I am reporting a bizarre incident at Mast Farm Inn that at the time was upsetting, but in retrospect was hilarious. Two friends and I were verbally assaulted by the entire staff of the restaurant, which advertises gourmet dining, after we returned our entrées to the kitchen and requested a corresponding reduction in our bill.
We had decided on a special night out and selected the restaurant based on past experience. We were unaware until we arrived that the restaurant no longer offers the diner choices, but instead serves a set menu. Even then, we did not know the restaurant kitchen staff had changed. Nevertheless, we happily anticipated the meal offered.
A beautifully presented tomato bisque with fresh basil and bits of goat’s milk cheese met our expectations and we ate the salad of too lightly dressed romaine lettuce with shavings of Parmigiano. However, we found the entrees unacceptable: slices of steamed turkey breast atop gummy fried rice, drizzled with cranberry sauce, with sweet potato strips and white potato wedges. We returned the food to the kitchen. Neither did we eat the desserts, which resembled ordinary packaged products from the freezer.
Upon receiving the bill of $134.00, I left the dining room to speak to the manager. I was told that the owner was on his way. I returned to the dining room, but before I could regain my seat a man, presumably the owner, confronted the three of us, berating us loudly about our failure to observe the rules of hospitality. About the same time, an aproned woman sailed into the dining room, arms flung wide, announcing that she wanted to introduce “our family,” whereupon four or five distraught looking people emerged from the kitchen and joined the fracas.
I can recall only snatches of what was said in the ensuing melee but these included the improbable claim by a young woman that she had picked the cranberries herself (they don't grow in NC), the owner shouting that his chef gets standing ovations and, finally, his accusation that we had made loud, disparaging remarks about the food to the other guests. Since the latter was patently untrue and the man was not present during the meal, we can only assume that his waitstaff misinformed him.
As we ran from the verbal onslaught, the owner warned us never to come back, which we surely will not. At his instruction, we did not pay the check.
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