My mini review of Juniors Crush House 8/19/2013
 

There were 4 of us who went for appetizers on Sunday at 5 p.m. A few of us had the Orange Crush. Very refreshing. We ordered the following:

Chicken fingers (plain): lightly breaded and fried to perfection. they were cooked just right and the breading has a nice taste against the honey mustard sauce. The hot sauce, was really hot so If you like hot you're in luck.

Mozz sticks: They're you're plain ole Jane sticks. Good none the less, though the marina sauce was lacking a little spice.

Potato ribbons w/ cheese and bacon: nice size basket, plenty for 4 people. Unique and I will definitely get these again!

Crab cakes: Okay, so it was one crab cake. I didn't like the fact that it was one cake but it is what is is. They were good, a little too flat and stringy for my taste. It could have been cooked a bit longer. In my opinion, and I make a mean crab cake, this cake could have been split into two (add a little more meat) and don't make them so flat. It was a complete disappointment.

The service was okay. There were few diners there, but it appeared that our waitress was a little distracted. After sitting there with our apps for a few minutes, we needed to ask for napkins and utensils. In the waitresses own admission, we were here only table. Her lack of attentiveness still puzzles me . . . I guess it's because people like us still give a full 20% tip even if the service is so, so. We are local business owners ourselves and I know that there isn't a lot of money to be made up here so I consider it giving back to the community.

The view was good. It doesn't compare to lakeside living but then again, who am I going to get to serve me drinks and apps at the house. It's always nice to get out on a deck with a slight breeze and just enjoy the sun with family. I'm looking forward to dinner or lunch there someday soon.

As you can see, I am not a professional critic but I hope it gives some insight.

p.s. In my humble opinion, they need to clean up the back of the restaurant a little bit more to make it more like a restaurant and less like an unfinished back yard.

Menu
 

I hope you can see the menu I posted on here. I took it from their FB page

Wife and I went to dinner Saturday night at Juniors. We both felt that the service was fair since we had to get our own drinks as we waited for deck seating and from there they forgot about us until we decided to just go and sit down at a table. We had the sea food platter and shrimp dinner and we both loved the food but again the service sucked. Hope they get there stuff together since we thought it was a great place to go for dinner and a drink.

Stop for lunch Sunday
 

There only about 3 cars in the parking lot. I ask the waitress that I need a quick bite to eat, she says she will take my order immediately. I ordered chili as you would think it would be quick.
I was sitting on the front deck and I swear they have forgotten me. I went inside to get the waitress and she said she will check on the order. She delivered the order and it is cold! I was in a hurry so I had the change, paid the order and left. It's been almost an hour since I pulled in.

Looking forward to trying it out!
 

My yearly trek to the Lake begins this Saturday :D and I am looking forward to trying Junior's out. Been hoping a new restaurant would open at this location since the Cherrystone closed. :)

Said I would try it
 

We ate at Junior's last Monday and the food wasn't bad. Only one waitress was working so we were very skeptical of how the service would be, but since most of the patrons were at the bar and only 2 other tables were occupied she did a pretty good job. The 4 of us had no complaints about our food. I had the Sirloin, my husband had the Steak Pizziola, one daughter had the Chicken Alfredo and the other had the Haddock.

However, while we all enjoyed the food we were not very happy with what happened when my 21 year old daughter ordered a drink. Keep in mind when I tell this story that we were there as a family. I am 50, my husband is 64 and my other daughter is 24. I was the only one who ordered a drink when we arrived, a glass of wine...my husband who does not drink had a coffee and my other daughter had soda. We were obviously there as a family and not to party or allow our daughters to pass off fake ID. Anyway, as dinner did take a little while to arrive, my youngest daughter decided to try one of their "crush" drinks. She pulled out her NJ Photo license for ID and when she ordered her drink and was asked for it happily handed it to the waitress. The waitress then looked at it and when it should have then been handed back to my daughter said she would have to show it to the bartender and walked off with it. After a couple minutes she then came back and said that my daughter would have to go up to the bartender. By this time, our food had arrived at the table, but my daughter went up to the bar. As she stood there waiting, the bartender had his back to her for a couple of minutes showing my daughter's ID to one of the people at the Bar! When I saw this I went up there and told the waitress to have the bartender acknowledge that my daughter was up there as her food was getting cold and what he was doing was wrong. He finally walked over and then asked her what her middle name was and her date of birth. By now I'm pissed and my food is getting cold. I told him we were there as a family and he completely ignored me so we went back to the table.

