B and I went to Ken’s Steak House in Framingham, MA for dinner last night. We’re doing the no carb thing right now, and we wanted a steak at a place that didn’t have a bar that would entice us to order a martini. So that pretty much left Ken’s as the only option.
Ken’s used to be the place to go, back in the day. Probably back in my grandparent’s day. If you go there now, it’s like a museum of that day. Nothing has changed in years – the carpet, the paint, the décor, the tables and chairs. Nothing. Well, I’m guessing the menu changed since buffalo wings are now offered as an appetizer and they didn’t exist back in my grandparent’s day. But they look old enough to be the ones my grandparents used.
Nonetheless, we thought we could still get a decent steak there, and probably not a decent drink. So this was the place for us.
The poor waiter endured our ordering – double vegetables, no potato (but not the green beans that are so sautéed in oil they might as well be deep fried). No B, you can’t have a tonic water – you need to go with the club soda (no sugar). Yes, you could have the regular Italian salad dressing.
I did explain to the waiter that we aren’t normally this picky, but we’re on a diet and need to avoid certain foods. (Then B asked him to please take the bread away.) I’m quite certain that he didn’t care.
Fast forward to our meal… I got the filet mignon with butternut squash and steamed broccoli. B got lamb chops with butternut squash and carrots. Everything was good. No complaints. Until…
After eating a few forkfuls of the squash, I noticed there was something in it. No, not sugar, which would have squashed my no carb diet. Something much, much worse.
It was a twist tie. You know what I mean – the flexible metal coated in plastic or paper that is used to tie up loaves of bread or the bag you filled with tomatoes in the produce department of the grocery store.
There was a twist tie in my squash. Or as I like to call it, trash. There was trash in my squash. I know chefs are experimenting with all sorts of new ingredients and techniques these days, but I’m pretty sure none of them would intentionally put a twist tie in a dish. And I’m pretty sure that any decent – or quite frankly, not so decent – establishment would take every precaution to ensure that a twist tie or other non-belonging item does not accidentally end up in a dish.
We immediately alerted the waiter – quietly, and without a lot of drama. He took the squash away and went to speak to the manager.
A few minutes later, the waiter was back to relay that the manager was sorry and he would like to treat us each to a free dessert.
Okay, I appreciate the gesture. Sort of. Not sure it really makes up for what I consider a pretty egregious error. Especially since we did say that we were on a diet. Now, as B said, the manager didn’t know we were on a diet. But the waiter was told, and apparently didn’t remember and failed to inform the manager that a free dessert may not be appropriate remediation. Needless to say, we declined the dessert.
At the end of the day, the meal was pretty average and the restaurant is so old and out of date that it looks dirty and rundown. Regardless of the twist tie in my butternut squash, we’re probably not going back to Ken’s. I think there day is done. At least for this diner.
But still… I’m kind of not okay with how the restaurant chose to handle this. While they did offer us something, I thought they didn’t offer enough. I wasn’t expecting to have our bill entirely taken care of, but I think they could have taken my meal off the check. Yes, the squash was the only thing that was a problem, but I didn’t really feel up to finishing the rest of my food after discovering the twist tie. I certainly didn’t want to order more food, so the dessert felt like empty compensation. And quite frankly, they should have at the very least offered to replace my side with another option. I basically paid for something I couldn’t really eat – BECAUSE IT HAD TRASH IN IT!
What do you think? Did they offer enough, or should they have done more? Have you ever found anything in your food at a restaurant that didn’t belong? What did the restaurant do to make it up to you, and hopefully keep your business? Am I being too hard on the waiter for not remembering that we were on a diet? The comment section is open, folks. I would love to hear about your similar experiences and if you think my expectations are on the money or out of line.
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