Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Review of Swiss Chalet, St. Thomas


A couple of weeks ago I received an email from Swiss Chalet about their new pasta and rice bowls.  I thought they looked delicious, especially the butter chicken, and couldn't wait to try them.  In fact, I mentioned the ad in my Facebook status.  So you know I was really looking forward to trying this dish.  One FB friend did mention that she thought it was wrong to serve jasmine rice with butter chicken.

Last week my sister was in town for the day.  We went with Mom, Nanna and our sister-in-law to Swiss Chalet for lunch.  Guess what I ordered?  Nancy and I cracked a joke about the butter chicken being served with the wrong kind of rice.  And that's when I got my first shock.  "It's not our fault that head office is r*****ed" our server informed us.  I hate that word.  I know it is a simple, harmless word all by itself.  But it is used to demean others, especially those with challenges they can't help.  But I bit my tongue which you know is sometimes difficult for me.  I didn't want to ruin the meal for everyone else.

We had a lovely chat while we waited for our food to be served.  It all looked lovely, well except for Mom and Nanna's.  The photo on the menu showed a lovely bountiful serving of garlic shrimp. What arrived was a few tiny shrimp huddled together for warmth in the centre of the dish.  And then Mom took a bite.  The shrimp weren't peeled properly so Mom had to peel them all and ended up with the garlic sauce all over the place.  Nancy and Terra split a pasta bowl with chicken and said it was very good.  I took my first bite of the butter chicken and it was delicious.  Nancy took a taste, scooping up a little chicken, sauce and rice in one bite.  I took a forkful of the rice at the same time.  OMG . . . it was almost raw.  I flagged the server over and handed her my plate.  She offered to get me a new butter chicken but I said no because by the time my new meal arrived everyone else would have been done eating and have to wait for me.  I grabbed a piece of naan bread off the plate to prevent my starvation.  I then asked her about the garlic shrimp, commenting that it sure didn't look like the menu photo.  That's when I got to hear more about the mentally-challenged head office because of course it couldn't be the cook's fault.  Although apparently the cook didn't know how to cook rice either.  She offered to bring my meal back with the regular rice they usually served.  I accepted that.

Yeah, I was still eating long after everyone was done . . . but . . . the butter chicken did taste quite delicious with their seasoned rice.

I am sure I will be going back again.  After all, this is the first time I've had an ignorant server . . . and the chicken pot pie is to die for.  I doubt I'll ever order another rice bowl or garlic shrimp though.

3 comments:

  1. As a parent with a handicapped child who is developmentally disabled, I am often appalled at the misuse of this the R-word. I think a letter or email to the owner would be called for, if she uses it ten times in a day, it is still too much. There are a hundred other words she could have chosen, and her complaining about the company that provides her work? Nothing like biting the hand that feeds.

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  2. Did you get said servers name to send a complaint to management about her.

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    1. No I didn't get her name but I have sent a complaint to their head office.

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