I have always considered myself a connoisseur of food and fairly decent cook in my own rights. My spouse and I are only able to dine out together once every one to two weeks, so when we get the opportunity I get really angry when the meal turns out to be substandard or just plain bad, likewise when we find an establishment that pleases us, I like to share that information.
Unfortunately last night, we ran into a bad one. Last night my wife and I decided to go to the Machine Shed in Davenport, Iowa, We haven’t dined there in 2 or 3 years and thought it would be a pleasant change. What a disappointment for us as previously we had enjoyed many fine meals there and after last nights dinner I did remember why we hadn’t been there in a while.
We were seated immediately at 6:00 p.m. in a dining room that was almost completely empty… hmmm clue number 1. The menu had many dishes whose description started me to salivate (drool, for the less refined members of the audience). Connie ordered the Chicken & Biscuits, I ordered the Burnt Ends dinner $12.99.
For those who are not familiar with Burnt Ends here is a Wikipedia definition:
Burnt ends are flavorful pieces of meat cut from the point half of a smoked brisket. A traditional part of Kansas City Barbecue, burnt ends are considered a delicacy in barbecue cooking. Either the entire brisket is cooked whole, then the point end removed and cooked further, or the point and flat are separated prior to cooking. Due to the higher fat content of the brisket point, it takes longer to fully cook to tender and render out fat and collagen. This longer cooking gave rise to the name “burnt ends”. Sometimes when the flat is done, the point is returned to the smoker for further cooking. Some cooks re-season the point at this time.
Kansas City style burnt ends are usually served cubed with sauce either on top or on the side. A “proper” burnt end should display a modest amount of “bark” or char on at least one side. Burnt ends can be served alone (sometimes smothered in barbecue sauce) or in sandwiches,
However at the Machine Shed my Burnt Ends were charcoal briquettes lathered in a bottled barbecue sauce (far from their advertised “home style” barbecue). I have had Burnt Ends numerous times at other restaurants and enjoyed them each time. These were inedible. My baked potato was not done and the vegetables were unable to be identified .
On to the Chicken and Biscuits advertised to contain home cooked chicken breast diced and cooked in their sauce. The “home” cooked chicken breast chunks were uniform in size and tasted remarkably like Tyson’s Chunked pre-cooked chicken… In fact I almost would bet the price of the meal, $9.00 it was Tyson chicken, not the home cooked chicken as advertised.
Normally I would of complained, but I was tired, frustrated and ready to go home, my wife left the table ahead of me to look at the gift shop and as I sat there I decided that if the Host/money taker asked how my meal was, I WAS going to complain. I went up to pay for the meal, I was the only one at the register, no one waiting to be seated, he took my credit card slid it, handed my slip to sign and did not even thank me for dining there let alone asking how my meal was, I left and chalked it up to a lesson learned.
