There is something liberating about going to try a new place out and being able to leave there with the unequivocal certainty that you will never go back. Indeed you have been given absolutely no reason to ever darken the places door. I mean, every new place has something to offer, ambience, service, food, location, convenience... something. Well, no I can say without a doubt, maybe not.You know to what lengths the diner review will go to find a good breakfast. Jefferson County, Alton, even St. Claire Missouri searching, putting in the time and trying to help...you. help you sort through the drech so that you can have an enjoyable morning repast. On Valentine's Day my lovely wife and went to Three Monkey's on Morgan Ford and had a delightful brunch but we had some time to kill because they had a waiting list and so we walked down Morgan Ford and then came across the Plaza Cafe and Grill. We almost ate there that day but my wife had researched 3 Monkeys and really wanted to try it. I wanted to eat there because there was no wait. Now I understand why.
It is in a nice rehabbed building at 3182 Morgan Ford (which I never knew until today was two words). The place is fin from the outside and hold potential for some charm. it is a Block South of "The Tin Can" in what has been and for the next 50 or so years will be described as a "gentifying" area of St. louis City, just south of Tower Grove Park. It even has it's own improbable little parking lot (bonus). On the way in you see a misguided little porch with a railing blocking easy ingress and egress but I am sure looked good on paper. I walked in and my first thought was "is this place even open at 8:00 on a Saturday". I was informed by one of the two serving people that they were.
She said I could sit where I wanted so I went to the back room where they had a few elevated booths. The p[lace looked nice enough with new hard wood floors and wooden furniture and the booth was comfortable. The place had no real charm or ambience and seemed a little cold. The waitress seemed a little indifferent and she handed me a photocopied one page menu. It had about 12 different meals on it, like the hated "First Watch". No biscuits and gravy. At least on "skillet". An Omelette, Waffles, Blueberry Pancakes, Eggs Benedict, Steak n Eggs. Sheesh.
I got served an iced tea in a large plastic cup (if you cannot give me a glass, give me styrofoam. At least I know it is clean. I ordered Blueberry pancakes and some sausage and a side of breakfast potatoes. I read the paper and listened to an obviously crazy woman who lived alone chat up the waitress about how it was her first time to eat there. Fascinating. My blueberry pancakes (3) were cooked nicely but were really thick. I cast one aside and dined on them and they were above average and the high point of the meal. Seemed like they used real blueberries. The other two "food items" sucked. The sausage patties were the classic "I don't give a shit" quality. Frozen recently, little thick hockey pucks. I think The majestic on Euclid uses the same type of bland, chewy, flavorless stuff but it is the worst. The breakfast potatoes (always a suspicious name) were the dreaded Obren Potatoes with onions and green peppers in them. While this should have been disclosed it still is a passable way to serve potatoes other then the fact that they were clearly pored out of an Ore-Ida bag and into the skillet. Awful.So, this is an easy one. If you have a choice between not eating, or grabbing breakfast at Plaza Cafe and Grill.... don't eat. Mc Donalds serves a better breakfast in a more enjoyable environment. Is there any part of this review which is unclear?
Two Slingers on a 10 Scale
6 comments:
THe Euclid Majestic should only be sought out for breakfasst outside. The gyro across the street at Coffee Oasis is much superior. As to the Majestic sausage, think thye serve a slightly larger link style sausage that is greasy but decent.
I believe this guy must have been drunk or heavily medicated to write this review. The Plaza Cafe & Grill is absolutly delightful and the food is exellent. I have eaten there for breakfast lunch and dinner. The atmosphere is nice and the prices are VERY reasonable. This place only opened a couple of months ago and alot of people dont know that they're there. Plaza Cafe & Grill in my opnion is one of St Louis' best kept secrets. I say try it for your self and dont listen to this jerk.
