This Week's Guest Judge...

Is Section123 Saints Fan who related to us this morning this disappointing experience. This guest review reveals a number of interesting things. First, the absolute disappointment and anger that results when dining out goes awry. And also, how waiters sometimes suck.*

Had to drop you an email about a very disappointing Bogey last night. Maximo's Italian Grill
I have heard such good things about this place recently, same chef as pre-K, great atmosphere,service, etc.... Maximo's did not live up to any of that

First and Foremost, Service: Double Bogey
We had a group of 8 people and wanted some wine, so I asked for a suggestion.

The waiter responded by asking me how much I wanted to spend. Now, I don't want to go on a long rant about this, but as someone who waited tables and bar tended for 5 years, that's not an appropriate question. You should be able to recommend an Italian red in each category, cheap, moderate, pricey, you're an Italian restaurant after all.

Anyway, I tell him that since we will be having 3 or 4, let's go with something under 50. His response: I have something okay for 50 and something great for 60.

Look, I'm here to have dinner, not be treated like someone trying to buy a used car. You don't have a single decent wine under 50 bucks? There are at least 10 bottles in that price range, do they all suck? Why are they on your wine list then? Are you kidding? I end up ordering the cheapest Chianti on the menu (cheap Chianti is kind of a guilty pleasure for me anyway) just to spite the guy.

Throughout our dinner, the waiter is rude and not attentive. He occasionally fills wine glasses, a role which I eventually relegate myself to because we' didn't come to play around and have a glass or two. He begins to hover over us around 10:00 PM, making it very obvious he is ready to go whenever we leave.

Then, in a final act of indifference and poor waiting skills, he adds a 20% tip to the entire check, including the price of wine (which was about 150 bucks). First of all, if you're a good waiter, you rarely ever do this - I know, from experience. And if you have done a good job and your table leaves drunk and happy, you may get well over 20%. But fine, if you want to do it, play by the rules at least. 18% is acceptable, and typically, you do not add it on the price of wine. Again though, all of this would have been fine if he had, at any point in the evening, acted like he gave a damn about us, but after the service we got, it was the last straw. I will never return.

Food: Par
I got the rack of lamb and the sauteed calimari. It was unremarkable. Girlfriend got the Veal Noci, and it was decent, although much too sweet. The waiter recommended the special risotto of the night, and one in our party got it - it tasted like overly buttered grits. Not good either.

For some reason, the waiter also suggested we get an order of this entree to put in the center of the table and all share (in addition to our other entrees - I guess he had already decided he was slapping the 20% on) As far as Italian joints go, I would take Venezia's and Vincents over this place any day. not to mention any other Italian place worth a damn.

Value: Bogey
If I pay 30 bucks for lamb, I expect it to be pretty damn good. It was blah.

Atmosphere: Par
Wants to be fine dining. Suffers from poor service. Many of the dishes were buried in sauce. The presentation on all but one of the salads was very weak.

All in all, it got a bogey from everyone I dined with. Unimpressed.

* The views of our guest reviewers do no neccessarily reflect the opinions of the Blackened Out Editorial Staff. However we do appreciate the use of the Blackened Out Scoring System.