripping off the sides and hinted that they had lined up all the cups of ice cream ran the syrup across them all. Yes, that saves time, but if I wanted my food from a factory line, those golden arches do a cleaner job than you Mr. Samuel.
In the end, as nice as the manor looked, their attention to their food fell harder than Humpty Dumpty. Serving that many people doesn't mean you can water down the quality THAT MUCH. I'm definitely more forgiving realizing how many people there were but the fact is, the way my food was served was as messy as if I was serving a pet if I had one. read more