John Andrews Last Night ( I still love it ) South Egremont, MA

[niccole]

hi all

i know there have been disapointing JA reviews in here lately, but i am happy to say last nights meal was excellent as usual for me.

i havent been since may, and the menu last night was all new to me. i will say i was sad to see the mozz-prosc. salad was off the menu, but i found other things...

i was there with 2 girlfirends and we arrived about 6:45 and was happy to see the bar was empty and we stole that corner table right in the bar. we got there at the perfect time because it quickly filled up.

we ordered from both the bar menu and the dinner menu. we had:
beet salad app
fried calamari app
goat cheese tarts app
scallops dinner
gnocchi with kale, parmesan & sage brown butter sauce dinner

everything was delicious and the cocktails flowed. it was a great night. we were supposed to go somewhere else for more drinks and desserts afterward, but we never made it and i was bummed because JA has some REALLY awesome looking desserts and i would have ordered one if i knew. damn.

[kayemtee]

Having dinner at the bar with Peter is the way to go. Bigger menu choice with low priced options unavailable in the dining room. A cut above most of the places in the Berkshires. We had the place to ourselves in a snowstorm last month but couldn't even get into the parking lot last week on a Friday night.

[woodlander]

Is John Andrews for sale? I googled it to find the Sunday menu and found this listing:
http://www.loopnet.com/property/15939...

[Harp00n]

Uh oh, somebody better put Nicole on 24/7 prevention watch ! :-D

Harp

[Harp00n]

Exactly, how was the wait staff?

Harp

[niccole]

we sat in the bar and peter the bartender took great care of us. i dont have any dining room service info for you...

[Lenox637]

Went to JAs for valentine's day with my wife. As usual the food was outstanding. Now, to address the service........ professional, discreet and very conscious of our needs without being bothersome, knowledgeable about the the food when questions were asked etc.....

[Harp00n]

Good to know Lenox637,
It sounds like you & DW had the ideal dining experience for V-Day..
I take it that you are regulars rather than 'summer complaints" then?
If so, have they changed or augmented the waitstaff recently?
Because of the complaints, including my own on this board, about amateurish/distracted servers we've chosen to spend our hard-earned money elswhere. Niccole sat at the bar, our seating of choice, but it's not the same experience in a lot of place as the dining room. Besides, lol, I'm not so sure that Niccole doesn't have a key to the place! Based on your short review we will be back as the food was never in question,

All the best,
Harp

[Lenox637]

I must admit that, being local, I tend to shy away from dining out from July 4th- Labor Day weekend. This is mainly due to the number of times I have had an exquisite meal ruined by the demeanor of other patrons during this time frame. It is unfortunate because the pleasure of a romantic summer evening with my wife is not possible. The one exception i make is dining at the bar if the restaurant has a bar and the full menu is available. This way I have no expectations regarding the ambience of my dining experience. Now, the servers........ unfortunately the "high season" in the Berkshires is also when the college kids are back and need to make money. The restaurants need to add servers during the summer to attend to the massive influx of diners during this time. Once the summer is over and the kids are back at school, the restaurants pare down their operations and only keep the most professional of their staff for the off-season. A constant yo-yo, but we get inventive..... picnics in Kennedy Park, cookouts at Benedict Pond, entertaining at our house and those of friends etc.... it does make for a good time. Unfortunately a bad apple CAN destroy a nice evening out, and fine dining is not cheap. I am lucky to be able to go to these places year round. I must say that if I were to go to Boston and go to an upscale restaurant, I would be incredibly let down if I got lousy service.

Cheers!
637

ps: I can be a bit of an ostrich to the service if it is bad, and it will be reflected in the tip, with a quiet word with the manager as I left, if the food is exquisite.

[Harp00n]

Thank you for your thoughtfully considering and considerate responses. I must say , I'm looking forward to any of your future postings, :-D

Harp

[jaylhorner]

Most of the bad reviews referred to the service and attitude... not the food.
How was the wait staff?

[Lenox637]

Bravo! I have always had a good time at JA's and it is nice to see someone write a nice review. I can't wait to go there this spring.