[Nadia]

Boston Fireguy,
I apologize if you had a bad experience. Last weekend was an extremely busy weekend at Nadia's. The hostess your speaking of was myself. Saturday night Gretchen Wilson was playing at Meadowbrook Farms and a large crowd of guests came in at once before the concert.

We did have some guests choose to leave. Nadia's is not a good place to visit when your in a rush. Unfortunately there's not a whole lot we can do to remedy these types of situations. Like I've said before, Nadia's takes great pride in the cooked-to-order food we serve. I do not serve food that is pre-packaged or frozen. You will never hear a microwave beep in my establishment, and nor so in the future. I would rather a customer wait for a good meal then send it out so-so. I refuse to serve anything out of a can or already prepared. Thus explains the wait guests do experience from time-to-time. If I try and increase the pace, the food quality suffers, and that's somewhere I won't budge. Not only is Nadia's a bad place to be when your in a rush, you also need to consider when 100 people walk in the door at once, there may be a delay and a bit of chaos. Nothing we can't handle.

Furthermore, we do not promote a fast-food, rushed pace. Some folks have the same expectation of all places, but it really isn't so. We want you to relax, sit back, and enjoy your meal.

Friday and Saturday nights are popular nights for restaraunts, Nadia's included. If you are in a rush or starving, a packed restaraunt is a bad place to be. Guests tend to forget this sometimes, as did the guests that chose to leave. The guests that left told me they had to make it to the concert, so they had to leave. This was at 6:00. A long time customer of mine pulled me over to their table and asked me what the big deal was, that the concert didn't start until 9:00. Until last Saturday, we haven't had guests walk out for at least a year. Saturday night we had an unusually cranky, rude crowd, and I am not directing this remark at you by any means. I had a gentlemen come over to me and tell me that he had waited 25 minutes for his meal, and he was leaving. 25 minutes is not an overly-long wait. I remember being in Uno's in Tilton a month ago with a friend of mine. We waited 15 minutes for our server to come over, 10 minutes for our drinks, 25 minutes for an appetizer, and another 30 minutes for our meals. The place was 1/4 full, empty tables and all...

As far as the aquaintance your referring to, I'm not sure what your talking about, not that it matters. I had quite a few guests tell me there were empty tables in the dining room when I explained to them there would be a short wait, and I was well aware of the empty tables. I don't need anyone to point it out to me. As far as the empty tables, I can assure you I'm competant enough to run my dining room. The kitchen was backed up, and the waitstaff were also. I am not going to seat guests and have their service lacking. In order to keep the establishment running as smoothly as possible when trying to accomidate an immediate, large crowd of guests, at times I will hold parties for a few minutes before seating them. I have been in this business since I was a young child. In my experience, when people sit down, they expect and want everything right away. To seat a hungry, rushed, and sometimes cranky group of people in the midst of a "crunch" as we say in the business, is not always in the best interest of the guests or the server. The kitchen and the staff need a few minutes to catch up after being bombarded. It also shortens the time that the guests spend waiting for their food at the table, which can be frustrating for the guests, and the server. Sometimes it's in the best interest of the guests and the staff for myself to make a decision to hold off for ten to fifteen, let the guests have a cocktail, and than seat them down. Along with decreasing the amount of time they wait for their food, it increases the quality of their service--the time and attention their server can give them. It increases the chances of the guests having a much better experience overall, and that's what I strive for.

The party that I quoted 25 minutes was a large party for whom there was no seating available at that time. Everyone else was quoted 15 minutes or less.

As far as the 20 minute delay on your order being taken, if you could please PM me with the name or description of the server? Really there is no explanation for this and if that is the case then they were certainly wrong, and I apologize. If you could provide me with that information I could address the situation promptly. If I could make a suggestion to you, coming from resteraunt owners, if you have a distaste for your meal, or are unhappy with your service, please inform a manager or owner, we really WANT and NEED to know in order to improve.

I have heard comments about the red sauce having a soup like consistency before, you can see it in this thread. Red sauce served in Italy is not thick, chunky, or sweet like you'll find in the Americanized versions. Many people prefer a thick red sauce, but just as many do not. I have many customers ask me before they order dishes like the chicken parmigiana "Is the red sauce thick & chunky, because if it is, I'll opt for something else". Nadia's stays somewhere in the middle to attempt to accomidate as many tastes as we can as far as consistency. Same goes for spice and flavor. Like the above poster mentioned salt and pepper can be added as needed. A red sauce with heavy flavor is usally one from a can with many preservatives, and can be unnappetizing to many. Keeping it somewhere in the middle is the best way.

My red sauce has nothing to do with tomato soup. The finish sauce used in certain dishes like parmigiana is prepared with a touch of cream to give it a unique texture and appearance. It also compliments meat and pasta better than the average, and equals out the natural sweetness and acidity of the tomatoes. Fresh plum tomato sauce is entirely different from canned, prepared versions. Instead of tasting heavy spices and preservatives it will tend to be more mild and have a slightly acidic/sweet bite. To even it out we add a touch of cream and for more than the majority, it's a hit. Yet there are some that don't like it, your not alone, and I completely understand. It's a matter of preference.

The difference in coloration is that a red sauce that has been boiled relentlessly for steralization and in preparation to be canned/jarred has a deep red color. This is also where the thickness and chunkiness comes from. Like I've said, most red sauces are prepared with sugar and preservatives (sodium) giving them their heavy flavor. A fresh sauce will have a much lighter consistency and taste, and a completely different appearance which may startle some people.

Maybe you can visit us again when you have more time, maybe you'll choose not to. If you do choose to try us again, ask your server to request your sauce cooked just a tad more. We'd be more than happy to accomidate. Either way, thank you for visiting us, and posting your experience here. I apologize it couldn't have been a better one.

- Nadia Corrado