Long story short, we will not go back there even though the food wasn't bad.
My daughter gave the waitress a legal, photo ID from the State of NJ and was eating with her family, not a table full of questionably aged youth. While I expect any establishment to ask for ID, a waitress or bartender should be able to use discretion. My daughter was embarassed and I was angry. Not one other restaurant went further than asking for ID from either of my daughters during our vacation and we will be going back to them next year.

Most waitress' and bartenders are very cautious about serving liquor to anyone under the age of 35. Too many times it comes back to they are the ones responsible if the person drinking gets into trouble. Just common sense being ignored and people not responsible for their own acts.

True, but the bartender or server has no business showing the ID to patrons at the bar. It is possible that one of the ppl at the bar was a manager or owner, but we have no way of knowing that.

Chip129 True, I never thought of that. And you are right, he should not show the ID to anyone else, except the manager.

I agree that he shouldn't have shown the ID to anyone at the bar, but we don't know who that person was. Could have been the owner, another employee who was off shift and they were looking to confirm the validity of the ID. I realize if the daughter is actually of age and the ID is legit it would be frustrating to be refused but I commend the server and bartender for doing their job. Too many ID's look good but are actually fakes. Clearly the bartender doesn't like to refuse to sell alcohol so must have had a true concern about how valid it was. Doesn't matter if she wasn't partying and was with her parents. He serves someone under age, he loses his job, the restaurant loses their license and someone could get hurt or killed leaving him responsible. I haven't been to Juniors yet but support them in their decision to serve alcohol in a responsible manner.

It could have been a state liquor inspector "undercover".

Junior's Crush House
 

While I realize that restaurants/bars have to be cautious, again, discretion can be used when going any further than actually asking for ID. If the bartender was so concerned that the ID was not real, then he should have come over to the table (we were not far from the bar), not have my daughter get up from our table when our food had already been served. Then when she gets to the bar, he is on the other side showing the ID to whoever it was, and left her standing there for a good 2 minutes until I asked the waitress to please have him acknowledge that she was standing there and I went up to be with her.

I'm sorry, the whole thing was handled wrong and I was insulted. I guess there are families who would let there daughter use a fake ID to get drinks when the family goes out for dinner (?? maybe), but I sure don't know of any and I certainly never did!!! And I was the only other person at the table having a drink, my husband and my oldest daughter weren't, so we didn't look like the "Party" family.

Anyway..... I'm letting it go and reflecting on the wonderful vacation I just came home from and looking forward to going back to the Lake next year as I have for the last 45 years or so.

Just to be clear, they gave my daughter her drink after it all, she wasn't refused. Her ID was a valid NJ Photo license.

A couple things on this post. First, I totally agree that they should never have been showing it to other patrons. That is in my field (medical) highly illegal.
The bartender should have come over to the table instead of the other way around.
As for the "she is 21 and it was not a fake". There are places, at least in MA, where they will not serve an out of state person unless they are 24 or 25 (I forget the actual age). The sporting arenas are part of this and I've seen it a couple of bars in the Boston area.
As for the you were with family, I know a bunch of parents that would get their kids drinks before they were of age.
Like I said at the beginning, I agree it was totally handled the wrong way though.

Responsible serving of alcohol certificate
 

Unfortunately only owners and managers are to take the course and be certified. Bartenders are only required to be 21.
The theory is that the owners/managers are required to train the bartenders and wait staff responsible serving but this is not enforced. The seasonal changeover of staff makes it harder to train.
In other states, owners, managers, bartenders are certified before serving alcohol. In some states bartenders are required to 'pour' liquor correctly before getting their certificates.
So there can be confusion as to 'how to read a valid id', in this state. I notice in some restaurants the waitstaff will call the owner or manager to a table to make sure id is proper. This is the first time I heard of a watstaff bringing the id to the bar. Sounds like id theft to me.
Believe or not in NH, one can be 80 years old, and without a valid id cannot be served alcohol. This has not really been enforced, yet I have seen liquor inspectors and 'anal' LEOs uses this as a ground to evict someone they may not like.

responsibility
 

I agree with everyone that the bartender has to be responsible for who he serves. But - don't we all have the right to know who is looking at our IDs? Yes - it could have been the owner or an inspector... or it could have been a friend of the bartender's or another customer from New Jersey. I wouldn't want my personal information including my address passed around.

I think you guys need a little more info....

In NH.... the buck stops with the bartender. The end. If the bartender serves a drink to an underage person (regardless of fake id or not) the bartender WILL be arrested. Not the owner, not the waitress, not the bouncer at the door.... just the bartender. The owner/business will be subject to fines and/or loss of liquor license. The Liquor enforcement in the Weirs Beach area is Draconian! The Liquor Inspector for the area (his name is Kurt) is around constantly and they run stings all the time.

