The Adventure of Pasta Alfredo

Hello Everyone!

Just wanted to share with you an experince in Apropos that developed into a short story for one of my class assignments.

Watching it being prepared is enough to get my mouth watering. The cook heats the pan and coats the bottom with just enough olive oil. Waiting for the oil to heat is like the silence before the party begins. Vegetables of different colours and shapes are on stand by, and the party begins.

The cook tosses in the vegetables. I hear the hiss from the pan. The steam rises and the scent of the various vegetables fills the air. The vegetables look like they are dancing as they are tossed in the air. The excitement quietens to a low sizzle as the vegetables are poked by a wooden spoon.

The build up begins again as the cook reaches for the seasoning. As the seaonings hit the pan with vegetables, the different aromas rise into the atmosphere. The awakening of the flavours emanate from the pan as the heat coax them to life- the curry, paprika, black pepper and dry herbs.

 It is now the linguine pasta’s time to shine! The dance begins again; they are all tossed into the air. The colours and movement looks like a fiesta in a frying pan. After all is settled, the smooth creamy Alfredo sauce is slowly poured into the pan. My mouth begins to water. My stomach begins to quarrel. It feels like the dish is taking forever to reach my hands.

The sauce is stirred onto the dish and coats it perfectly like it was tailored for the pasta. Finally it’s plated and in my hands, all mine to enjoy. I twirl the pasta with my fork as I anticipate the first bite.

 It goes beyond my expectations - it feels like a party in my mouth, a burst of flavour and texture comes alive among the sweetness of the corn, the crunch of the carrots and the spice of the seasoning...Perfect     

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Service while Dining with Me

Customer service is important

Customer Service
I have been blogging about the restaurants I have visited, their dishes and the atmosphere. Customer Service of all three restaurants is my fourth blog. As a country which is highly dependent on tourism, anyone having face-to-face contact with tourists should always give a great first impression. The tourist should feel welcomed and comfortable. This must also be exhibited for local customers. In economic times like these, restaurants should be doing everything possible to keep customers coming back. That means the best customer service is necessary in all restaurants to all persons, whether they are tourists or locals, they should be treated at the same high standard.

Il Forno Ristorante and Pizzeria
 Logo

Il Forno Ristorante & Pizzeria
The server at this restaurant was not at as professional as she could have been. Il Forno is one of  many restaurants in Sheraton Mall and the server behaved as if she didn’t necessarily need the customer there. Her body language suggested that she just wanted to know your order so she could fix the plate and send you along to the cashier. I would understand if it was at a busy time and she was trying to cut down the waiting process, but it was a slow period and persons were coming in moderation.
The cashier however had a pleasant and polite personality . She did her job with ease and even asked a few customers if they enjoyed their meal. Being a fast-casual restaurant, when persons finished eating their meals, they left the cutlery and plates on the table. I found plates were quickly cleared from the table and that is commendable. The only thing I would suggest is they wipe the bits of food from the table.

Lucky Horseshoe's
Logo

Lucky Horse Shoe Saloon and Steakhouse

This restaurant has a beautiful décor and attractive food presentation skills but all of this is swept away if the customer service is not as 'attractive' as the food. The maître d' (the person who assigns you to your seat) is the first face you see at the restaurant. If that person says “Good evening, welcome and how many persons will be dining with you” but is standing with the attitude of “I really don’t want to be bothered”, it doesn’t feel very welcoming does it?

The waiter who was assigned to our table did a reasonable job. She said her pleasantries and brought our meals and drinks. I found she was a bit robotic however and her sentences were as if she was trying to remember specific training skills she was taught. Also, our glasses of water were never refilled after the first glass. In the end she did apologise for each mistake she made immediately, which was good. Service at this restaurant needs to reach another two levels if it wants to be at the top of its game.

Brown Sugar's entrance

Brown Sugar Restaurant
     The customer service at Brown Sugar was excellent. It was just on point with its customer service. From entry until exit, it was just impressive. The lady showed us to our table and double checked to see if it was correct while making friendly conversation. When the waiter arrived, the first thing she did when reaching the table was to greet us with ‘Good Afternoon’, then filled our glasses with water. She knew every drink that was being offered without having to check or read off a list. We were able to comfortably ask her any question concerning our meals.
Our water glasses were never empty. When it was almost empty, there she was with a pitcher in her hand ready to fill it back up. Not only were glasses refilled quickly, empty plates were removed just as fast. We did not even have to indicate that we were finished eating, but she was there excusing herself as she removed our plates from the table. While waiting on your receipt, you were also offered some mints, which was a nice touch. On exiting the restaurant, they sent you on your way with smiles and faces you wouldn’t forget. The staff at Brown Sugar restaurant was professional yet friendly and inviting at the same time. That’s the service we need to see daily in Barbados.

