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| Tex Mexican Food VS. Burgers |
G’day everyone,
It was the best of restaurants. It was the worst of restaurants, One is reborn while the other will soon fade from my memory.
I begin with comparisons of two restaurants. Both Moe’s Southwest Grill and The Burgers are relatively new additions to our gracious and growing city. Both offer a variety of delicious meals that are quickly prepared and moderately priced. Both also went downhill rapidly within months of opening.
The Burgers opened here in early 2018. After a booming first few months, I noticed that food and service quality began slipping. By the end of the year, it appeared to me that The Burgers would suffer the same fate as this site’s last four restaurants.
Moe’s Southwest Grill opened with a line out the door and across the parking lot. Quite an impressive display considering this first week's line contained only invited VIPs. Crowds grew even larger once Moe’s opened its doors to we commoners. Soon, however, the specter of past failed restaurants in this building seemed to be an omen for Moe's.
Plagued by frequently inoperable restrooms that were usually out of hand soap and paper towels, I wondered what health issues might be equally festering behind the scenes in Moe’s food-prep line. On one of those recurring days, I learned from the store manager that the employees use the same restrooms to wash their hands; apparently during various shifts without soap.
Food quality has always been hit or miss at this Moe’s. My family and I have eaten at the Moe’s chain restaurants in other states and many cities. We have always enjoyed Moe's fresh and consistent food quality. High employee turnover points to the possibility of poor management and lack of chain-driven leadership, the reality that put Moe’s predecessor, “We’re Cooking,” out of business in less than a year after opening on this same location.
Whatever the reason, here’s what my family and I endured during the very last meal we will ever eat at this Moe’s location. Before I continue, do note that we have had superb meals at this Moe’s, but they’ve been few and far between (see my prior review of this Moe’s location).
By Tuesday, this Moe’s was already out of its new “Power Bowl” ingredients. They were also out of guacamole and had been for two days. Out of Guacamole? This is a restaurant claiming to be a “Southwest grill?" It was not the first time this has happened at this restaurant. To blame, I was told once again, was the failure of its delivery truck to arrive two days before. I don’t remember how many times I heard this excuse from the frequently replaced management staff.
But wait, there’s more! Both types of rice were stale, dried out, and so crunchy that one bite broke down as if I’d bitten into a clump of hardened sand. Sticking with the sand-like consistency, the rice had been cooked without the spices blending thoroughly. I know this because I had several bites containing clumps of stuck-together spices that similarly broke down into a mouthful of fine grit. In all fairness, this rice grittiness might not be attributed to poor food preparation, but might be influenced by the amount of hand soap in the bathrooms, in my opinion. I’m speculating as to the cause, but the outcome was nevertheless disgusting.
Similarly, the black beans were a blended combination of old, dried-out spoonfuls of beans mixed together with portions of overcooked and equally unseasoned mush. Working my way down the line, the grilled vegetables were oily goo, while the new feta-based cheese sauce reminded me of my smelly feet (note that it had tasted much better the week before when I first had it on my “Power Bowl”). After having a little iceberg lettuce dumped freshly from its bag in the fridge, my “Ear Muff” salad, without guacamole and power-bowl chicken, was on its way down my gullet.
*Urp* this was the first meal in a very long time that I couldn’t get through. In fact, 4 out of the 5 of us had equally unsatisfying meals. So for the first time in years, I demanded money back.
Before getting said refund, however, I had to listen to a litany of excuses from this week’s new assistant manager — everything from the late delivery truck and the soda machine that often was missing flavors or ice, to the often-nasty bathrooms were explained away as “not my faults.” Even our disgust with our meals was dismissed with the assistant manager stating that he’d eaten the same food not so long ago and, said it was very good. My subsequent challenge to him and his employees was to scrape a spoonful of the rice and beans from the pans from which we were served and eat them. Within seconds, an employee was carrying rice and bean pans away from the frontline, mumbling to the cook to make fresh replacements.
Finally, the assistant manager kept repeating his defensive monologue. Unwilling to listen further, I demanded our money back. I got 2/3 of it back after listening several times how my wife and I had eaten most of our glop-meals.
Changing gears — back to The Burgers
Plagued with frequent employee turnover and poor food quality spelled the end of The Burgers within months of opening its doors. The frequently empty parking lot told the story. Our meals of mushy, undercooked fried shrimp and fries kept us away from The Burgers for a few months. Hoping they’d improved, we entered The Burgers cautiously optimistic. I am relieved to report that The Burgers has returned to high-quality food and service.
Told that the owners cleaned house and hired & properly trained a new crew. These employees apparently paid attention.
The five of us were thrilled with our meals. We ordered a hamburger, a grilled chicken sandwich, a Chicago-style hotdog, a fried shrimp basket, and a salad.
Everything was served hot, fresh tasting, perfectly seasoned, and everything was delicious. I, the grumbling diabetic, had the balsamic vinaigrette salad with fried shrimp. Everything fried was fantastic. The fried-pickle appetizer, the shrimp, the onion rings, and especially the fries were exactly one should expect from a pricey burger restaurant. My salad had plenty of fresh cucumber slices, tomato wedges, chunks of feta cheese and a dozen Kalamata olives. The iceberg lettuce was a little boring, and the salad dressing tasted weak (watered down?), but my overall meal was worth the price.
The Burgers did what it should have done by cleaning house and starting from scratch. With all the employee and management turnover at Moe’s Southwest Grill, the dichotomy separating the two restaurants couldn’t be greater or more obvious.
Today, I tossed my Moe’s t-shirt (yes, I had one) into our rag bag. We will never return to our city’s Moe’s Southwest Grill again. Keeping our fingers crossed, we will enthusiastically return to The Burgers.
Updated 13 March 2019:
Within days of writing this post, the above-mentioned Moe’s Southwest Grill closed its doors for the last time. Prophetically, but to no surprise, a blind man could see this coming and did.
R.I.P. you nasty, awful Moe’s Southwest Grill. Long live “The Burgers.”
Have a nice day.
~RJ
Restaurant locations:
Moe’s Southwest Grill
870 US-321
Lenoir City, Tn 3771
Phone: (865) 816-6637
The Burgers
540 US-321
Lenoir City, 37771
Phone: (865) 816-6900
Tags:
Restaurant, Moe, Burger, Moe’s Southwest Grill, employee turnover, nasty, health department, sanitary, quality, food, shrimp, salad, chicken, hot dog, fried pickles, onion rings, french fries, ashes, learn, drastically
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