The NH Liquor Commission offers TEAM (Total Education in Alcohol Management) classes for businesses and their employees. Most of the businesses I know REQUIRE their alcohol servers to take this class. It addresses ID's & how to spot a fake, the security features required in an ID, over-serving etc... When you take this class, you are taught to be extremely careful with out of state ID's. Those are the ones that are mostly faked.

In the TEAM class you are taught not to look at the situation that ID is presented. For example, if you look at WinniLuvrs story, just because your daughter although legal, (barely at 24 and likely looks younger) was having dinner with her family presented a valid out of state ID... it is still up to the bartender to do due diligence. Its their *ss on the line. They don't know who your daughter is, and they are taught to be wary of out of state ID's. perhaps they looked up NJ ID's online to verify the security features...

Bottom line is, if you are younger and you want to consume alcohol, you can bet that your ID WILL BE SCRUTINIZED.... Its not ID theft, its not harmful to you in any way.

Woodsy

Winni Luvr - You mentioned (more than once) your daughter was there with her family and not a bunch of kids but that doesn't matter one bit. I do agree what they did seems wrong but they need to be careful and do the right thing. Doesn't matter if your daughter was there with her grandparents or a huge group of kids, the drinking age is what it is. I know what you mean by saying that I really do, but....................

I was sitting at the table next to you and saw you both go to the bar I thought you were more upset that the food was already on the table and you had to get up to have the ID checked? I know your daughter said she was 24 but she did look younger and I would have carded her as well, then with an out of state license a manager or owner should have come to your table not you having to go to the bar.The bar had 4 people at that time 2 were regulars. The father was around he was outside smoking when we came in.They have a few things to learn in the restaurant business if the want to stay in business IMHO.

2nd time not so good
 

So here's my take on Junior's Crush House the 2nd time around. Thursday night out, not too crowded in the dining area, although the bar was packed, sanding room only. Guess we have a lot of drinkers in town!! (joike)!! Service was so-so, they had a few specials which I think were priced pretty high but my complaint was the lack of any communication with the waitstaff or even the owner/manager??? No one came to our table at all throughout the meal to make sure we were satisfied, did we need anything, was everything cooked ok, etc. The owner (or at least I think it was, it was a guy who looked like he was someone other than a hired host) seated us, and never came back, never said enjoy, never made any conversation whatsoever. The waitress was ok, didn't really do much for the experience as well and she looked to be an older, seasoned waitress so not sure if she was just in a bad mood. The clincher was when she left the tab, still didn't ask us if everything was ok, didn't ask us about dessert, nothing. Then when we left the "guy" who I think was the owner was standing down in the entrance and never said "have a good night" "did you enjoy your meal"....nothing. So not sure we'll be returning there. Like I said, food was just so-so...I got a steak that I couldn't really chew, it was on the tough side and it was one of their specials. One other person got steak tips, he said they were delicious and
last diner got some sort of seafood Alfredo which he said was just ok. So scratch it from our list, maybe we'll try again come winter but for now it's a no go.

You nailed it . . .
 

You nailed it. I couldn't figure out what about my experience was uncomfortable. The place lacked actual personality. I don't need to be schmoozed, but common courtesy is needed. We are paying a premium for a service.

Thank you for helping me realize this. (✿ˆ◡ˆ✿)

And, I only write these to help the owner. I hope he reads these and improves upon what could be a fabulous restaurant.

Another great lunch at Jr. Crush House!
 

Went in for lunch on 11/2 around 1pm with a friend and sat at the bar. Drinks are still tasty and served fresh! Sandwiches were served hot and tasted good (although for only having 2 other people in the entire place, they did take a bit longer than I expected, but not a complaint). I had the Cuban, friend had the Ruban, both were great. For dessert we had the tiramisu and cheesecake, both were also great. Service was fast and prompt. Second time in. Still haven't tried them for dinner, but I like them very much for lunch!

First and only trip to juniors crush house
 

My husband and I ate at this place Saturday night. Waitress was nice-menu was changing over to barbecue. I ordered just a salad-$10 for ripped iceberg, three tomato wedges, three slices of cuke, and about 6 slices of red onion on top. Got a side of chicken for $5-pre-packaged, grisly chicken that was "grilled", which made it dry and rubbery. My husband ordered steak tips-was not asked how he would like them cooked. They were okay, but tasted like vinegar. Our drinks were good, but unfortunately, the food was not good enough for us to make a return visit. I wish them luck in their barbecue adventure.

