April 18, 2011 - The Beginning

I feel bad that this is how it all has to start.  I feel bad for Circus, but they should've cared about the one thing that gives them a purpose in society. 

It's Monday night and my wife asked to go out to dinner.  One year ago this wouldn't have been an issue, but things have changed.  I would've known exactly where to go, what I would eat, and what the kids would eat.  I would've known exactly how long we would've been there, and I probably could've scripted the conversation between Elaine and I.  Not to say that we were boring or unoriginal, but we were the typical American consumer.  We were consistent.

So what happened?

We took our usual twenty-five minutes to get ourselves into the car, dealing with all of the usual distractions.  You know, shiny objects and what not.  I asked Elaine where she wanted to eat and the conversation ensued.  We used our new criteria in selecting a restaurant which basically consists of two things, (1) something one of us has never tried, and (2) something family-friendly.  I know, it should be easy.  But we live in Saratoga Springs, New York, and we're not exactly new to the area.

We found ourselves at Circus Cafe, on Broadway in downtown Saratoga Springs, and obviously I'm not thrilled.

A lot of things came to a head for me today.  Six weeks ago I did what I believe every American should take two hours out of their busy lives to do.  I watched Food, Inc.  I've listened to my mother preach about organic foods and consumer products now for years, and that documentary finally made me listen.  I watched Inside Job, I watched Gasland, I read everything I could get my hands on, and I talked to my wife.  We talked, we got scared, we calmed each other down, we planned, and we planned, and we planned.  We've made a decision to change.

So why did we go out to dinner?  Saratoga Springs is notoriously liberal, and artsy.  Shouldn't they be making strides in step with the food revolution?  After all, we are the last ones to jump on the bandwagon, aren't we?  Food, Inc. came out in 2008, right?  Everyone's seen it, and things have all changed, haven't they?  The chicken in my pot pie couldn't possibly been an overfed, bloated, antibiotic filled, abused chicken, could it?!

The Review

Our Menu:
     Jay - Chicken Pot Pie with a side of Cranberry Sauce
     Elaine - Tortellini a la Panna
     Kids - Macaroni & Cheese with side of Apple Sauce & French Fries

Food - Poor
Atmosphere - Decent
Service - Decent
Overall - Horrible

It started out with every high mark I could've given it.  I'm being nice.  I usually go into a restaurant with a chip on my shoulder... figuratively.  It was dark, and really warm, but I read the verbage on the beginning of the menu and became intrigued.  It said that the concept was a product of the owner's love of the restaurant business, theater, and the circus.  The decor was precisely what it should've been.  The owner was commited to the concept, and I respect him for that.  But notice that the write-up never said a thing about the owner's love of food.  We were greeted with popcorn by our server who was wearing a shirt that said "Juggler."  I was continuing to respect the owner's commitment to his concept.  Even the beers on tap were consistent with the concept.

Then the food came out.

We paid $10 for less than a full box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, apple sauce, and the type of curly fries you can buy in the freezer section of any grocery store.  The tortellini Elaine ordered may as well have been Bertolli, and the garlic bread was clearly made from sandwich rolls.  My chicken pot pie lacked flavor and originality, and was far from hitting the spot.

WTF?

I don't remember if I've ever gotten in the car after dinner and said "that was horrible."  And what about that meal was consistent with my new change?  What was I thinking?

Like I said before, I feel bad that this blog started because of Circus.  But I stand by my statement that Circus, just like every other restaurant in America, should begin to care about the ONE thing that gives them a purpose in this world:

FOOD.