March 26th, 2009 By Viq Thomasson
North Side Review – Hollywood Bar & Grill
In honor of my wife’s birthday, her family decided to take her out to dinner. It was a Sunday night, which is usually a slow time in the restaurant industry. Our first choice (RiRa) was closed, so we opted for Hollywood Bar and Grill on the North side. My wife and I had been there before, and it was average. Not great, not horrible, just OK. With the clan in tow, we gave it another shot.
We sat in the bar, as we always do, for two reasons. One, four out of five people in the group are stinky smokers relegated to our smoky ghetto. Two, the bar has TV’s, and the NCAA Tournament was on. (I know, I know, wife’s birthday and I was watching basketball. So was she.)
As we entered the bar, we noticed the decor. Hollywood is a movie themed restaurant. There are a few movie posters around, as well as an Elvis head behind the bar. There is also a Charlie McCarthy behind the bar. (Go ask your parents.) The menu has a film theme as well, with items such as the Indiana Jones, The Matrix, and The Terminator. What do these have to do with the food? Nothing I can tell, since two days later I can’t connect any of the names to their respective foods. There were ample TV’s, all tuned to basketball. (Sports or news are the only acceptable destinations for restaurant televisions, unless someone has asked specifically for something else. If the server is paying attention to American Idol, they’re not paying attention to you. Trust me – I’ve done it.)
When our server brought our drinks, she also brought a pitcher of iced tea and a carafe of coffee and set them on the table. It was a nice touch – unfortunately, there was no ice included. Mmm – room temperature tea, my favorite! We ordered – I got the chicken livers, with mashed potatoes and mac-n-cheese; my wife got a chicken sandwich, no bun, with a baked potato. Grandma got a chef salad with blue cheese dressing. My wife and I also opted for the salad bar (for $4.49 extra).
When we went to the salad bar, we were a bit – well, is underwhelmed a word, because it sure describes the salad bar. Brown, old mushrooms; lettuce with browned edges; a vegetable soup-type substance that could have been used to grout tile. Dressing choices were standard – ranch, blue cheese, 1000, Italian, honey mustard. It was edible (except for the mushrooms), but not good, and not worth the price.
When our food finally arrived (30 minutes after we ordered), we were similarly underwhelmed. Grandma’s salad had the wrong dressing, but she liked it. My wife’s chicken breast was dry and bland. My chicken livers were good, but they were served on a piece of lettuce that had been baked by sitting under a heat lamp for far too long. My mashed potatoes were dry and lumpy. My mac and cheese was saucy, with an off-putting sweetness. For dessert, we ordered a chocolate cake, which I quite enjoyed.
Our server was very personable, with a dry sense of humor. Hollywood has a movie ticket perk – if you spend $12.50, you get a free pass to the North Side Showplace Cinema. We were misinformed that our beverages counted towards that total. After much consternation, we were told that we were entitled to tickets – but Grandma, whose food total was $11.60 before tax, was not unless she ordered something else. She opted to add cheese to her salad that had been eaten a half-hour before. A bit off-putting – but the manager came to our table and actually gave her the dollar back, saying that we had been misinformed. It was a very welcome gesture, and saved us from an embarrassing scene. (Don’t make Grandma angry.)
Overall, it was a pretty awful experience. I can’t say that I will ever go back, nor will I recommend it to anyone with taste buds. Unfortunately, when I ask my wife what she wants for dinner, she often replies “SALAD BAR!”, so if it is up to her, I might be forced to return.
The crowning touch to the entire evening was a sign on the wall in the view of the entire restaurant that says, “If you forget to clock in, you will not be paid. Managers are no longer allowed to fix time, per Paul.” I am not sure who Paul is, or why he thinks that labor laws do not apply to him. However, if most experiences at Hollywood are like ours, I don’t think their employees will have to worry about getting paid much longer.
Viq Thomasson lives in Evansville with his wife and beagle. He is a veteran of the restaurant industry and a Chicago cubs fan. Neither of those contributes to his surly attitude.
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Restaurant TV’s in El Rio about a month ago were tuned to PBS and the cartoon network.
2 Cub jokes…
a cub fan a yankee fan and a cardinal fan walk into a bar. on the bar is a partially filled glass.
cardinal fan says that glass is half full
yankee fan says that glass if half empty
cub fan says DEAR SWEET GOD IN HEAVEN WHEN IS IT GONNA SPILL!!!!!!
if harry was alive what would he say when fukudome hits a homer???
HORRY KOW!!
