3 Words or Less is getting a Re-Boot.  I'm moving towards an All Keith On-Line Experience.  I'll be posting what I've been eating (of course) as well as what I've been reading, seeing, and also other observations.

I'll be using Good Reads to update my book list.  I hope I can entertain and enlighten people with my observations.

Thanks for the support!  See you again soon.......

Potential big move

All:  I just applied to be a writer for @examinercom, following in the footsteps of @jennyswave25.  I hope to hear back in 2-3 weeks.  I'll keep you all updated.

APPLY TO BE AN EXAMINER!!

 
In the meantime, I continue to eat.  Last night I went to American Bistro again.  Love that place.

In honor of Lent

I'm eating a great flounder fillet sandwich at Chicken Shack, located at 2129 W Patapsco Ave.

This is a great sandwich because it was fried on the spot, and didn't seminar frozen beforehand.

The fried chicken looks great, too. I'll definitely be back!

Quick hit

I just wanted to send a quick note. There is a new version of Cheerios available. Peanut Butter Cheerios sounded odd at first, but I tried it.

Verdict: Win!

This is a cereal I would feed my kids, if I had any. Sweet enough, nice amount of peanut butter flavor, not overpowering at all. Also, its as healthy as any other Cheerio variety. Good stuff.

Teeny Weekie Tabasco bottles fom the Loews Hotel

Aren't they cute?  The Diet Coke cans are added to give you a sense of scale.

Reters Crab House

This is one of my favorite places to eat. Surprising fact: they have GREAT coleslaw.

Grateful for the beach bum vibe here too. Can't help but relax with crab, oysters and HUSH PUPPIES!!

Going to Olive Garden

I'd like to quickly welcome Olive Garden to Owings Mills.  This is a VERY long overdue addition to our restaurant family in the OM area.

We're going to check it out tonight.

I ate a great crepe

Again, I visited Sophie's Crepes, the location near my house in Owings Mills.

As always, I get something great there. I tried the Creped Brie. It was Brie cheese, sliveree almonds, honey and (in my case) cranberry chutney. It was great. Toss in an Orangina, and my $10.00 could not have been better spent.

Great breakfast as always.

Update on the Noodles situation

All -

I got a response from Noodles and Company late last week.  They are looking into the identity of the person who was so rude, and are going to go through the "proper disciplinary measures".

The manager will more than likely hear about it too, and I was led to believe there would be some training involved in how this situation is handled.  I'm happy with that. 

Of course, I was offered coupons for free meals, or appointments to have "menu tastings" for new food items, both of which were very generous and sound like fun (in the case of the menu tastings....yum!).

All in all, it seems that the issue I had was a one time situation, rather than a problem with the organization.  The corporate response was very very appropriate for what happened.  They got more info from me, regarding the date and time of my visit.  They got a physical description of the offending server.  They offered coupons and other fun stuff to make us happier.  They suggest that training is in order, which is good.

Again, I want to thank the folks at Noodles corporate for their heartfelt response to our issues.  I am sure we will make out way back sooner or later.

I got some other good feedback from various people via facebook, twitter, etc.  I appreciate all of your feedback and advice.  Thanks, guys.

Are my recent issues with Noodles and Company in Owings Mills indicative of a problem with the whole oganization?

All:

Some of you are aware of the issue that I have recently had with Noodles and Company. I used to go to one of their shops frequently enough, maybe 3-4 times a month. My wife and I enjoy their food, and like the fact that as a general rule, we can eat healthy foods quickly there. Noodles is one of only a few places where I can honestly say that.

On Thursday of last week (1/19/2012) my wife and I went to the local Owings Mills location, and ordered dinner in. Usually we get carry out. I don't eat lunch, so I was fairly hungry. SO was my wife. We ordered:

1 medium sized dinner for each of us
1 soup for me/1 side salad for my wife
1 order of pot stickers to share

Since the restaurant was crowded, we had 2 choices of where to sit. I'm not comfortable in booths, so I chose a small table for 2 in the corner. When the "waitress" (I use the term loosely out of respect for actual wait staff) got to our table, she LOUDLY exclaimed to a crowded restaurant:

"Ya'll gonna eat ALL THIS FOOD!?! It ain't gonna fit on this table!! I SWORE it was for at least 3! I got 3 silverwares!!"

So, to get her to shut her mouth, we moved to stools at a bar set up. Much less comfortable.

We stayed about 10 minutes or less, got to go containers and left. I should have said something there, but I'm not confrontational by nature, and I WILL NOT TOLERATE embarrassing my wife. Period.

People who eat at restaurants are not CUSTOMERS or PEOPLE WHO PAY YOU, we are guests. Period. And they should never be humiliated by illiterate sounding teenagers who have the social graces of a 2 year old. People like that should NEVER be in customer facing positions in ANY industry.

In any case, this is why we won't be eating at their establishments in the near future. I used to recommend them to everyone. I took clients to lunches at that location, too. No longer.

When we got home, I took this to twitter. I actually got a quick response from someone with Noodles who wanted to chat (@noodlescompany). I was asked to send them my story via email. I did that evening, and was thinking I would get some sort of response. There has been none to this point.

So, what I am doing is boycotting Noodles and Company until I get some sort of response. What do I want, you might ask:

1. The offender fired
2. Training for the staff on how to be polite, and literate
3. Branch management trained on what to look for regarding these sorts of scenes

I ask anyone who has had negative experiences with @noodlescompany to let me know. I want to know if I'm the only one who has this issue (poor service/poor customer relations) or if it's a more systemic issue with their company.  I hope not.  I've gotten in touch with them via Twitter and email, and I hope I can soon post a positive update on this story.  I am hoping that the issue is with one server, and not the whole branch.

Thanks, all.