Restaurant News: The Hungry I

The Hungry I closed down.  There were several problems with The Hungry I, but the chief reason for closing was money and a lack thereof in the till.  I've been patronizing The Hungry I in spite of the problems I found inside, and while I'm still glad I did and I wouldn't do anything differently, Main Lady and I went to The Hungry I for the dancing and nothing else.


The location for the place was kind of odd.  It was hidden in an oddball shopping center and I've actually driven past it when I was trying to find it.  A questionable location can be overcome, but it doesn't help the business any.

The Old Hungry I

The kitchen and the bar were inconsistent and the quality would fluctuate wildly.  Main Lady and I have encountered a portabella sandwich without any mushrooms on it, a pasta dish that was described in the menu as spicy and turned out to be as bland as grade school macaroni and cheese and barbeque ribs that were so tough you couldn't tell where the bone ended and the meat started. Whatever you ordered, you had to be prepared to send back to the kitchen with a message that would leave welts.  Eventually they'd get it right, but that's not the point here.  Then there was portion control.

Three Glasses of House Wine

Three couples meet for dinner, drinks and dancing.  The arrive at different times and order drinks separately.  The ladies order the house red, which you see in the photo above.  Now, I couldn't even excuse one glass being a different portion, but three?  No.  And, you see, this wasn't the first time this happened.  We were so amazed at the difference that I took a photo - and then it happened again the following weekend.

Brandy

When I order a drink I like to find that the bartender knows how to pour a drink.  I've seen metered liquor systems and they invariably come up short.  So, when I ordered an after dinner brandy served straight up in a brandy snifter, I was a bit surprised at the quantity as shown above.  No, I didn't drink the whole thing.  I was driving that night, and Main Lady had been served the large wine glass.

We'll see.

The ownership hasn't changed, but presumably the problems with the kitchen and service are being fixed along with the remodeling job.  I kind of don't think much has changed beyond the name and the menu, but the jury's still out.  One thing that leads me to believe this is that the web site hasn't changed at all - see here: The Hungry I  I expect the dance floor is a thing of the past, as you can't charge rent for empty space.  If they still have dancing Main Lady and I will be in attendance the first Friday night.  Otherwise we're history.