Dine with Me at The Brown Sugar Restaurant

Brown Sugar Restaurant
Enterance

Feel like eating a home cooked meal without entering the kitchen? In surroundings that remind you of everything you love about the Caribbean, making you feel right at home, Dine With Me at Brown Sugar Restaurant.

Dining Area

When you enter the restaurant you are greeted like a family member who came in from overseas. It is so warm and friendly. The lady was pleasant as she directed us to our table in a cosy corner opposite a small garden with a waterfall. The ambiance was amazing, the selection of chairs fitted well, the greenery and plants all around made it seem so relaxing. To top it all off the quiet sounds of Bob Marley played in the background. The waiter arrives and gives us a selection of drinks available as if she was reading it off a list. Coconut water and lemonade were just the drinks to fit the mood the restaurant had set. It was a buffet style lunch so when ever you were ready you just got up and helped yourself.

In the room where the buffet was being served, the dishes were presented in the far right-hand corner with the bar on our left as we enter the room. Even the buffet room had an ambiance to it. It was decorated with West Indian paintings on the wall and African women made from paper Mache. Everything about this restaurant was so relaxing and the customer service made it feel even more inviting. The waiters greeted you as you took your plate from the stack, as if you were a familiar face. The lady behind the buffet table was very helpful. We were a little hesitant of where to start from and she came to the rescue and told us where we could start with such a welcoming smile.

Fried Fish, Cou Cou, Sweet Potato
and
Steam Vegetables

The food was served as a full course meal. It was what Barbadians would call a nice Sunday lunch. You had the option of beginning with the soup of the day and then you progressed to your main meal with desert afterwards. Choices at the buffet table were rice and lentil peas, macaroni pie, cou cou, sweet potatoes, baked chicken, pudding and souse, fried fish, steam fish, steamed vegetables and roast beef. The salad bar offered coleslaw, potato salad, fresh salad and a fruit salad. At the desert table were various options, chocolate cake, Swiss rolls, coconut drops, lemon meringue pie, bread pudding with rum sauce. Beginning to think you can’t fit all that on one plate? No need to try, it’s an ‘all-you-can-eat’ buffet so you can always go back and try which ever dish you wanted to, and yes that means all you can eat for the deserts too. As the lady said, “eat as much as you want and enjoy”.

Rice and Lentil Peas, Sweet Potato
Baked Chicken

All the dishes were well prepared. The rice and lentil peas was the correct texture, the meats were well seasoned and the salads were fresh. The gravies for the fish and chicken however were a little too spicy; less pepper could have been used. The desert was very nice, especially the bread pudding with rum sauce. The bread pudding was soft in the mouth - perfectly sweetened. The rum sauce gave a kick at the first taste but when combined with the bread pudding it was a ‘heavenly’ taste that just screams ‘Bajan’.

Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce

Brown Sugar restaurant is the perfect place to go for lunch on your own or with someone, whether it’s family, friends or a business meeting.  It makes you feel so comfortable and at ease you don’t feel like leaving, but when you do be prepared to relax and savour the wonderful memory.

Dine with Me at Lucky Horseshoe Saloon and Steakhouse

Lucky Horseshoe
Logo

Thinking of adding a little fun or theme to your dining experience? Why not enjoy tonight out dining in the Wild West in a cowboy western atmosphere? We’ll go exploring different dishes hopefully without running into any bandits. Dine with Me at Lucky Horseshoe Worthing and be my partner on the journey onward to finding great meals.

            When entering the Lucky Horseshoe you are greeted by friendly folk who assign you to a table depending on the amount of partners you’re walking with. You are then given a menu to choose your meal. The dining area gives you that home town feeling as you hear your heels making a beat on the wooden floor boards on your way to the table. While waiting you watch the bartender over by the side bar pouring a drink to the man sitting on the stool, or the lotto machines singing tunes from the arcade section. The waiter checks back to see when we are ready and we place our orders.


           We waited about twenty to twenty-five minutes until our meals arrived - which is the reasonable waiting time in a casual restaurant. The presentation was impressive. Each dish was garnished well and left your mouth watering at the sight. All is going well and then we all take the first bite and the bandits came running.

