The Ram at Northgate
She Said: Hello friends. How have you been?
As I mentioned in my countless apologetic posts as of late, we have been terrible at our blogging. TERRIBLE. But this doesn’t mean we haven’t been carving out time each week for our Date Nights. We have been. They just haven’t been quite as creative and thought-out as in the past. They’ve been more like, “We have to get to IKEA tonight to pick up some things for the new house... Is there a restaurant on the way down there we can go to for dinner/Date Night?” ... Yes, it’s been bad. But we’ve discovered a whole heap of strange restaurants and experiences along the way. Like IKEA yellow split pea soup – YUM!
Last night was no exception. Unfortunately, Date Night turned Date Disaster pretty quickly.
Brett and I had to go to Northgate to grab some things – for the house of course – at Target. We thought we’d incorporate it into our Date Night and hit up a Northgate Mall restaurant while we were there. Now, Brett and I are NOT ones for chain restaurants... We much prefer places with personality – one of a kind haunts where the owner has thought out every fine detail – from the wooden pepper grinder on the table to the marble bathroom counters to the stools you sit on when sipping on a hand-crafted adult beverage – probably dating back to a drink tradition his grandfather came up with after his days in the war. That type of restaurant is what we find ourselves frequenting the most. But, every once in a while, we make our way to a good ole Red Robin or Applebees. Love me some RR Teriyaki bowl!
Last night, we decided to visit The Ram at Northgate. Now, I know a lot of you will probably swear us off for good after reading my next few paragraphs, as The Ram is your all-time favorite restaurant... But I beg you, I BEG YOU, just read on. We did NOT have a pleasant experience. It wasn’t disastrous, but it wasn’t great either. Perhaps it is because we have been so spoiled with so many great little places in the city, or even in the suburbs, that ooze personality, thought, creativity, heart and soul. Perhaps it is that we know good food vs. crap food vs. what the hell is this on my plate. Or perhaps it’s a combination of all that which made us realize we were wasting our money – and our date night – at this place.
I digress.
Brett and I walked in and were greeted by a couple of giggling girls. They greeted us between giggles, and took us to our seat – a massive 4-top table in the corner of the restaurant. We were surrounded by families, babies, folks out doing their Thursday night rounds at the mall. Was NOT very intimate or romantic. Nevertheless, we sat down and looked over the menu.
It’s your typical all-American food chain – burgers and fries, pizzas, salads, seafood... You name it, they have it. There really was no direction to this menu at all. The high point was that they brew their own beer. Brett ordered the Butt Face Amber Ale, and I ordered an Australian Riesling ($6). His beer was fabulous. My wine came in a dirty wine glass (I could feel the specs of dried food on my lips as I sipped... But I’ve learned from movies like “Waiting” that you NEVER send food or drinks back in a joint like this.)
We were STARVING, so we ordered everything right away – the hummus platter ($7.99) to start, and Brett ordered the RAM Special Sirloin medium RARE ($13.99), I ordered the Porter BBQ Chicken pizza with no cheese ($9.99).
Twenty minutes later...
No joke....
The server came up to us and asked, “Have you not gotten your hummus platter yet?? They told me back there they sent it out ten minutes ago!”
Us: “No, we haven’t gotten it yet.”
Waitress: “Okay, I’m so sorry. I’m going to go talk to the manager about this.”
Us: looking at each other, thinking, “that’s great that you’re going to let the manager know, but could you please first put in our order for hummus?”
The hummus arrived about 5 minutes later – and it was so obvious someone had slapped this together quickly.
A cup of (over-garlicly) hummus surrounded by about 8 pita slices, 3 carrots, 3 cucumber wedges, sliced zucchini, green onions (what?!), and corn chips. WE looked at like, ‘what the hell is this?’ but were so starving, we dove in anyway.
Literally 20 seconds into our nosh session, our mains arrived.
We looked up at the guy like, ‘umm, can you hold off a bit, we just got our appetizer’ but he just stared at us waiting for us to move our hummus platter back to make room for the food that had just arrived.
We oblige.
Brett cuts his steak... And it is the most over-cooked steak IN THE WORLD.
He specifically asked for medium rare. My pizza – oh, my pizza. I realize I asked for no cheese, but this pizza was nothing more than boboli with bbq sauce and slices of chicken – one on each ‘slice’ of pizza. The high point was the cilantro sprinkled on top.
Brett and I looked at our food and coulnd’t help but laugh. We’ve been to the Ram before – and we really enjoyed it! I’m not entirely sure why this time was such a bust, but it was.
Our server Danielle was sweet, but really... If you are looking for a special place to take your sweetie on a date - or even just some good easy food to grub on — this place is neither. No atmosphere. No personality. Nothing differentiating itself from the next chain shop, except maybe the beer.
Go here for the beer, but expect nothing else. Reserve your Date Nights for places who really put effort into ensuring that your time at their establishment is special — not just another table for two.
As I mentioned in my countless apologetic posts as of late, we have been terrible at our blogging. TERRIBLE. But this doesn’t mean we haven’t been carving out time each week for our Date Nights. We have been. They just haven’t been quite as creative and thought-out as in the past. They’ve been more like, “We have to get to IKEA tonight to pick up some things for the new house... Is there a restaurant on the way down there we can go to for dinner/Date Night?” ... Yes, it’s been bad. But we’ve discovered a whole heap of strange restaurants and experiences along the way. Like IKEA yellow split pea soup – YUM!
