Benefit of the Doubt? Alaska Coffee Roasters

My daughter took the very early flight from Boston today.  She got off the plane at 9:00 AM and was hungry.  I was hungry.  It's New Year's Day.  I thought we should do something special.  We discussed, I made some calls, and we settled on Alaska Coffee Roasters, at 13130 Biscayne Boulevard.  It's been mentioned to me a few times, always with great enthusiasm, and it seemed just the occasion to give it a try.  And they were having a special holiday menu.  What could be better?

We arrived at about 10:45.  The place was less than half full.   The special holiday menu included eggs Benedict with Nova Scotia salmon.  My daughter loves Nova Scotia salmon.  She specified that wherever we went, they would have to serve Nova Scotia salmon.  And here it was, part of the holiday special.  What, in fact, could be better?

We ordered two eggs Benedicts with Nova Scotia salmon.  And a side order of hash brown potatoes, which are a favorite of mine.  The regular eggs Benedict were about $9.75, and the version with the salmon was $11.75.  The side of potatoes was $2.50.

After what seemed like longer than I thought it would take, our eggs were ready.  So were we!  Nope, they were the regular eggs Benedict, not the ones with salmon.  We sent them back.  Salmon was the whole point.  My/our potatoes were served at the same time.

If they couldn't have included potatoes with entrees, and if they had to charge separately for them, the saucer of potatoes presented to us should have been worth 50-75 cents.  Rounding up to $1.00 would have been pushing it.  No way that tiny amount should have cost $2.50.

My daughter and I began a somewhat lengthy exploration about what each of us does when things are not right at a restaurant.  She resolves never to go back, and she gives them something they don't want on Yelp!  I'm somewhat more inclined to say something, but I temper my confrontation.  I said I never ever send things back.  She seems not to, either.  The question was whether we tell anyone at the restaurant, and if we do, whom do we tell?  I tend to get a bit inhibited, and I'm likely to tell an employee, not the proprietor/proprietress.

This discussion was made more lively once our corrected eggs order arrived.  The eggs dishes were frankly cold.  This observation was what occasioned the discussion of whether to send something back.

My daughter decided to be more assertive than is her style, or mine, and she told Karen, the proprietress, upon being asked how breakfast was, that the eggs were cold.  Karen said she would tell this to her cook staff.  That's it?  Just tell them to present eggs hot next time?  When the clerk came over to ask us about our meal, and to let us know she, too, had heard about our cold eggs, I told her there was no way that small saucer of potatoes should have cost $2.50.  She did little more than confirm she heard what I said.

Very many years ago, my daughter's mother and I, and another couple, went out for a special French meal in Boston.  I can't remember what we were celebrating.  I don't remember the restaurant or what we ate, either, except I remember something about tiny quail.  What I remember very well was that after dinner, the four of us decided to go get pizza, since we were all still distinctly hungry.  And so it was again at Alaska Coffee Roasters.  I had already heard about their wonderful pizza, my daughter and I were still hungry, because what we had already bought and consumed was insubstantial, so we got a pizza.  The pizza, by the way, was as good as billed.  It was not, however, as good as the pizza at Tomato & Basil.  It was a special breakfast pizza.  You choose the size (10 inches or 12 inches), the one topping, which kind of cheese you want, and how you want your one egg cooked.  It was about $13 for the 12".

I had to agree with my daughter that an adaptive strategy in the face of an experience like this one would be not to return.  That's what I have resolved to do.  As we were finishing our pizza, Karen saw us eating it, and she said that if she had known the pizza was for us, she would not have charged us for it.  She did not, however, offer to reverse the charge already made.  If she had, I would have given them another try sometime.  The food wasn't bad.  It just wasn't right, and it wasn't enough, especially for the price charged.   What came closest to good enough was the pizza, although that charge was a bit on the high side, too.  Did I mention that the coffee was good?