• 07Feb

    We Gave Walker’s Grille Another Shot

    I wrote about Walker’s Grille in September. This Franconia restaurant displayed good potential, but poor execution killed the meal. Both of my roommates had reported having eaten mediocre food there in the past.

    One of the roommates (Cy) and I ate at the restaurant a couple of days ago, and tried out their Restaurant Week lunch menu. The Restaurant Week specials continue through February 10th, and their Valentine’s Day/ Love Week menu runs February 11th-15th.

    So, was this meal riddled with execution errors like the brunch I wrote about previously?

    No. It was a good meal, with some notable dishes. Everything was made from scratch including the dipping sauces.

    The “Hand-Battered Buttermilk Chicken Tenders were crispy and tasty. They were, however, not battered at all, but coated in flour and spices (including Old Bay). The roommate who was with me for this lunch LOVES Old Bay. Both dipping sauces (Ranch and Honey Mustard) were house-made. I am NOT a Ranch Dressing fan, but I’ve never had it freshly made before, and I didn’t hate it (like I would have expected). The Honey Mustard dipping sauce was very good.

    The “Trio of Hummus” includes three house-made varieties: Cilantro Lime, Black Olive, and Red Pepper. All three of them were very good, with the olive variety being my favorite and the pepper variety being my second favorite. This appetizer comes with pita.

    We both enjoyed the Steak Frites, but for some reason his steak portion was twice the size of mine. It’s more an issue of the size difference than actual portions.

    The Chocolate Mousse was exceptional, and included layers of hazelnut cake, a pomegranate reduction, and Chantilly cream.

    The Warm Apple Beignets would have been better if they had included pieces of apple instead of an apply ring. The beignets did not fit in the tiny container of dipping sauce, and we couldn’t just rip them because of the apple rings. You are supposed to cut them with a knife and fork and then dip them but it seemed counter intuitive and unwieldy. The beignets weren’t bad, but the mousse blew them away.

    So, I’m not sure if this restaurant is stronger on Restaurant Week, or if it has to do with a personnel change they had 5 or 6 months ago, but this restaurant does seem to have improved. You still have a few days left of the Restaurant Week menu. Or, you could try the Love Week menu.

    -JAY

    Walker's Grille on Urbanspoon

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  • 16Sep

    Walker’s Grille: Poor Execution Vs. Good Ingredients, Service, and Decor.

    Walker’s Grille is in Franconia, about a mile from Franconia Metro. My friends who live in the area have tried it (seperately) for dinner and said that it is not terrible, but not good, and that they never returned after the first visit. We decided to try Walker’s Grill for brunch.

    Ingredients: Good quality ingredients, including the the coffee, eggs (although they weren’t cooked correctly), and tea. The exception was the old, squishy grapes in a dish of fruit that came with one of the dishes.

    Decor: Nice design and vibe. They have put money and thought into the design. Walker’s Grille has outdoor seating.

    Service: The waitress was frendly, helpful, and had them redo my eggs the first time (before they got to me) because they were sitting to long. This of course, increased the wait time

    Wait Time: This was bad, especially since we were very hungry 30 minutes later when the food arrived. That is a long wait for French toast and eggs, especially since when we arrived, all the tables we saw had already been served (so the kitchen could not have been that busy). The other tables arrived after us.

    Execution: I’ve already mentioned that they had to remake the (over easy) egg platter prior to serving it to us. When it did arrive, one egg was broken, one overcooked, and one was good. The ham served with the eggs was paper thin, clumped together, and very dry, which was not appetizing. One slice of toast is not sufficient for a 3 egg platter; two slices would be the norm.

    The Pain Perdue (French Toast) was very dry inside (and inedible), which means it was not soaked in the egg mixture long enough; the maple-vanilla creme anglaise was good, but “the fresh fruit” included with the dish included grapes that were not fresh. The syrup was served in a ramekin instead of something designed to pour, so pouring syrup was messy. The Pain Perdue dish was so bad that “S” did not eat it; the waitress replaced the dish with a waffle, which was very good but served at nearly room temperature.

    Final Remarks: I want this place to do well, but because of poor execution in the kitchen, a lot of neighborhood people are going to the restaurant once, and not returning. Hopefully they can correct the execution and attention to detail so that this restaurant is a better overall.

    -JAY

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