Last night was no exception. Unfortunately, Date Night turned Date Disaster pretty quickly.
Brett and I had to go to Northgate to grab some things – for the house of course – at Target. We thought we’d incorporate it into our Date Night and hit up a Northgate Mall restaurant while we were there. Now, Brett and I are NOT ones for chain restaurants... We much prefer places with personality – one of a kind haunts where the owner has thought out every fine detail – from the wooden pepper grinder on the table to the marble bathroom counters to the stools you sit on when sipping on a hand-crafted adult beverage – probably dating back to a drink tradition his grandfather came up with after his days in the war. That type of restaurant is what we find ourselves frequenting the most. But, every once in a while, we make our way to a good ole Red Robin or Applebees. Love me some RR Teriyaki bowl!
Last night, we decided to visit The Ram at Northgate. Now, I know a lot of you will probably swear us off for good after reading my next few paragraphs, as The Ram is your all-time favorite restaurant... But I beg you, I BEG YOU, just read on. We did NOT have a pleasant experience. It wasn’t disastrous, but it wasn’t great either. Perhaps it is because we have been so spoiled with so many great little places in the city, or even in the suburbs, that ooze personality, thought, creativity, heart and soul. Perhaps it is that we know good food vs. crap food vs. what the hell is this on my plate. Or perhaps it’s a combination of all that which made us realize we were wasting our money – and our date night – at this place.I digress.
Brett and I walked in and were greeted by a couple of giggling girls. They greeted us between giggles, and took us to our seat – a massive 4-top table in the corner of the restaurant. We were surrounded by families, babies, folks out doing their Thursday night rounds at the mall. Was NOT very intimate or romantic. Nevertheless, we sat down and looked over the menu.
It’s your typical all-American food chain – burgers and fries, pizzas, salads, seafood... You name it, they have it. There really was no direction to this menu at all. The high point was that they brew their own beer. Brett ordered the Butt Face Amber Ale, and I ordered an Australian Riesling ($6). His beer was fabulous. My wine came in a dirty wine glass (I could feel the specs of dried food on my lips as I sipped... But I’ve learned from movies like “Waiting” that you NEVER send food or drinks back in a joint like this.)
We were STARVING, so we ordered everything right away – the hummus platter ($7.99) to start, and Brett ordered the RAM Special Sirloin medium RARE ($13.99), I ordered the Porter BBQ Chicken pizza with no cheese ($9.99).
Twenty minutes later...
No joke....
The server came up to us and asked, “Have you not gotten your hummus platter yet?? They told me back there they sent it out ten minutes ago!”
Us: “No, we haven’t gotten it yet.”
Waitress: “Okay, I’m so sorry. I’m going to go talk to the manager about this.”
Us: looking at each other, thinking, “that’s great that you’re going to let the manager know, but could you please first put in our order for hummus?”
The hummus arrived about 5 minutes later – and it was so obvious someone had slapped this together quickly.A cup of (over-garlicly) hummus surrounded by about 8 pita slices, 3 carrots, 3 cucumber wedges, sliced zucchini, green onions (what?!), and corn chips. WE looked at like, ‘what the hell is this?’ but were so starving, we dove in anyway.
Literally 20 seconds into our nosh session, our mains arrived.We looked up at the guy like, ‘umm, can you hold off a bit, we just got our appetizer’ but he just stared at us waiting for us to move our hummus platter back to make room for the food that had just arrived.
We oblige.
Brett cuts his steak... And it is the most over-cooked steak IN THE WORLD.He specifically asked for medium rare. My pizza – oh, my pizza. I realize I asked for no cheese, but this pizza was nothing more than boboli with bbq sauce and slices of chicken – one on each ‘slice’ of pizza. The high point was the cilantro sprinkled on top.
Brett and I looked at our food and coulnd’t help but laugh. We’ve been to the Ram before – and we really enjoyed it! I’m not entirely sure why this time was such a bust, but it was.
Our server Danielle was sweet, but really... If you are looking for a special place to take your sweetie on a date - or even just some good easy food to grub on — this place is neither. No atmosphere. No personality. Nothing differentiating itself from the next chain shop, except maybe the beer.Go here for the beer, but expect nothing else. Reserve your Date Nights for places who really put effort into ensuring that your time at their establishment is special — not just another table for two.
RATINGS:
The Ram
401 NE Northgate Way, Ste. 1102
Seattle, WA 98125
Tel: 206-364-8000
Romance: 1
Cool Ambiance/Interior: 1
All Around Service: 2 (Danielle was sweet, but the others brought this average down.
Cost: $$ = entrees from $8 - 13
Would we recommend it?5: 2: Once was enough.
The Ram
401 NE Northgate Way, Ste. 1102
Seattle, WA 98125
Tel: 206-364-8000
Romance: 1
Cool Ambiance/Interior: 1
All Around Service: 2 (Danielle was sweet, but the others brought this average down.
Cost: $$ = entrees from $8 - 13
Would we recommend it?5: 2: Once was enough.
1 comment:
That's too bad. We recently met some friends at The Ram at Kent Station and had a great meal. The servers and management made sure that we were treated well and brought us everything we need.
I agree. I'm not a fan of chains, but I usually can count on the Ram for a good meal.
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