My roommate and I recently made two visits to the Dutch Kitchen, once for breakfast and once for dinner. While we found the breakfast menu adequate and the food well-prepared, we were not as happy with our dinners. We find the diners/cafes in the Northeast lacking in selection of vegetables, especially compared to those in the South. However, we could have overlooked this flaw had we enjoyed friendly service with a dose of personality. Alas, what a lack!!! When I inquired about what was on the counter under the glass cake cover, the answer was, "Sugar Cookies" without further explanation. Now, let me say that we bought the last two they had and found them delicious and worth every bit of the $.50 per each price tag. They were about 3 inches in diameter and about an inch thick in the middle, tender, sweet, and tasty. Wouldn't you think someone would have had enough salesmanship to provide a little history of such a delicacy?
But what really put us off was the total lack of service on both visits. At the first visit, breakfast, when the waitress did not return to replenish our coffee, I held up my cup, caught her eye, and smiled. I'm certain she saw me, but she never came back to our table.
Finally, I spoke to another waitress who brought us more coffee. When a third waitress brought our bill, we realized the total was incorrect in our favor by about half. When we pointed it out, we received lukewarm thanks.
On our return trip about two weeks later, we stopped in for dinner.
We thought we were in the morgue. It WAS a weeknight, but there was almost no one there, service was unfriendly, and there was no music, etc.
We just think that a restaurant that benefits from being included in such a well-read publication should be a little more appreciative of the publicity and a little more receptive to strangers.
