Busy Beaver's

I've tried Beaver's four times, violating my three strikes rule. I should have followed my one strike rule used for truly bad experiences. On 3/4 visits service was horrendous. The staff just didn't seem to give a crap about their jobs as "servers". We spent most of the nights asking for things; napkins, a fork, a spoon, water, a second cocktail after our glasses sat empty for 20 minutes, a dessert menu, etc. It would have been laughable if the prices were not so precious.

Secondly, I've never been impressed with the food. Every dish seems to be doctored to be "different" for the sake of being different instead of being better. The potato salad as you mentioned is atrocious. The mac & cheese is a joke. Not that it should be "normal", but it is a whole lot of nothing - why bother. Paying for bread in a supposed BBQ joint is offensive. The ribs and brisket were tougher than tough. It's like they baked the meat for 20 minutes and slapped sauce on it. Nothing was outstanding, except perhaps the cocktails when you could get one. This is not a place to go for BBQ.

Let me add that I am a huge fan of Monica Pope. I've been a fan since she opened the Quilted Toque where I dined three times a week. Living across the street at Court at Museum's Gate facilitated the frequency, as did the routinely quality experience. I loved Boulevard Bistro and regularly dine at t'afia. Beaver's is a major, MAJOR disappointment.

Nothing can ruin your dinner quicker than being made to feel insignificant. Let me qualify what I am about to say by pointing out that I have been in the restaurant/bar business since I was 12 years old. Before I became an attorney I worked every position imaginable in a restaurant, from dishwasher to manager. I am critical because I was in the industry and I know what I was capable of so if I could do it, others can too. I just had a terrible experience at Beaver's. A place I was really excited to try out but woefully disappointed by the service.

I get there and since I am alone I decide to sit at the bar. The bartender looks straight at me as I sit down a few seats over from a couple who also had the same idea as me. I think there was another guy at the bar and at table with a couple people at it in the bar area. The dining room had a few tables but nothing major; they certainly weren't "slammed".

So I sit there and I wait...and I wait. I watch this guy take care of another couple that comes in to join the people at the table. Then I watch him take care of another guy that bellies up to the bar for a drink. Finally, he comes over and I ask for a menu. There's another heavy set guy there who is either the bar back or the 2nd bartender but dressed identically to the first who I made eye contact with. This kid doesn't even so much as look at me.

So I wait and I wait some more. Not until the skinny guy tells him to come get my order does the chubby one come over and say, "What can I get you, boss?" What am I, a fucking guard at TDC? WTF? Whatever happened to "sir"? Irrespective of the fact that I am a 42 year old lawyer old enough to be his dad, he doesn't know me; he should be calling EVERYONE sir.

So they finally get my order and I wait and I wait some more. I ordered the Smoked Sampler for 1 and the Iceberg Salad. One beer. The wait continues. No salt on my XX like I asked. No silverware. Just waiting.

Finally, the food comes and the salad is completely wilted. The Ranch is not Ranch but Ranch with Chipotle, which I could've handled had it not been on a bed of wilted lettuce. The BBQ wasn't half bad, but nothing to write home about. Get no further attention from chubby boy and slim comes over all of ONE time since I got my food to check on me. He brings over another XX....still no salt. I had to order kosher salt separately.

I finally have to get someone's attention for a to-go box and my tab. All the while I'm watching these guys chat it up with each other, count their tip money, yuk it up with the waitresses and fawn all over the other people at the bar. Now I'm sitting there wondering, WTF? I don't look like a bum. I don't smell funny. My money's green. What did I do to earn this type of indifference? The only thing I could think of was my skin is brown and all the other people in the place are white.

Is that jumping to conclusions? Is that having a chip on my shoulder? Is that off-base? Maybe. Hell, since Nov. 4th, PROBABLY. But service people need to understand that there can be unintended consequences to their behavior. You may be careless or tired or just lazy all the time to everyone. But keep in mind, when you act that way to a minority customer in a SERVICE industry, he may take it the wrong way and never come back.

Now, I talked to the manager and she was very nice and very apologetic. She even offered to buy my dinner, but as I pointed out, I wasn't saying something because I wanted a freebie. I was saying something because when I was a manager, I would've wanted to know. I wanted to make sure these boys were put on notice that their service was unacceptable that night.

To that end, let me offer a little piece of advice to the staff at Beaver's:

1. When you make eye contact with a customer at least acknowledge their presence. Even if it's just a "Hi, we'll be with you in a second, sir." I don't care if you're working a double or your "in the weeds". It just takes a second.

2. Always refer to someone you don't know as sir, ma'am or miss. It's just plain manners.

3. Between the time you get someone their food and pick up their plates, you should check on them at least TWICE. If someone barely touched their food, you should ask if everything was alright. And if it wasn't, do something about it.

