Less than Sincere Apologies
I enjoyed my meal, but i was left with a sour taste from the low level of service. I didn’t mind the prices, but i expect to receive what i ordered. I was bothered because they substituted a key ingredient in two of my dishes for one of lesser value. The waitress never informed me and I also inquired about the in ingredient (morels) before the dish came out and she asked the kitchen where they source them at my request. She told me, but no one mentioned they are being substituted. The menu was wrong, the waitress was wrong and the kitchen lied. When the dishes came out I asked again and than she informed me about the substitution and apologized. I wrote a email and received a less than sincere apology, which ended with what I perceived as a lecture. Which I included below.
“In the future, if there is a particular menu item your are keen to experience at any dining establishment (especially those that are secondary or tertiary to a dish – such as the morels), please feel free to ask your server if said item will indeed be served – In most cases, the server will be happy to check with the kitchen and provide you with the information you need in order to make a more informed menu selection.
Thank you, again, for sharing your dining experience with us. Phil Pyle, Jr. – Chef/Owner – Fair Hill Inn”
The funny thing is I did inquire! Any high end ingredient has to held to some suspicion at fair hill. Secondary ingredients are fair game to change. If floisgras is a secondary ingredient it could be chicken liver. Something topped with white truffle could be almonds, who knows! They lack integrity. which is a shame because the meal tasted great. Part of me wants to return and that’s why I sent the email hoping they were about moving forward, but Chef Phil came across as i have to lower my standard to enjoy my experience their.
