Canoe

canoe · 10-31-2007, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winni Luvr

I went with my family to Canoe when we were at the Lake earlier this month and I found it ok at best. It was very crowded the Sunday night we went there and service was pretty slow. About 10 minutes after giving us our drinks, the waitress threw a bag on our table without explanation. Now of course after she brought us oil a minute later, she explained it was bread but I thought she was giving us someone's doggy bag at first. As far as the food, my youngest daughter and myself had the Lobster Ravioli which was rather good, portion and taste were both fine. However, my other teenage daughter ordered the Lobster Mac and Cheese and this selection should come with a warning! This entree came in a large bowl and could have fed the entire family! It seemed to me to be and entire box of Kraft Mac & Cheese with lobster in it. She ate about 1/8 of it and gave up. We asked the Waitress when she came to clear our table if anyone had ever finished it and she said no. My husband had a burger and he didn't complain as I recall so it must have been good.

i can assure you we do not use kraft mac & cheese unless a guest specifically ask us or a kids meal.

Rattlesnake Guy · 10-31-2007, 09:11 PM

Canoe,
Your attitude is "why" the Canoe continues to be our favorite place. It is quite a drive for us to travel from Alton to your place but that does not stop us from making the trip a few times a season specifically to enjoy what you have created. Our biggest problem is we are so enamored with our favorites that we hesitate to risk ordering anything else. We will just have to keep trying.

Sandy Island fan · 11-04-2007, 08:47 PM

I, too, love the lobster mac-n-cheese, and can't imagine anyone comparing it to krafts! I look forward to lunch the next day, too.
As for service, we usually do just fine. We typically are on a tight time-line, as the staff boats run on a schedule. However, anytime we've explained our issue to the waitstaff, we've been well taken care of. Of course, it helps that I don't even have to look at the menu to know what I'm getting!

dpg · 11-05-2007, 06:41 AM

Canoe: just a thought, if your going to defend yourself (and I feel you should) it seems it would be in your best interest to do so in a timely manner. The Mac and Cheese comment was posted in August! Just kind of takes the bite out of your response responding a few months later.

rrr · 11-05-2007, 09:14 AM

In all fairness to Canoe - there probably isn't a lot of time to read and respond to the forum in August.

LIforrelaxin · 11-05-2007, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rrr

In all fairness to Canoe - there probably isn't a lot of time to read and respond to the forum in August.

rrr you can't be serious????? I know if I was running a business, I would make sure I made the time to respond to any comments made against my business in a Forum as popular as this one. Even during the busy summer season. All it takes is one bad review, or sour customer to start turning away business.

I personally point people to this Forum when they're looking for recommendations. I could give them mine but it is jaded and is just that mine.

I would not personally recommend the Canoe to anyone. Not that I feel the service or food is horrible, but I have been to many other more impressive places around the lake, that I feel are better priced and have a better atmosphere.

The Big Kahuna · 11-05-2007, 06:15 PM

Canoe is one of the best places to dine around the lake, the other one place is O. There is only one other place that use to come close and that was the Woodshed, but that has gone way down hill over the past two years. I don't know if they are under new ownership, but what happened?

Canoe and O are one and two, two and one without a doubt.

ladybug · 11-06-2007, 07:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Big Kahuna

Canoe is one of the best places to dine around the lake, the other one place is O. There is only one other place that use to come close and that was the Woodshed, but that has gone way down hill over the past two years. I don't know if they are under new ownership, but what happened?

Canoe and O are one and two, two and one without a doubt.

I totally agree with you about Canoe and O's. In regard to the Woodshed, it is under new ownership. I haven't been there in a while as I have heard from friends how it has gone down hill. Hopefully the new owners will turn things around as we need more choices.

Newbiesaukee · 11-06-2007, 11:10 AM

The Woodshed is under new ownership and several visits in the spring were disappointing. However, we have been back 3-4 times lately and it is as good as it has been in the last 4 years anyway.