4. And finally, this is for ALL THE BARTENDERS IN HOUSTON, learn to to take MORE THAN ONE FUCKING DRINK ORDER AT A TIME! Not everyone is going to come in and ask for Intergalactic Raspberry Clusterfuck at the same time. Most people will ask for a couple of beers or your run of the mill Jack & Coke. If the first guy asks for two Bud Lights, go ahead don't be afraid, ask the guy behind him what he wants too. It'll probably be another Bud Light and a Miller Lite. You can handle that, can't you? Sure you can. I have faith in you.

If it weren't for the manager, I'd give up on this place pretty quick. I'll be back and give them another chance. Hopefully by then they will have taken my advice or gotten some new staff. I understand this place ain't Morton's, but when you pay $30.00 for a plate of BBQ, a salad and a couple beers, you expect a little more than just being ignored.

Nothing can ruin your dinner quicker than being made to feel insignificant. Let me qualify what I am about to say by pointing out that I have been in the restaurant/bar business since I was 12 years old. Before I became an attorney I worked every position imaginable in a restaurant, from dishwasher to manager. I am critical because I was in the industry and I know what I was capable of so if I could do it, others can too. I just had a terrible experience at Beaver's. A place I was really excited to try out but woefully disappointed by the service.

I get there and since I am alone I decide to sit at the bar. The bartender looks straight at me as I sit down a few seats over from a couple who also had the same idea as me. I think there was another guy at the bar and at table with a couple people at it in the bar area. The dining room had a few tables but nothing major; they certainly weren't "slammed".

So I sit there and I wait...and I wait. I watch this guy take care of another couple that comes in to join the people at the table. Then I watch him take care of another guy that bellies up to the bar for a drink. Finally, he comes over and I ask for a menu. There's another heavy set guy there who is either the bar back or the 2nd bartender but dressed identically to the first who I made eye contact with. This kid doesn't even so much as look at me.

So I wait and I wait some more. Not until the skinny guy tells him to come get my order does the chubby one come over and say, "What can I get you, boss?" What am I, a fucking guard at TDC? WTF? Whatever happened to "sir"? Irrespective of the fact that I am a 42 year old lawyer old enough to be his dad, he doesn't know me; he should be calling EVERYONE sir.

So they finally get my order and I wait and I wait some more. I ordered the Smoked Sampler for 1 and the Iceberg Salad. One beer. The wait continues. No salt on my XX like I asked. No silverware. Just waiting.

Finally, the food comes and the salad is completely wilted. The Ranch is not Ranch but Ranch with Chipotle, which I could've handled had it not been on a bed of wilted lettuce. The BBQ wasn't half bad, but nothing to write home about. Get no further attention from chubby boy and slim comes over all of ONE time since I got my food to check on me. He brings over another XX....still no salt. I had to order kosher salt separately.

I finally have to get someone's attention for a to-go box and my tab. All the while I'm watching these guys chat it up with each other, count their tip money, yuk it up with the waitresses and fawn all over the other people at the bar. Now I'm sitting there wondering, WTF? I don't look like a bum. I don't smell funny. My money's green. What did I do to earn this type of indifference? The only thing I could think of was my skin is brown and all the other people in the place are white.

Is that jumping to conclusions? Is that having a chip on my shoulder? Is that off-base? Maybe. Hell, since Nov. 4th, PROBABLY. But service people need to understand that there can be unintended consequences to their behavior. You may be careless or tired or just lazy all the time to everyone. But keep in mind, when you act that way to a minority customer in a SERVICE industry, he may take it the wrong way and never come back.

Now, I talked to the manager and she was very nice and very apologetic. She even offered to buy my dinner, but as I pointed out, I wasn't saying something because I wanted a freebie. I was saying something because when I was a manager, I would've wanted to know. I wanted to make sure these boys were put on notice that their service was unacceptable that night.

To that end, let me offer a little piece of advice to the staff at Beaver's:

1. When you make eye contact with a customer at least acknowledge their presence. Even if it's just a "Hi, we'll be with you in a second, sir." I don't care if you're working a double or your "in the weeds". It just takes a second.

2. Always refer to someone you don't know as sir, ma'am or miss. It's just plain manners.

3. Between the time you get someone their food and pick up their plates, you should check on them at least TWICE. If someone barely touched their food, you should ask if everything was alright. And if it wasn't, do something about it.

4. And finally, this is for ALL THE BARTENDERS IN HOUSTON, learn to to take MORE THAN ONE FUCKING DRINK ORDER AT A TIME! Not everyone is going to come in and ask for Intergalactic Raspberry Clusterfuck at the same time. Most people will ask for a couple of beers or your run of the mill Jack & Coke. If the first guy asks for two Bud Lights, go ahead don't be afraid, ask the guy behind him what he wants too. It'll probably be another Bud Light and a Miller Lite. You can handle that, can't you? Sure you can. I have faith in you.

If it weren't for the manager, I'd give up on this place pretty quick. I'll be back and give them another chance. Hopefully by then they will have taken my advice or gotten some new staff. I understand this place ain't Morton's, but when you pay $30.00 for a plate of BBQ, a salad and a couple beers, you expect a little more than just being ignored.