Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Indigo Joe's

Mark and I went to Wheeling's newest restaurant in the Highlands today for lunch. I usually wait a month or so before trying out a new restaurant but said "what the hell, let's just go for it."
Great building & great service (Ashley). The parking lot is a bit unusual. Kind of like a dual-tiered rhombus w/ an illegal fire lane of handicapped parking directly in front. The place has a nice feel. Warm, relaxed and inviting. We sat on the restaurant side. I neglected to check out the restrooms or the bar side.
Mark got a corned beef reuben and a side of fries. I opted for the Maui Waui (pronounced Mow-wee Wow-wee) sandwich and a side salad. I normally try not to order food that has super-fun titles. The side salad was alright, nothing spectacular but most important, the bowl was chilled. You wouldn't believe how many times I get a salad and the bowl is room temperature, or even worse, sometimes hot right out of the dishwasher. My sandwich was decent. The tuna was a tiny bit undercooked, but I generally like my fish on the rarer side. However, I think they are going to have a lot of trouble with this type of fish preparation. In the Ohio Valley, people are accustomed to Coleman's fish - DFBAR (Deep Fried Beyond All Recognition). Don't get me wrong - I love Coleman's Fish. TJ's has their own take on how to prepare fish. Just throw it straight in the microwave and nuke it til it's nice and hot.
The reason I'm mentioning this is because their menu has a good amount of fish and one of their "specialties" is the fish tacos. I'm just worried that the wait staff will end up suffering because of what I call OVPS. That's Ohio Valley Palate Syndrome. The majority of diners in the valley - when they think of fish, they think of it either submerged and soaked in butter or DFBAR. There's not a lot of room for compromise with a Triadelphia resident. "Ma, my fish ain't cooked through! Where'd they get this? Schenk Lake? Out the crick?"
It would be a travesty if the wait staff (which was skilled, competent and friendly) has to bear the burden of OVPS in the form of lighter tips. And aren't we in the month of lent right now? I predict that one day, ownership will question the timing of the grand opening. I liked Indigo Joe's though and I'll be back.

4 comments:

The Huge Spectrum said...

I had the Tuna Melt. It was good.

I noticed a lot of people doing nothing. Just standing around, and when I asked for the soup- The guy says " I don't know. What is is it called?" I thought that was bad.
But the bathrooms are clean b/c it is new.

The Huge Spectrum said...

Oh and I was upset about the dressing for the Iceberg lettuce salads. The Italian dressing was gross! Tomatoes were real bad too. I later ordered ranch, and it was good.
Eric was not pleased with his Turkey Avacado sandwich. It looked like real turkey on the menu, and it ended up being cold cuts. I would not give this place a huge thumbs up. Oh, and the material on the seats are ugly!

BRWVTX said...

I had stopped once and left when the least expensive burger was $9.25...sheesh, but returned ad had the fish and chips...worst I've ever had some reheated frozen unspectacular mess...the Maui Waui looked great though and pricewise was a better value that some burger...and the stools and seating a too incomfortable, woud prefer tables rather than high seating...Waitress was great though..

sonofsaf said...

Both of your remarks have been noted. BRWVTX - your bid has been received. I'm assuming you live in Texas. Not quite sure who you are. If you win, I'll need your address for t-shirt and/or plaque/ribbon delivery. Good luck, sonofsaf