A free movie ticket with every $12.50 you spend? That sounds great! Also, the manager sounds like a reasonable person who is customer focused. I hope you shared your criticisms with the manager, who sounds like the kind of person who would take them to heart.
I think I’ll give the place a try in spite of your reservations. Maybe you just caught them on a bad day.
Willis, this was my 3rd visit. The people were great. The food sucked. Why spend $12.50 on lousy food for a free movie ticket? I can pay $8 for the ticket, and get two McChickens, a value fries, and a large drink. Including tax, it comes to roughly $12.50ish. Or, i can eat brown mushrooms and vegetable soup paste. Tough call, but i’m going with McChicken.
If you have a better experience, please post it here. I’d love to hear it. You may change my mind – but i doubt it.
I went to the Showplace East restaurant a few times when my brother was singing Karaoke. Always understaffed, but the waitresses seemed friendly enough. I got a pizza, which was pretty good. Not something I’d go out of my way for, but I’d order it if I went back there.
If you buy $12.50 worth of beer/wine/liquor and appetizers, does that go toward the free tickets?
Willis, no. As we were told, nothing but food counts. Not alcohol, not non-alcoholic beverages, not even tax. In Grandma’s case, her bill was $11.65 before tax, and without beverages. The price on the menu is what counts toward your movie pass.
That McChicken plan sounds better and better each time I talk about this.
I miss Jacob’s Pub.
Well-written, snarky review. Brightened my morning just a snippet. Thanks for the warning about a place to avoid.
paul *steeler owns all of the hollywoods and show place movie theaters
I love a GOOD salad bar. I love a free movie ticket. Next time, I’ll get carry out salad bar from Schnuck’s and pay for my own ticket. Sounds suspiciously close to my husband’s McChicken plan.
Yep this is pretty much what I have been hearing about this place…my sister went a few months back and said the place was dirty looking and their food was so bad that they left most of it! I’ve heard a few other people say the same…will not be trying it myself. Oh yeah I’ve heard for years that Paul Stieler is a real son of a bitch…had a friend that worked at showplace years ago and said that him and his sons where awful to work for….I try to partronize Kerasotes Stadium 16..want to avoid giving him more money!
I dunno about the dude who owns the movie theatres, I just know he lived in the neighborhood next to mine when I was little, and we’d always go there on Halloween since he gave out king size candy bars & soft drinks…mmm mmm
Ugh, nothing worse than having employee related signs posted where customers can see it. Of all things, this ranks right up there with a manager tearing into a server on the sales/restaurant floor. That kind of thing should be reserved for staff only, in a staff only place, like the back!
I also love a good salad bar. I’m sad that Evansville doesn’t have a Sweet Tomatoes or anything like that. I feel like it would do alright in town.
i feel that way about a place called jason’s deli. sandwiches, soups, huge potatoes and a salad bar with everything imaginable.
and it’s a franchise too… you would think someone would bring it here.
The best salad bar that I know of in eville is at Western Ribeye…it could be better but at least everything is fresh. Oh man I would love it if we got a Sweet toomatoes..haven’t eaten there but I’ve heard of it and it sounds great!
I’d tend to say Cork & Cleaver has the best salad bar in Eville that I can think of offhand
Is It’s Evansville dead?
Ryan, it seems that way lately.
Too bad, this site had a lot of potential.
I know, I am so disappointed. I really like this site.
I have a couple of restaurant reviews that i have been working on. Hoping to have one in by this weekend. I’ll also talk to Justin, see what i can find out, and get back to you.
A 3 month intensive development cycle for a soon-to-be released project at my real world job plus producing a weekly radio show have left me little time/energy to devote to other projects like this site lately.
It will pick back up soon, though not as the same site it was. I am not going to go back to rehashing stuff I found on the other 3 news sites in town because it’s boring and tedious to me anymore. I’m not actually sure of the new direction yet, but exclusive, original content is what I’m interested in (food reviews, Missed Connections, editorials, etc).
Deleted my comment.
Nice.
I’ve posted useful feedback in the past.
No wonder people left this site in droves.
I was just joking, you’re taking it a little personal for a project you care little about.
It was a dick comment. If you want to be a dick, go somewhere else.
the orignal concept was a nice steak house with seafood and saute dishes nice portions and quality i tryied real hard to bring it but you know sometimes sh!!!t happens chaged my life and not for the better think i lost a real friend and that really hurt sorry you guys have been dissapointed maybe dan had a good thing and walked away dont know but the good intencions were there im sorry joe