Until tonight, we've absolutely loved everything about Bass Lake Draft House and usually have dinner there 2 to 3 times every month for the past three years. That came to an end tonight. Don't get me wrong, there food there is always great tasting and well prepared, and the service is usually better than average which we can't say about most restaurants in the Triangle. Besides the issue I had with the Smokey Mountain Chicken (which I'll elaborate on later in this review), I could not believe what I saw on the check! My daughter ordered the Turkey and Cheese Pita off of the children's menu. The Pita comes dry and so my daughter asked for a side of ranch dressing... KA-CHING Let's charge these folks for a side of dressing! I asked our waitress about this and she said it just depends on the manager on duty and she had to charge for it or she'd hear about it from the manager. Then I noticed the suggestions for gratuity of 15%, 18% and 20% listed on the bill which is fine and I usually tip 18 to 20% at any restaurant. Well, the gratuity amounts they offered were on the TOTAL amount of the bill and not on the pre-tax sub-total. I can't believe they are suggesting for their patrons to tip on sales tax! I wrote a brief note on the receipt stating that the gratuity should be based on the sub-total and not the after-tax total. Waiting for my wife in the restroom, I watched for the waitress to pick up the check and read the note. When she did, she called over one of the other waitresses and from the expressions they were making on their faces, I seriously wished I could have heard the horrible things they were saying about me, probably of which was being such a tight wad over tipping on sales tax.
Now, onto the Smokey Mountain Chicken...DELICIOUS! However, the menu states TWO chicken breasts; not two chicken breasts halves, and not two chicken breast QUARTERS which is what I got. It truly was a half chicken breast, cut in half. They were each smaller than a frozen processed chicken breast patty. Had they been two chicken breasts as the menu states, I would not have had an issue with the $12.99 charge for this dish, but I did not receive a $12.99 meal tonight. What I got tonight was gouged and robbed. Charging for a side of salad dressing, suggesting gratuity on sales tax and grossly over-charging for a sub-standard meal not correctly described on the menu put me over the edge. I'll take my business elsewhere from now on.
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