Metropolitan Grill RETRACTION

A while back I wrote a very complimentary review about this new restaurant in town, The Met Grill. I've returned on 3 occassions and all 3 times this place absolutely SUCKED for a variety of reasons. It took some time but I have learned my lesson and will not be returning. Alright, here comes the onslaught. If you are sensitive to profanity I suggest closing this window immediately.
The first time I went with Amanda, the service and the food were decent. The second time, I invited my friend B.J. Even though there were a few open tables, they sat us in the back corner. Regrettably, no one decided to wait on us. We probably waited for 20 minutes before someone came over and offered to get us a beverage. Our server (I won't use female or male tags becuase there are only 3 servers) explained that they were a little confused because they were "short-staffed" and didn't know whose section we were in. So rather than saying anything at all, they just ignored us. This wasn't that big of a deal as I hadn't seen B.J. in some time and it was good to catch up. Anyway, the server finally came and took our orders and eventually we got our food which was ok. I had the portablla chicken hoagie and she had a turkey melt. Her sandwich was fair and mine was good. Despite the lunch running over it wasn't entirely bad.
The second time I went, I met G Max the day after the Stones show at PNC. Much to my surprise, a woman we all know and love (J.A.D.) sat next to us along with a couple of her co-workers. G Max arrived and ordered a steak salad and I had the prime rib sandwich and a side salad. G Max's food came and then mine arrived about 8 minutes later. Unfortunately, when it did arrive, there was no salad. Instead I received fries. This apparently would become a common theme - the dictatorial power of the servers over their customers. I thought about complaining but opted not to. Most likely because I might have to wait 15 more minutes to get the side salad. I also was afraid the server would get flustered and decide that he/she had to sit down at the table and eat the fries one by one. By the way, their fries aren't that great - odd that they would impose their will with regard to mandatory fries. Maybe they should call them freedom fries and go for the ironic twist. Anyway, G Max's salad was fair and my prime rib sandwich was slightly above average. I did order a coke to drink and it was exceptional. By the way, I neglected to mention that none of the servers have ever come by and ask how everything is. They just assume that things are ok. Or even worse yet, they're afraid that something might be poor and they'll have to deal with it. All in all, it wasn't a horrbible meal. Just more poor service and fair food.
Alright! Yesterday, Heather and I ate there. This was the final straw. I got there at 11:57 and was immediately greeted by our server. He asked if he could get me anything and I said a water with lemon. Within 2 minutes, I'm drinking my water. Heather arrives at 12:03. We would sit and wait for the next 30 minutes with absolutely no contact from anyone. I'm not kidding - 30 fucking minutes. We just sat there in disbelief. Heather wanted to call over the stoic hostess but I urged her not to. I was convinced that things would resolve themselves. I was entirely mistaken. All of a sudden, there's some mini-commotion outside the restaurant. I man comes in and asks for a chair and rushes back outside. Then I watch our server head to the front door. This was the first time we saw him since I got my water - about 32 minutes ago. He comes back in and is helping move this old black lady whose knees are bandaged up. This woman could hardly move - I suspect she had blood clots. Anyway, they sit her down in front of the whole restaurant and get her a glass of water. She was in really bad shape. I thought to myself, maybe if I had a seizure, I could get the attention of somebody and we could at least order the meal and/or Heather could get something to drink. Then the ambulance comes and they wheel her out right in front of us. After another 5 minutes, I signal to the hostess that we're ready to order. The hostess isn't even remotely apologetic or concerned. Strange, because she's been standing next to our inactive table for over half an hour. Anyway, Heather requests a water (from the hostess) and she says that our server will be right with us. 2 minutes later, he appears. Staying consistent, he doesn't even remotely apologize for the wait. He just looks at us with this oafish daze and asks, "So, are you ready to order?" We're exasperated but manage to place the order. Heather got a pizza and I got a chicken portabella hoagie with a side salad. He asks, "What kind of dressing would you like?" and I respond with the balsamic viniagrette. Now, another lengthy wait is ahead of us. I'd say it was another 27 minutes before we got our food. But here's the deal, we really didn't get our food. Heather is agitated becuase she sees her pizza just sitting on the ledge. He comes back over and says it will be a few more minutes. I actually contemplate just getting up and leaving. This is unheard of because I'm never one to complain about poor service, but this was getting ridiculous. In fact, it was so bad it became borderline amusing. Anyway, he brings over the food and, lo and behold, I get the sandwich, but once again, it has fries. I'm blown away that this same incident repeated itself. I politely mention that I ordered a side salad not fries, and he says, "Oh yeah, it comes with fries. Your side salad will be right out." Then, he disappears. I want to look at him and say, "You must think I'm a complete idiot." I figure, oh well, maybe I'll just get the salad to go at the end of the meal and eat it later. Heather mentions that she got her side salad at the end of the meal on a different occassion. I wonder, what the fuck is wrong with this place. I'm pretty hungry, so I'm just like fuck it and start to eat. Heather's pizza is room temperature because it sat on the ledge so long. I seriously doubt I'll even get the salad. Anyway, we scarf down the food (it's about 1:17pm). Our waiter isn't really interested in us. He never shows up to see how things are (the only thing that seems to be consistent with this place - a refusal of the wait staff to function as real waiters). We have to ask the hostess (who incidentally smiles about as much as Mr. Burns on The Simpsons) for a box. She did however refill our water glasses without us asking - a task well outside her specifically assigned duties.
Our waiter finally returns with the check and dorkilly asks, "So, how was everything?" He won't even acknowledge the salad fiasco. I imagine he thought that if he played dumb, I wouldn't remember the nonexistent salad. I look at him and I say, "Honestly" - he replies, "Oh yeah, you can tell me." Before I could get a word out, Heather says, "My pizza was cold." He says, "Oh, I'm sorry, I'll take care of it" and bolts off into the distance. Heather feels awkward about complaining and decides to exit before he returns. He comes back with a check for $5.30. That was the cost of my incorrect meal. He did eliminate the cost of the pizza altogether which was pretty cool, I guess. To be honest, I was surprised he took any action. Anyway, I crumpled two five dollar bills and stuffed them in the bill jacket. I figured that even though the service was atrocious and the order was wrong and the pizza was cold, at least it was entertaining. But then again, a suicide bomber in Gaza could also be deemed entertaining - it just depends on your perspective.
I still think the food is pretty good but the service at this place is so bad, it cannot be overlooked. They just seem to have this deliberate disregard for the customers.
This is important to note - J.B. works at this place behind the bar. He has NEVER waited on us. I don't want anyone reading this to think that he's the waiter I'm referring to. To be blunt, he might be the only one in the entire place who does give a damn.