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Frankie the Bull at Proud Mary's
As one who is paid to evaluate restaurants and who has experienced the gamut from 5 star sit down establishments to casual fast food style dining; I must say, Proud Mary's Southern Bar and Grill lacks southern hospitality and its food is barely adequate at best. The food is fair. It is far from mouth watering or spectacular. The crab cakes are filled with more crab than cake and the sauce compliments without being over powering or bland. The mac and cheese is not "country" mac and cheese, but rather pasta shells in a smokey creamy cheese liquid with a Cajun style crust on top. The presentation was more than food plopped on a plate and still no frills. The drinks were adequate. They were not strong and were not watered down. The service was friendly and professional all the while lacking in knowledge of quality customer service and standard food service. The server/bartender that took our order never introduced herself, never explained the menu or current specials, failed to place 1/3 of our order, did not check back until half way through our meal, did not return with the condiments once requested, did not explain the happy hour specials that were currently running and did not apply the happy hour pricing until questioned as to why the happy hour prices did not appear on the final bill, empty dishes were not cleared in a timely manner, when the food order arrived to the table it was "auctioned off" by asking who ordered what item. The General Manager was visible in the dining room and did not make table visits on general principle. When expressing to the GM disapproval with the level and quality of service, the GM was dismissive and unconcerned. The atmosphere and ambiance is very much that of a 2 star bar and grill with Mardi Gras beads wrapped around fixtures and figurines placed on the table. There is a pool table in the dining room and flat panel screens mounted to the dining room wall and behind the bar. It was very dark and empty at 6:30 PM, however the business level picked up within the hour, which the two bartenders who double as servers could not keep up with the demand and support staff appeared to pitch-in from the kitchen for a total of 10 minutes. The website claims the location is kid friendly; however, there is no children's menu, there are two high chairs for the dining room and IS more bar than grill. The lasting impression is that I should have dined closer to my hotel located in the Gas Lamp district and chose any number of the establishments downtown, rather than venturing out to Proud Mary's where, if I were Mary, I would not be so proud. If you stay at the Ramada, it might be worth ordering "to go" because the food would seem better if served over a counter and eaten with plastic utensils. The food is OK and the service makes you want to stay home.— June 8, 2012 11:55 p.m.