Still working through the menu at Jed’s. The smoked alligator sausage poboy did not disappoint. And the traditional oyster loaf with just fried oysters on buttered Leidenheimer bread was very good, but the server asked me if I wanted to add mayo and lettuce and then didn’t add the pickles that were menued. They do offer a regular oyster poboy along with the oyster loaf, both in two sizes, but she had asked me if I needed to see a menu since I sat down at the bar to eat and I told her No, I know what I want. Let me have the small oyster loaf and an unsweet tea so it should have been clear. Now the mistake wasn’t critical, and I was in there early in the evening, but it is breakdowns in service like this that make me wonder about even my favorite places. I know everybody that works in the restaurant industry does not belong in the restaurant industry and as Mike Anderson once told me, Sometimes all you need is a warm body but every shop faces this concern and how they handle staffing and training is just as important as the food.
These wings are fantastic! They’ve got a little chili powder mixed into the creole seasoning they’re tossed in after they come out of the fryer and they taste like they’ve definitely been brined before they went in the grease. Perfectly cooked, very juicy and the chili powder really goes well with the bleu Ranch they’re served with.
Again on this next visit, the food was good and the service spotty. There are always going to be some issues with a new place, especially when they opt for counter service instead of table service. Is the bar seating a bar? or a waiting area? Some servers say I’ll bring it out to you others They’ll call you to the pick up window and some of it is just personnel. This time I sat at the bar and ordered and the first server I encountered coolly insisted on payment up front, even though I told her I was dining in, she just repeated That’ll be ten eighty three. I complied, gave her my credit card and signed it without a tip, hoping to run her off. It worked, and the other counter server was very nice and pleasant so I left her a couple of bucks cash when I was ready to leave. In between I scarfed down the catfish and slaw poboy, which is a great idea and a perfectly logical progression from slaw on fish tacos finally making it onto catfish poboys. There’s a couple of more sandwiches I want to try here, the Cuban and the Cochon and Slaw, and I will definitely be back for more wings, but the initial infatuation has worn off, and I think I will give these guys time to work out their service issues. Not totally abandoning, but certainly back burnered for now. It always takes a while for a place to stabilize its personality and they all have an overall feel and vibe and culture among the workers. A place can be hip, it can be tight, it can be dismal and half-assed, fun loving or hate being there. They all have some kind of vibe and it is generated by the folks who spend all day there, taking and cooking orders, prepping, cleaning, answering the phone. Hopefully Jed’s will get where they want to be soon.