Vegetarian
Pasta

  The Vegetarian pasta dish wasn't as appetizing  as it appeared, the white wine sauce was not seasoned, it did not have the right consistency and the wine over-powered it all. This dish lost this round, the pasta was over cooked and smothered in the tasteless wine sauce. The vegetables however were the right texture and crunchy but the sauce (!) It just over powered the entire dish and didn’t give the vegetables a fighting chance. 

Fettuccine and Meat balls

The Fettuccine and Meat balls had a hot shoot out and it was a heated battle. Once again, with the over-cooked pasta this dish came with tomato sauce. The tomato sauce was very peppery, and left you gasping for water from your empty water glass that hasn’t been refilled yet. Meat balls were the only thing on this dish that had taste but was as dry as the desert the cowboys walk on. There was no moisture and it seemed like dry minced meat cooked together.

            

Flying Fish Sandwich
with French Fries

        The last dish facing tonight’s rodeo was the Flying Fish Sandwich with a portion of French fries. Unfortunately, it was too fast and lost its battle, the fish had raw taste and again a lack of seasoning. The bread was toasted on the inside and had the usual lettuce and fresh salad ingredients to make up the sandwich.

Fruit Punch

           

         
   The big show of the night at least could have been the drinks, fruit punch and Virgin Pena Coladas which we were all enjoying. The fruit punch had just enough sugar and blended well. Until we found out that one of our partners was hit! Yes, the waiter got confused with the order and brought two Virgin Pena Coladas and one with alcohol. When we asked for the waiter she just stated that we said two Virgin Pena Coladas, a fruit punch and a Pena Colada. By that time we were just looking to make it out alive. 

Pena Colada

      Our bill arrived - we paid - and headed on back to the city. Maybe next time we city folk would just keep to where we know our meals best.

Dine with me at Il Forno Ristorante & Pizzeria

Thinking of having lunch with the girls at Sheraton Mall? You may think of walking in, buying a crate of Chinese food or the average square of macaroni pie. You sit in the noisy food court cluttered with tables and chairs packed into the small area, shouting at your friends over the noise and sharing a few laughs at the whole event. Very quickly everyone has finished eating their food but it’s too noisy to comfortably continue your conversation, and so lunch is over with the girls.

        

Instead of following that same routine, Dine with me at “Il Forno Ristorante & Pizzeria”. If you are entering the food court from the entrance directly opposite the cinema, you will notice the logo of the restaurant on tinted glass. 

When entering the restaurant, a lively friendly Italian theme is what you will encounter, with colours of red, yellow and orange portraying the heat of an oven which compliments the name. The latest music is playing in the background at a comfortable level. It is a festive yet comfortable ambiance with a welcoming aura which feels like it is separated from the food court. A fast-casual restaurant with a seating capacity of four per table is perfect for a casual or intimate conversation. You have a variety of pizzas, pasta dishes, various salads or the daily menu. With a fast-casual restaurant service, you are served in buffet style, pay at a cashier and then dine with cutlery.

Vegetable Rice and Herb Pork
with
 Caesar Salad and Garlic Bread

Friday’s daily menu included Vegetable rice and Herb Pork accompanied with a Caesar salad, garlic bread and a drink of your choice, all at a reasonable price. The vegetable rice was mouth-watering and flavoursome and the taste of each vegetable came alive in your mouth. The variety of vegetables harmonized with the perfectly cooked light and fluffy white rice. With the combined flavours the vegetable rice was aromatic and festive with each bite. None of the ingredients over powered the other and it was just divine. The Herb Pork was succulent and luscious, the meat separated easily from the bone. As the name “Herb Pork” suggests more herbs should have been added to give it the aromatic flavour that was expected from the dark caramelized colour of the pork chop. The garlic bread only had the garlic as an after taste. With the “chewy” dough more attention should be payed to this dish. With visiting an Italian Pizzeria, the pizza was a must to be experienced.

Meat Lovers Pizza

The Meat Lovers pizza is made with thin crispy dough spread with a herby tomato sauce, an array of pepperoni, minced meat and ham well distributed on each slice. It is sprinkled with just the right amount of cheese which didn’t overpower the flavours of other ingredients and left a pleasantly spicy aftertaste.

This fast-casual restaurant is not only a good location for you to catch-up with the girls but its atmosphere is also one that is good for lunch with a small group of friends or an intimate lunch before an early movie. The price range is also a good deal for the portion size and the level of flavour in each dish.