Of course, ones satisfaction with a restaurant depends on many factors. Although I have had some good individual dishes at Canoe as well as good servers; I have also had the opposite. For me, in an upscale (read expensive) restaurant,the food,service, and surroundings all have to work. One meal at Canoe, the air conditioning was so cold as to make the experience very unpleasant; despite several requests from us ( and several nearby diners) nothing changed. This should not have been the case. It may not be a big deal, but it is the kind of situation which shouldn't happen at the "best restaurant." I have not had the consistency at Canoe and, in general, the experience, for me does not make it the best in the area. I prefer the Woodshed and the Coe House in this category and am never disappointed at the Corner House. Although the surroundings are not high end at Kevin's, the food certainly is, and you really get personal attention ( from Kevin). Lemon Grass is also an excellent dining experience if you like the different type of food ( I do).Canoe is a fine restaurant, but I just do not enjoy it all that much. There is nothing really cut and dried about all this; it really is an opinion.

LIforrelaxin · 11-06-2007, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Newbiesaukee

There is nothing really cut and dried about all this; it really is an opinion.

Exactly... that one statement sums up all the banter about which places are better... It is all opinion.... hence why I never try and deter anyone from eating some place.... unless I suppose I am going with them....

michael c · 11-05-2007, 06:39 PM

RRR has it spot on ..While you are correct that you want to respond as quickly as possible to any comments made about your place, In July and August the owner of ANY restaurant doesn't know if he is on foot or on horseback ... Sure it would be great to answer questions that same day , But those are the very things that come up in the course of any retauranteur that take them away from the customer and out into the office where they cannot see or hear the customers ...It is also an opportunity for the "TIME BANDITS " to make you unavailable to being on the floor and and can be what causes the comments about slow service / no one was there that even seemed to care / waiters or waitresses' were too quick with us or didn't take the time to explain fully , all about the special of the day and to take that time,,,even if its 10 minutes , can cause 10 other complaints to crop up ...
many people want their food cooked to perfection, brought to their table immediately and are cranky because something wasn't perfect!!...
there is a saying in the restaurant business:
You can have it served very fast ,,,,,,,,,,,,cooked to order and to perfection,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and very resonably priced: you can pick 2 out of those 3 ..otherwise you are not being realistic

How about we give these people a little slack , HUH?

LIforrelaxin · 11-05-2007, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by michael clayton

RRR has it spot on ..While you are correct that you want to respond as quickly as possible to any comments made about your place, In July and August the owner of ANY restaurant doesn't know if he is on foot or on horseback ... Sure it would be great to answer questions that same day , But those are the very things that come up in the course of any retauranteur that take them away from the customer and out into the office where they cannot see or hear the customers ...It is also an opportunity for the "TIME BANDITS " to make you unavailable to being on the floor and and can be what causes the comments about slow service / no one was there that even seemed to care / waiters or waitresses' were too quick with us or didn't take the time to explain fully , all about the special of the day and to take that time,,,even if its 10 minutes , can cause 10 other complaints to crop up ...
many people want their food cooked to perfection, brought to their table immediately and are cranky because something wasn't perfect!!...
there is a saying in the restaurant business:
You can have it served very fast ,,,,,,,,,,,,cooked to order and to perfection,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and very resonably priced: you can pick 2 out of those 3 ..otherwise you are not being realistic

How about we give these people a little slack , HUH?

I give these people plenty of slack. I give anyone in customer service plenty of slack. There is however no reason that a resturant owner in the lakes region can't take the time once a week to come to location specific forums like this and see what people are saying about there establishment. However waiting 2 months to come in and defend your resturant is a poor showing in my mind, especially when it is over Mac and Chese. Especially when after reading the initial post a second time the complaint wasn't as much about the Mac and Cheese itself as it was the the portion was too much.

I don't expect Canoe, or any other resturant owner to respond to all comments. Because as you state it is hard to impress everyone. But to expect that they would keep a tab on what is being said about there establishment on a Forum like this and responding to complaints when needed, I feel is very reasonable to expect.

As for me when I have a complaint I don't post it on a website... I talk to the owner or on duty manager and give them the chace to respond on site. As I stated earlier my opinions are mine.... and I give the resturant owner the biggest curtiousy... I don't bad mouth them when I am not satisfied....I just don't ever go back....

dpg · 11-06-2007, 06:48 AM

Nobody should be expected to answer a comment about their establishment within a day - or even two.

But months? It takes a total of what 20 minutes or so? Nadia does, Pepper does...

11-04-2007, 08:47 PM	#3
Sandy Island fan Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 64 Thanks: 82 Thanked 32 Times in 21 Posts	love the lobster mac-n-cheese I, too, love the lobster mac-n-cheese, and can't imagine anyone comparing it to krafts! I look forward to lunch the next day, too. As for service, we usually do just fine. We typically are on a tight time-line, as the staff boats run on a schedule. However, anytime we've explained our issue to the waitstaff, we've been well taken care of. Of course, it helps that I don't even have to look at the menu to know what I'm getting!

