Critic's Review
I had no intention of going to Village Tavern today or any other day. I came here to try The Pub; bangers and mash were on my mind as I pulled into the shopping center. But the place was cold and unfriendly; so much so that I walked out and came over here.
Upon entering, the impression I received was the polar opposite. A hostess immediately greeted me and showed me to a nice big booth. The restaurant was fairly empty at 2:35; apparently late lunch isn't a big thing in Pembroke Pines.
They have a big fireplace behind the hostess stand and a big square bar; but I don't eat lunch at the bar anymore unless the restaurant is very crowded or there are no good tables.
In the dining room, they have a big open kitchen and some nice art. This is a chain restaurant designed with all of the latest stuff.
My server started with the corporate spiel, telling me that they are a 'scratch kitchen' and that they would happily accommodate any requested change in the menu or ingredients. Remember this. I ordered an Iced Tea.
He asked if I was ready; I ordered the 12oz Prime Rib, which is pricy at $24.95 for lunch. I mentioned that I didn't want fries and asked if I could I get a vegetable instead; he suggested the green beans or asparagus. I went for the asparagus. He continued with the hard sell, asking if I wanted any specialty drinks or appetizers like calamari; what he didn't ask is if I wanted bread, which is only available if you ask for it. Bad Restaurant Trick #1.
The horseradish sauce preceded the food. Not much you can do with it on it's own.
Music here is downright odd; it just doesn't fit the place at all. Marvin Gaye, very old Michael Jackson and Sheryl Crow, Evelyn "Champaign" King. These satellite stations are out of control.
One good thing about prime rib is that it's pre-cooked, so it comes out fast. Just 6 minutes from iced tea to steak.
My first impressions were that it wasn't a very juicy looking piece of meat, and the vegetable medley didn't look so good. A couple of the broccoli florets were yellowish; they'd mixed in some old with the new. A "scratch" kitchen doesn't have much value when they made the stuff from scratch 3 hours earlier. The asparagus looked freshly cooked; I asked for some butter so I could make a lemon butter sauce.
They serve "Certified Angus Beef" here, which I've come to believe is just a way for restaurants to charge prime-like prices for choice beef (Bad Restaurant Trick #2). I've never been impressed with anything CAB that I've gotten in a restaurant. It's supposed to be Choice+; at the high end of choice marbling. But this piece of beef was very lean. I also got an end; they can't slice off 1/8 of an inch or save the end for someone who wants it?
The horseradish was needed; and it was a good sauce. I'm not an au jus guy. Without the bread this was a serious low-carb meal, and overall I enjoyed the beef.
My server was omnipresent to the point of annoyance for the first 3/4 of my visit, but then he disappeared. This is becoming a pattern. I put my utensils in my empty plate and waited while reading the NY Post on my phone. A manager walked by and obviously noticed that I was done; a minute later the hostess came over and asked if I needed anything. "I need my check".
When the bill came, I took a quick peek and noticed that they charged me an extra $1 for the Prime Rib.
I wasn't 100% sure at the time; I had to look at the menu to be sure afterwards. So my guess is that there was a $1 up charge for the asparagus; not outrageous but here's the deal, Mr Restaurant Owner: if there's an up charge you need to tell me in advance, particularly when you go out of your way to tell me how accommodating you are. And put it on the bill, so I don't have to guess at why you charged me more. Bad Restaurant Trick #3.
Conclusion
It's unfortunate that restaurants have devolved into corporate entities focused mostly on profit and not on the customer experience. This place reminds me of Big City Tavern; a nice place with a false message that nickels and dimes you on bread and stealthy up charges. I could have easily enjoyed this experience; their ambition to squeeze an extra dollar or two from me ruined the whole thing.