Now so this guy. He says the worst thing he’s had in Columbia since 1983 was a pork sandwich from Broadway Brewery. My two early visits have netted very good food; and I literally have not had a better plate of pasta in the past year in Columbia than their ravioli special one night. I’ve heard very good responses from the peanut gallery as well. Beer’s coming along too. Anyone else have an early take on the place?
“Guys, I want this to work but last night’s food was probably the worst I have tasten in Columbia in the 26 years I have been here. I ordered the pork sandwich and pork and beans side. The sandwich was way too salty and pork and beans were burnt. I could not eat either. The beer was pretty good but nothing to shout about. I hate to say it but you are way behind Flat Branch. I want you to succeed but something has to be done about the food. The beer I think there are some kinks to work out and I am willing to wait and see. Your salads are way to over priced also. The accoustics are terrible, we had to shout at each other all night. I will wait a month and give you another try, hope it improves, I am pulling for you.”
October 24, 2009 at 10:50 pm
You should probably format this better so that it’s obvious who’s saying what.
October 25, 2009 at 1:26 am
I’m going to side with Eaps on this one, as I’m not clear who is saying the pork sand was bad.
October 25, 2009 at 7:06 am
Not clear. Did you hate it or someone else? As a beer nerd, I think the beer so far is better than Flat Branch. In the three years we’ve been here, Flat Branch’s food has gone from fine to below mediocre. I find Flat Branch fries inedible. Broadway does need to work out kinks, but I don’t find the food to be bad. The first time we ate there, they served a burger without anything – no lettuce, tomato, nothing. Now they are putting the extras on. The lamb burger I had was very good but slightly small. The roasted root vegetables were good. The eggplant pizza was not good – they need to precook the eggplant before putting it in the oven. The corned beer sandwich was good but small. Overall, I find the food intriguing and better than the average pub fare.
October 25, 2009 at 9:48 am
I, too, have no idea who’s saying what. It sounds like Scott is conveying someone else’s review, but with no link, and no quotes, I can’t tell.
I would fully second Jeff’s comments. We’ve been here three years as well and felt that Flat Branch got worse to the point that we stopped going. Our first try at BB was about like Jeff’s; a few kinks but a very good start and worth returning for.
I could see any given meal being bad at a brand-new restaurant, and that could be enough to put someone off, but so far the consensus among all I’ve read and all I’ve heard from is that BB is well worth sticking with.
October 25, 2009 at 1:15 pm
That’s what you get for blogging post-Homecoming game. Sorry for the confusion…makes more sense now.
October 25, 2009 at 3:31 pm
I can’t figure out why you’re giving Broadway Brewery such a pass on the quality of the beer: “Beer’s coming along too”. It has the word BREWERY in its name! How can you serve mediocre beer and call yourself a brewery? Here’s hoping it improves. I still think the place is a great idea.
October 25, 2009 at 3:49 pm
The beer isn’t mediocre there. It’s quite good. Had the IPA today and it was very good.
October 25, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Haven’t had the IPA yet. I did have the APA and Rye when they first opened. I thought both were quite flat, but it could have just been me.
October 25, 2009 at 8:08 pm
I think the beer is good; it is good enough for me. But I do think there are people in town who know more and demand a higher standard. For them, Broadway Brewery is a promising work in progress.
Also, I don’t think I’m giving anybody a “pass”. Search the archives for an example where I haven’t mentioned newness in an early review. Everybody gets a pretty tough shake.
November 1, 2009 at 8:56 pm
We just returned from BB a half-hour ago, and I’d say the experience was mixed. We, too, are wishing them the best, and we’re more than willing to support a Columbia restaurant that actually deigns to be open Sunday night, but they have a ways to go. My husband had the IPA, and I had the porter, and both of them were good. (Having heard that the beer was still a little iffy, I thought this was a promising sign.) As for food, we went with the pizzas. Our son liked his kid’s cheese (and my nibble confirmed good sauce, nice crust), my husband enjoyed his smoked trout pie very much, but the potato version was a real disappointment. The potatoes, which ought to have been meltingly tender, were still semi-raw. Also, there was a notable lack of flavor. I told the waiter that they need to make an effort to get the potatoes thoroughly done, and that a base layer of prosciutto would probably be a good idea. We’ll go back, but I’ll try a sandwich or an entree next time…
November 1, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Good post, Karen. Broadway Brewery is still a work in progress, I suppose. For my part, I’ve been pleased with my food their. And I’ve had the potato pizza. I actually liked the crunchiness of the slightly undercooked potatoes…I thought it was different and added a nice textural element. Too raw wouldn’t be fun, though, and it sounds like that’s what you got.
November 2, 2009 at 11:31 am
In fairness, I wouldn’t say they were any more raw than what you describe as “slightly undercooked” — apparently we just have different tastes in potatoes ; ) And for the record, the waiter and the floor manager (I guess you’d call him) were very receptive to my comments. Perhaps the next time I feel like something of the potato pizza variety, though, I should give this recipe a try:
http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/alsatian-potato-and-bacon-tart
After all, I have had it sitting around since 2002…