I ate at Plaza Cafe and Grill this weekend and it was GREAT!! The blueberry pancakes, one word, AWESOME! I don't understand why you didn't like the place. Also, they do have biscuits and gravy, which my wife says was great. Did you go to the same restaurant??? The place I went to didn't have hardwood floors, they have dark carpet. I frequent different restaurants on a weekly basis and must say with no doubt that I will go back to Plaza Cafe and Grill.
I agree with the last comment this guy is a jerk and a hater.
Not sure what kind of a day your reviewer was having. I have been to Plaza Cafe at least four times and had a good experience each time. The food is fresh and from scratch for the most part. My favorite so far has been the half slab of ribs, excellent mac and cheese and very tasty green beans. All for somewhere around $10. The prices are right. The food is good and honestly, ambience is not why I go out to eat.
OK, I clearly need to get back there and have a do over. I really do not think my review had anything to do with me, it was just a below average experience. I will try again.
PLAZA CAFE & GRILL - Recently I saw that this was "Under New Management" and so thought I'd try it myself. I like to patronize "local" businesses more so than the chains and big box places.
I got there this morning (Sat) about 11:30am, and was greeted by “Wendy”, a “Flo”-like waitress/hostess with a very friendly personality. She asked if I’d rather have a table or a booth; I responded, “a booth would be nice”, to which she pointed to the booths and said, “booths are over there!” and followed me to my choice of booth. To me, that’s NOT a negative; I’d rather have my choice of where to sit rather than to have to follow a host/ess to THEIR choice of seating FOR me!
Of course (coming in at 11:30am), the first thing that caught my eye on the menu was the hours for the Breakfast Menu is “6am-12pm – depends on chef.” I chuckled and asked Wendy what that meant, and she said (honestly, she really did!), “depends on if he feels like it or not!” She DID add, “he does do breakfast most of the day.” We both laughed, so I counted that as just a little levity printed on the menu. I did notice their normal operating hours are 6am-8pm, Tues-Sun(till5), which I took to mean they closed at 5pm on Sun … strange (closed Mon). I guess they are going for the Breakfast and Lunch crowd, but if THAT’S the case, they should serve “extended Sat/Sun breakfast till 2PM”. Better yet, and maybe eventually they will when they’ve built a clientele and reputation, stay open LATER on Fri/Sat/Sun and serve their dinner menu till 10pm – the standard for most dinner restaurants in St. Louis.
The décor is quaint traditional, clean lines, and not a lot of “kitsch” and vendor advertising all over the place. The silverware was clean, but cheap, lightweight ware. Menu pricing was about average for the area, but a little bit “odd.” For instance, there were items priced at $5.99, $6.57, $7.19, $8.33, $8.70, etc. So you kinda get the feeling that they are pricing based on a percentage of their cost instead of multiples of cost. Really gets you to study the menu, though (and that could be their intent!). Oh, yes… “potato” does NOT have an “e” at the end of it!!! Breakfast was a little pricey, but not overly so, and I concluded that is where they get their business so that’s where the extra quarter or so helps with the overhead costs.
I chose the “Skillet - hash browns topped w/green peppers, onions, diced ham, 2 eggs & cheese blend.” I expected it to be served in a skillet, but the healthy serving on a melmac (officially, melamine) platter was fine. It was like a hash of vegetables (the chef also included sautéed mushrooms in the mix) and diced ham, topped with 2 eggs and processed cheese slices. (I would have used shredded cheddar instead of the sliced cheese for better flavor and presentation.)
Now, I gotta tell you…in SPITE of the processed cheese choice, this was an incredibly good menu choice, and a LOT of it! I know some of you can’t eat food unless “nothing touches each other”, but I’m a huge fan of one pot cooking and casseroles! The diced green peppers could have been sautéed another 30 seconds to soften them a bit, but the diced ham was properly grilled, the potatoes (there IS an “e” in the plural!) were soft and browned just enough, and the onions and mushrooms were perfect!
Wendy did the obligatory checking on me and asking if I needed anything else, or more coffee, but she did it with wit and caring. Yep, I over-tipped her!
I’ll be back there.
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