Christian and I cherish the rare occasion when we get to take West and go out for a nice sit-down dinner so we had some high expectations for a restaurant we have heard wonderful things about. It's known for being family friendly, have great food and a nice eclectic menu to please almost any appetite. Endolyne Joe's here in West Seattle in a little hidden corner of a quiet neighborhood is a well known establishment owned by Chow Foods who also owns other restaurants we love like Hi-Life in Ballard and Atlas at University Village. We decided to try Joe's, and upon arrival we were seated promptly among many other diners in the form of individuals, families, young children, and couples alike. The atmosphere is very playful with homemade crafts and art adorning the walls and a very relaxed vibe.
As usual, when dining with a 15 month old, we took a minute getting set-up with the highchair, the mat, the goldfish crackers, and the water cup. After some fussing from a tired, hungry West and getting our beverages fairly quickly, were decided on our entrees. Flat Iron Steak for me, a treat! Fried Chicken for Christian and Mac-n-Cheese for West. We asked if there was any way to add some sort of tomato product to the macaroni since West loves him some tomato sauce in anything. We were told this would be an easy addition and the chef would be happy to oblige, which we were very thankful for.
Well...after a long while of sitting and waiting we got our food. Christian's chicken was a little spicy and the breading was a bit thin and moist, but he said it was good, My steak was alright in terms of flavor, seasoning, etc., but pretty under-done. Medium-well was what I'd asked for and I think I may have gotten medium, if not medium rare. Westley's mac-n-cheese however, was missing the cheese sauce! The server, who I've come to find was almost brand new to the place, was confused about adding the tomato sauce instead of replacing any cheese sauce with it. We got a side of cheese sauce after a bit, which we were charged extra for. West ate some of the pasta and it was pretty tasty, but he mostly munched on some of daddy's chicken. After getting some great sundaes for dessert and paying our sizeable bill (more than we intended to spend for a casual evening out), we headed home and I decided to write an email to the company and let them know about our experience, the good and bad of it.
I was pleased to receive an response very shortly the next day. One of the owners wrote me back and let me know he was very sorry about the not-so-great parts of the experience and said he'd be forwarding our comments on to the GM of Joe's. This morning I got an email from him, and he was genuinely thankful for all of our input positive and negative. It was a wonderful response and and incredibly professional way to handle a customer inquiry. He was grateful for the heads up about the mix-up in the kitchen and about Erin, our server that night. She was very sweet and I'm certain most of us can relate having done some time in a restaurant environment how crazy a first night serving solo can be. It didn't help that we had an odd request, but she was pleasant, very willing to help, and did her best for being a newbie.
After hearing such appreciation from the manager for our feedback and getting such excellent customer service form everyone we've been in touch with, I'm afraid Endolyne Joe's hasn't seen the last of the Calki!
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