11-05-2007, 06:15 PM	#7
The Big Kahuna Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Gilford Posts: 148 Thanks: 0 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts	I could not disagree with you more Canoe is one of the best places to dine around the lake, the other one place is O. There is only one other place that use to come close and that was the Woodshed, but that has gone way down hill over the past two years. I don't know if they are under new ownership, but what happened? Canoe and O are one and two, two and one without a doubt.

11-05-2007, 06:39 PM	#11
michael c Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 94 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	For "LIforrelaxin" RRR has it spot on ..While you are correct that you want to respond as quickly as possible to any comments made about your place, In July and August the owner of ANY restaurant doesn't know if he is on foot or on horseback ... Sure it would be great to answer questions that same day , But those are the very things that come up in the course of any retauranteur that take them away from the customer and out into the office where they cannot see or hear the customers ...It is also an opportunity for the "TIME BANDITS " to make you unavailable to being on the floor and and can be what causes the comments about slow service / no one was there that even seemed to care / waiters or waitresses' were too quick with us or didn't take the time to explain fully , all about the special of the day and to take that time,,,even if its 10 minutes , can cause 10 other complaints to crop up ... many people want their food cooked to perfection, brought to their table immediately and are cranky because something wasn't perfect!!... there is a saying in the restaurant business: You can have it served very fast ,,,,,,,,,,,,cooked to order and to perfection,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and very resonably priced: you can pick 2 out of those 3 ..otherwise you are not being realistic How about we give these people a little slack , HUH? __________________ " Wisdom does not always come with age...sometimes age comes by itself ! "

10-31-2007, 09:11 PM	#2
Rattlesnake Guy Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 1,254 Thanks: 423 Thanked 366 Times in 175 Posts	Canoe, Your attitude is "why" the Canoe continues to be our favorite place. It is quite a drive for us to travel from Alton to your place but that does not stop us from making the trip a few times a season specifically to enjoy what you have created. Our biggest problem is we are so enamored with our favorites that we hesitate to risk ordering anything else. We will just have to keep trying.

11-05-2007, 06:41 AM	#4
dpg Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 2,619 Thanks: 157 Thanked 235 Times in 172 Posts	Canoe: just a thought, if your going to defend yourself (and I feel you should) it seems it would be in your best interest to do so in a timely manner. The Mac and Cheese comment was posted in August! Just kind of takes the bite out of your response responding a few months later.

11-05-2007, 09:14 AM	#5
rrr Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Winter Harbor Posts: 214 Thanks: 75 Thanked 37 Times in 14 Posts	In all fairness to Canoe - there probably isn't a lot of time to read and respond to the forum in August.

11-06-2007, 11:10 AM	#9
Newbiesaukee Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Coral Gables, winter; Long Island, summer Posts: 1,363 Thanks: 961 Thanked 575 Times in 300 Posts	The Woodshed is under new ownership and several visits in the spring were disappointing. However, we have been back 3-4 times lately and it is as good as it has been in the last 4 years anyway. Of course, ones satisfaction with a restaurant depends on many factors. Although I have had some good individual dishes at Canoe as well as good servers; I have also had the opposite. For me, in an upscale (read expensive) restaurant,the food,service, and surroundings all have to work. One meal at Canoe, the air conditioning was so cold as to make the experience very unpleasant; despite several requests from us ( and several nearby diners) nothing changed. This should not have been the case. It may not be a big deal, but it is the kind of situation which shouldn't happen at the "best restaurant." I have not had the consistency at Canoe and, in general, the experience, for me does not make it the best in the area. I prefer the Woodshed and the Coe House in this category and am never disappointed at the Corner House. Although the surroundings are not high end at Kevin's, the food certainly is, and you really get personal attention ( from Kevin). Lemon Grass is also an excellent dining experience if you like the different type of food ( I do).Canoe is a fine restaurant, but I just do not enjoy it all that much. There is nothing really cut and dried about all this; it really is an opinion.

11-06-2007, 06:48 AM	#13
dpg Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 2,619 Thanks: 157 Thanked 235 Times in 172 Posts	Nobody should be expected to answer a comment about their establishment within a day - or even two. But months? It takes a total of what 20 minutes or so? Nadia does, Pepper does...