Hadley's for big group or other brunch place
Hey we are coming in from out of town and were hoping to try Hadley's. Does anyone know how spacious the place is? we were hoping to come with a fairly large group (11 people) Is this even feasible? We were hoping for a Friday (good Friday) brunch. If not, does anyone have any other suggestions for Friday brunch for a large group?
Thanks!
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Going for dinner on saturday, can anyone make any recommendations on what to order and what to miss?
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re: justsayn
Okay well I guess I had my expectations a little out of line.. in short- the experience was really inconsistent.
The place itself was... a little dumpy. My dad kept almost knocking himself out on the utilities box protruding from the wall in the booth we sat at, and some tacky Christmas lights flickered in the window. As the evening went on, the (small) restaurant became incredibly smoky, which I thought was awesome because it meant something delicious was happening, but it was a little distracting. Also distracting was the noise level in the place. We looked around and noticed that there weren't that many people actually talking, but I think the acoustics were just so terrible that it meant we had to scream to hear each other.
Service was also meh. Right when we came in (about 735), pretty much all of the tables were turning and so we all basically had to put our orders in at the same time (an inevitable stress on the tiny kitchen). Also, our server did something somewhat unusual and I'm not sure what I think about it. We decided very quickly what we wanted to order (before the two tables who sat down before us), and when she delivered our drinks I told her we were ready. This seemed to make her a bit stressed and she let us know that she likes to go in order of who came in first so no one complains. Okay, in this case I didn't mind so much because she then went to the other tables and they were ready, but what if the other tables had not even looked at the menu and needed another 20 minutes to decide? Then, would we still wait? Not sure I'd be too happy about that.
When we finally did get to place our orders, we were informed that the ribs (basically the reason we had come) were sold out (later we found out that a man came in at 5 PM and ordered 17 orders of ribs to go without any call ahead notice). The soup of the day was also sold out (and there could have been others that were MIA but thankfully, the rest of our choices turned out to be safe). Also, there was no fried chicken on the menu or I definitely would have tried that.
We had:
Goddess Salad (romaine lettuce tossed in a creamy dressing made from a base of avocado, basil and olive oil. Topped with red onion, tomato, and bacon) x 2 (small orders)- We ordered the smalls, but my g-d these were small! I liked the dressing, but felt the whole thing could have been more generous (at least shell out a few more bits of bacon!)
Hush Puppies- Like corn bread, shaped into balls, battered and fried, I enjoyed these. They were very crispy, well-seasoned and went nicely with both of the dips. My only complaint is that they were a tad dry, but I find that to be true in general for hush puppies.
Andrew's Grilled Cheese (smoked cheddar, Emmental and Mozzarella with caramelized onions and arugula on a crusty Italian loaf)- So here's where the meal took a turn for the better. This was the best grilled cheese I've ever tasted. The Italian bread was cut super thick so that it was buttery soft on the inside, with an impossibly crunchy exterior (yep- I even did the "tap test"). I felt that the selection of cheese was flavourful but yet still comfortingly familiar, and its savoury smoky aroma was nicely balanced by the sweet bed of onions, and slightly bitter arugula. There was a perfect level of toasted brown on the bread that obviously can only be achieved by adequate buttering action, but I didn't find it offensively greasy on the hands. And the best part? Lot's of that pan-fried cheese "lace" that happens ONLY when grilled cheese is made right- with just a little too much cheese for the bread to be able to hold. That's what the cheese lace technique depends on, and it's an essential component of making good grilled cheese.
Smoked Chicken- I didn't try it but mom said it was just "okay". Should be mentioned, however, that she was very disappointed about the whole sold-out-rib thing.
Hamburger with bacon- I didn't try it, but my dad raved about it. The bun alone looked gorgeous (Portuegese) and from what I saw on the inside, it was cooked a nice medium.
Pulled Pork Sandwich- I tried a bit of the pork which I thought was pretty good. You could taste the smoke in the meat, there was no offensive fat chunks and (while I do love BBQ sauce), I appreciated that it wasn't drowned in it so you could actually taste the meat. Unfortunately, the slaw on top didn't do much for the sandwich, but more on that below.
Side: Fries- Oh man. Very good fries. They were very thick cut and looooooong but incredibly crispy and flavourful. Definitely the side to order if I were to return.
Side: Coleslaw- This was pretty disappointing. This slaw tasted a bit chalky.. almost like it had jicama or radish in it and had been left a little too long to get soft. I also didn't detect any dressing at all, just bland watery veg.
Side: Mashed Potatoes- Both people who went with the mashed side scraped their plate clean. I did try them, and yes, they were really delicious mashed potatoes. And you'd think this was an easy task (and it is!) but I have had a lot of mediocre and even bad restaurant mashed potatoes.
Side: Baked Beans- Another miss. I love baked beans, and I like mine sweet and savoury, but this was neither. It kind of tasted like they took a can of kidney beans, mashed it up (in the water it was canned it) and that was it. It needed sweetener, maybe some salt, pepper, and those beans needed to be rinsed because it was very starchy. Anyways- enough on the damn beans.
Side: Mac and Cheese- This was a simple but delicious mac and cheese. It was creamy, with the perfect amount of sauce (which again, is easily messed up by restaurants) and comforting. It could have used a textural contrast (breadcrumbs, bacon, ham etc.) but I guess that's why I know how to cook at home.
We didn't have dessert as it was never offered to us and at that point, I think we all were ready to escape the smoke.
So for 2 massive glasses of wine, 1 cocktail, 1 beer, 1 pop, 2 salads, 1 appetizer, 4 mains and 1 extra side, the bill came to about $125 for the four of us. Pretty reasonable if you ask me, but a little too "hit and miss" for me to be enthusiastic about returning. If I wanted a burger + fries or an indulgent grilled cheese and was too lazy to slap one together myself, I'll be back. Otherwise, I'd probably prefer to shell out the extra $ for a more consistently good meal.You can see pictures here:
www.abbeyskitchen.com-
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re: JennaBean
Yes. Lower the expectations indeed. I was particularly disappointed in the beans.. from everyone's previous posts, they were described as sweet and delicious. Mine were literally just like mashed beans- no seasoning at all.
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re: JennaBean
justsayn
Jun 26, 2012 02:12 PM
As a fan of Hadleys, I have to say....I really don't critique the plating all too much. The place is so informal and the plating is not awful in any way, so I pretty much don't notice it. But I never think sad when I get served there to be honest. The smoked chicken is just always juicy and perfectly smokey. As far as the beans go, they are never the sweet kind. In my experience they are very peppery and fresh tasting. By the look of your beans, they look more mashed than normally - maybe it was the end of the batch? I have to say that the beans and slaw are not for everyone. If you prefer familiar dishes to taste familiar, these may not work. They are completely unique so you can't compare them to your favourites. I happen to like their style.
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re: justsayn
I think it just looked like it was tossed on a plate without much thought or care and it looked sparse. When I think of bbq places I kind of expect to leave stuffed to the gills and maybe even have some to take home. I wouldn't expect it to look beautiful but I'd like to think "hey that looks good and I'd really like to eat it" the chicken plate did not leave me with that thought at all.
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