The reviews for State 48 Brewery in Surprise AZ ran a 4.5 average on a popular review site so I thought this restaurant is worth a try. I also read that the owners have years of experience working at impressive restaurants. The current menu for this restaurant is well written and sounded interesting to me.
As we drove up I saw that this was an enormous building. I guess the brewing area takes up a bunch of room.
We were seated at a very uncomfortable booth. Not much room between our stomachs and table and it felt like the seats were reclining ……..
……..so it was hard to sit up at the table. I never sat in a booth that felt like that before but just got over it and sat there anyway.
We were going to start with a house made beer. But we learned that their beers aren’t ready yet and they won’t be able to serve their own beer for several weeks so we ordered something else.
We started with an appetizer of Ahi Tuna Tostadas. The description sounded delicious. Ahi Tuna Tartare over a corn tostada with roasted corn and jicama slaw with pickled red onions and cilantro-lime aioli.
The food runner drops off the appetizer without sharing plates.
The appetizer is similar but different from the description.
Tuna Tartare is one French Fry Shaped piece of tuna that’s very hard to eat and certainly not appetizing. The definition of tuna Tartare is ..raw tuna cut up in small pieces, often it’s flavored. The French Fry Shape of tuna they gave me does not fit the definition of tartare.
The tostada’s roasted corn and jicama slaw doesn’t contain jicama and maybe had one kernel of corn and was mostly just green cabbage in a non-traditional tasting dressing with an orange tint.
The cilantro-lime aioli lacked cilantro and maybe lime and just seemed like a loose white liquid.
I did inform the waiter about the tostada and he said, “I’ll tell the kitchen.”
Now my Falafel Burger arrives and a big side of that Roasted Corn and Jicama Slaw…..
WhyyyyyyyWhyyyyyWhy…..
that didn’t contain any Roasted Corn or Jicama.
The Falafel Burger is impossible to eat as a sandwich so I separated it at the falafels and skipped the roll. I do note they offered a bun-less falafel burger that I should have went with. So with a knife and fork I try a piece of falafel. I am relieved that it is correctly seasoned. It’s didn’t seem like a fresh herb seasoning but still it was seasoned so it was ok with me. One falafel patty had goat feta cheese on it that was good. The other Falafel was suppose to have green curry coconut yogurt. I can’t identify what it was but It had a loose unflavored white liquid that was similar to what the tostada had on it.
Now I’m left with that forking cole slaw with a orange tint. I actually usually love cole slaw but this one is too odd for me to enjoy. It’s sort of too sour without sweetness. It’s just not flavored in an appetizing way to me. The Roasted Corn and Jicama Slaw that doesn’t contain roasted corn or jicama. The menu was just a fantasy novel I read. No cilantro, no roasted corn, no jicama, no green curry, no coconut and tartare that was just a slab of not the cleanest tasting fish. The Ahi is in the photo below and isn’t bright with color.
Someone approaches the table who might be a manager. I told her that there isn’t any jicama or roasted corn in the slaw.
She says to me that you know jicama …
JICAMA
……..looks just like cabbage.
CABBAGE
I’m thinking to myself……WTFork………
.Jicama looks nothing like cabbage. This woman is insinuating that I don’t know the difference between cabbage and jicama.
That’s Forked up!
Suddenly I feel I’m trapped in an episode of Star Trek called Chain of Command.
Where the Cardassian interrogates and tortures Captain Picard and forces him to say that there is 5 green lights when there is truly 4 green lights.
“There isn’t jicama or corn in the slaw”
“There IS JICAMA and CORN in the Forking Slaw”
“There isn’t jicama or roasted corn in the slaw”
“There IS JICAMA and CORN in the slaw”
I stick my fork in the slaw and show her it just green cabbage.
Now she says that they just opened this week and they were busier than they expected to be.
I tell her that I didn’t have an issue with them running out of things. I told her it’s better to be honest to the customer and let them know about substitutions so I’d be ready for a substitution or I would have the option to order something else if I wanted too.
She didn’t say that she was sorry about my experience. She just said she’d tell the kitchen. She also didn’t care that I hardly touched the cole slaw and only ate the falafels.
My husband had the Beer Cheese Steak with Fries.
This sandwich was made with tender flavorful beef. This was a good platter but the food runner ran off and didn’t offer ketchup for the fries.
This restaurant is brand new and has only been open a few weeks. I experienced substitutions, misses and possibly management attitude. I note they do offer a lovely menu and with strong leadership in the kitchen and someone with front of the house skills this restaurant can become a hot spot.
I personally feel that when a restaurant runs out of things that they have three choices.
1- someone runs out a buys what they need.
2- They take things off the menu. That is called to 86 it and restaurant language.
3- They make substitutions and let the guest know so the guest can accept the substitution or have the choice to order something else.
I note your experience should differ than what I experienced from this restaurant.
Sometimes when you visit a restaurant the menu just reads like a fantasy novel.
This is a newly opened restaurant so it’s not rated.
I also note I purposely didn’t use the name of this restaurant in the title of this review because it’s not my intention to bring a negative experience about them to the public. This information is only for people who read my blog and have a desire to hear The Forking Truth.
For more information on State 48 Brewery in Surprise AZ please visit www.State48Brewery.com
The Forking Truth
