Disappointment At Savelli's

Friday evening our family (Memommy, Mr. Jimmy, Auntie M., Mr. Bob, Bub, Kaylea and I) went out for what we thought was going to be a nice dinner at one of our favorite little Italian restaurants. We all had eaten at Savelli's in the past and it was the first choice when we planned our outing. As a matter of fact, Memommy had been looking forward to going there for over a week. You see, Memommy and Mr. Jimmy are from Macon and they don't have the opportunity to visit Savelli's like the rest of us "locals" do.


Well, all I can say is we did not have a good experience Friday evening, and the manner in which our complaints were handled will most likely prevent us from returning to the restaurant. If you are familiar with Savelli's, then you know it is very intimate and it can tend to get very crowded. Of course, expect this on a Friday evening; therefore, we made reservations for our party of 7.


When we arrived, we were seated immediately and our drink orders were taken. Then we sat for quite a while before we were approached again. By this time everyone was very hungry and ready to order. Unfortunate for us though, our waiter only wanted to take our appetizer order. This was apparent by the way he rushed away from the table as soon as we ordered the antipasto salad and fried cheese. We sat and waited for him to return and take our meal order, but he didn't return. Finally, our appetizers were brought to the table by a young lady (not our waiter), and we dove into them like a swarm of locust. The fried cheese was very good, but the antipasto salad was lacking a little, in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, the meats and provolone, along with the peppers and olives were delicious, but the lettuce looked old and had started to turn brown around the edges. It had the appearance of lettuce that had been chopped for a day or so and had been stored in the refrigerator.


After we finished our appetizers we continued to sit and wait for our meal order to be taken. Finally, our waiter returned to the table to take the orders. Guess what we did after that? You guessed it; sat and sat and sat and waited for our meals to be prepared. Unfortunately, things just careened downhill from this point forward. When our meals finally arrived - minus Mr. Jimmy's (the pizza cooks were backed up and his was going to take about 7 minute longer - which was actually about 10 min, but who's counting) - there were a few problems. First Mr. Bob's Chicken Parmesan was burnt and he ordered Angel Hair pasta and received spaghetti. All things we would deal with; however, we could not deal with what we discovered next. After Memommy, Auntie M and I doused our meals with Parmesan Cheese we smelled a horrific odor that resembled something along the lines of a men's locker room and dirty sweaty socks. I picked up the shaker of Parmesan Cheese and took a big whiff and about fell out of my chair. Let's just say, I found the originating point of the odor. It smelled more like Limburger Cheese instead of Parmesan Cheese. We immediately flagged our waiter and told him of the problem and that we now had three meals that were covered in rancid cheese, to which his only action was to remove the cheese shaker from the table and walk into the kitchen. After waiting on a few tables he returned and removed our plates and then waited on a few more tables. Then finally, he returned again and asked us what we wanted to replace our original orders. We told him we wanted the same meals, just not with rotten cheese this time.

When our meals were finally brought back to the table (Auntie M's about 5 minutes after Memommy's and mine) I began to eat, being careful to stay away from the cheese shaker. Imagine my shock when I put the first bite of a stuffed shell into my mouth and tasted spoiled ricotta cheese. I promptly spit it out and gave up on eating Italian for the evening. For some odd reason I had lost my appetite.

As of yet, there has been no response to our complaint. The waiter brought the bill, with no accommodation for the poor service and poor food quality we received. When Auntie M called back to the restaurant she was told they were too busy to talk to her and she would have to call back on Saturday. We are still waiting for an apology, at the very least! Unfortunately, regardless of how, or if, they resolve this matter, I don't think I will be returning. So so sad! I guess I will have to get my Italian fix at Altruda's from now on.

Date Night in the Old City

Last night Bub and I had another one of our "Date Nights". These are always so nice. We actually get to spend a few hours alone and have dinner where WE want to and have an uninterrupted adult conversation. We were kinda late getting started, it was 7:00 when we left the house. WOW, I can't believe that I just said that. Back in the day, we wouldn't even think about going out until at least 9 or 10. Anyway, we had the usual discussion about where we would go. Bub saying, "I don't care." And me saying, "It doesn't matter." Finally, Bub came up with an idea and just started driving. He does this sometimes; I never can tell where the car will stop. Honestly, I really like the surprise of it all.



Well, last night he drove down to the Old City. After parking the car, we just walked the street trying to decide where to eat. I will admit, there aren't that many choices down there anymore; so with our limited selections, we decided on Patrick Sullivan's. When we went into the restaurant, there were several people seated at tables and the bar, but it was not overly crowded. Our meal was very good. Actually, I was quite surprised. I had a French Dip sandwich and the roast beef actually melted in my mouth. I, also, had the Creamed Spinach as a side; it was as good as any I have ever had. Bub tried the Prime Rib sandwich and he said his was excellent, as well. He didn't get too adventurous with his side, just had the steak fries. Though they were the traditional choice, their rosemary seasoning made them better than the norm.



It is sad that the Old City isn't the wild and crazy street party that is was back in the 90's, but it is still a nice area to go to for dinner. (Heck, I guess if it was still a crazy street party, old farts like Bub and I wouldn't go near the place). As we were leaving the restaurant around 9:30ish, the streets were getting a little more crowded. It would be nice if that area of downtown could experience a rebirth like Market Square. Let's go back to the days of the funky little eclectic shops, the art galleries, the outdoor dining, and coffee and dessert at Java or JFG. Those were the days! Actually, those were the date nights that Bub and I had when we were actually dating. Long before marriage, family, mortgages, etc. What a great place to go back to last night! Thanks Bub, for taking me on a trip down memory lane!