Quick Question!
 

This line got my interest up as I have never heard it before!

Other than a flat soda mixer (which very well could be a problem with the post-mix carbonator and not have anything to do with the freshness of the post-mix syrup); what causes a drink to not be fresh?

I have never been to Junior's, but they do advertise "fresh" drinks on their website: http://juniorscrushhouse.com/about-juniors/

Perhaps this ties into the "Crush" concept? They fresh-squeeze the juices or something like that?

It's hot out and I'm thirsty. :cheers:

Well --

Let's start with did anyone notice that this was "New laker's" first post ! (just saying)

As it turns out, my wife & I decided to try Juniors out this past Sunday for lunch. Having never been there, yet read the reviews I must admit they have a VERY unique concept going for them.

Sofa & chair (al la Starbuck's) on the ground floor (didn't notice if there was a fireplace- which would be nice in the Fall/Winter), normal table area upstairs with a huge - well appointed bar off the dining area (two wide screen TV's), Outside tables for 4 on the porch facing MountainView Y.C. and a cool gaming area fenced in at the back of the restaurant with Adirondacks & tables.

As for the staff, they were quite engaging and attentive
As for the food, it was only lunch - but the Steak & Cheese that I had was FABULOUS with clearly fresh ground beef (not minute steak) and my wife's burger was the similarly good. But again -- a simple lunch - nothing to write a restaurant review over. Overall the menu looked quite varied and can't wait to pop in for dinner.

As we are soon to be moving to that area .... I am glad we stopped ... as now we have found a new home/haunt ..... hopefully not as packed as Patrick's seems to get

(that is NOT a knock on Patrick's -- rather a compliment -- but still typically a wait to be seated)


.

Phantom,
I did notice the first post and I have been observing for years a lot of shannigans on the restaurant forum. New laker may be genuine. I did notice there is fairly new negative restaurant poster in our mist who slipped up earlier today and revealed what restaurant they actually work at /own/have interest in. Anyone else notice this?
I for one have always had a good experience at the crush house.
BHaven

New Laker
 

New laker is my wife and has been watching me enjoy the forum for years. I told her to be careful what you post or people will jump all over you. She was very kind in her post. When we arrived at 5:30 and we were almost the only one there that sent up the first flag. It is a forum where people are expressing their opinion which we all have one.

Everyone has to have a first post! welcome Mrs Tackle!

Me, me, me, raises hand as high as I can with other arm holding it up!!! It's a type of bee, do I win a prize?

Ya lunch at the LP with a foulmouthed waitress,A belligerent manger and a sous chief that will run out and scream at you when you have a ligament ? on how little care was taken in preparing your meal

That's exactly what they do! They make drinks with FRESH squeezed juices. Not something out of bag in a box or carton. Sounds pretty clear to me.


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This is nothing specific about Junior's or Patricks or any particular place. But it seems so many of us are now 'ok' with paying for mediocre food...irks me for some reason. Also bothers me because good tasting fresh food is pretty easy to make and it seems most restaurants care more about turning tables then making a quality product.../rant

I think that was a diversion. look deeper and look at the posts from the past

It CAN be a tough crowd.
 

Hoping it doesn't shy her away from participating. The facts are the facts and some think it's contrived . . . but sometimes service and food just stink. It doesn't mean that it's that way always it just means the food wasn't that good.

I've been wanting to go back since my birthday last Aug., as it's right around the corner and we live here year round so variety is nice. It didn't blow me away, so I haven't been back. Maybe again this coming up birthday? If so, I'll be sure to report in.

Went to Juniors tonight for first time. Prices are high and no children menu. Won't be going back.



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Lone skier....seriously? I def understand the gripe regarding the kids menu but prices are too high?? As compared to what?? What other BBQ restaurants are you comparing them too?


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http://i44.tinypic.com/1499wms.gif New laker , I just noticed that you are fairly new to posting on the forum and glad you have joined us. Have fun and enjoy the Winni Forum while making many new friends.

Thanks for joining us and inserting your thoughts about this dinning spot. All thoughts are taken in and individuals make up there own decisions if they want to partake at this facility. :)

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Another One Fails
 

Such a Shame ........... Looks like another local establishment didn't make it

(apologies for the horrible pic)

Geez, I wonder why...?
 

Based on the comments within this legacy thread and the 2 out of 5 star Yelp rating it's of no surprise.

Lackluster food + high prices + mediocre service = out of biz