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Frankie the Bull at Proud Mary's
Just a few comments about this rave review. My husband and I who live in Hillcrest, went to Frank's restaurant, "The Big Easy" from the moment it opened. We love to support local small businesses in our neighborhood, and wanted to see it succeed. Our experiences were this: First time, stopped by for lunch. Had some good (not exceptional, but good) sandwiches. We liked siting on the outside patio. Second time, we brought about a dozen members of our French language group. Thought it would be fun to have a Cajun brunch. First, he assured us that he would have live Cajun musicians there (we'd seen them before, playing on the patio). Second, he assured us that he'd have umbrellas at all the tables for sun protection. Third, he tried to price-gouge us shamelessly, suggesting a bouillabase for something like $25 a head, when the average brunch menu item was around $10. We declined the bouillabase, and when we arrived, no umbrellas, no music. Food was weird. Terrible presentation, and completely inconsistent portions. Nothing tasty to the extent of being at all noteworthy. Just a head-scratcher overall. The sense was that the place was completely indifferent to our patronage. Third time (can't believe we gave him another chance!), took the in-laws (they're from Europe, so we thought a uniquely American type of food- Cajun would be a rare treat). The food was pretty good, but even though the place was nearly empty, we couldn't believe how we were rushed through our our meal. Taking away plates and asking if we wanted desert or anything else while some of us were still eating our main course. Uch. Meanwhile Frank played the part of the Big Chef, strutting around to talk with the only other diners in the restaurant, a couple of women who seemed to be regulars. Overall, his restaurant did NOT fail because it was in a "site of doom." It failed because he failed to deliver an inviting atmosphere, good service, consistently good cuisine, and it seemed to just be a vehicle for an over-weaning ego to play the part of the Big Chef/Restauranteur. To prove this point, the very next restaurant to move into this so-called "site of doom" is called Empire House, and is flourishing like crazy, and has been since the moment it opened. Nothing in the neighborhood around it changed, just the restaurant. Seems like ol' Frankie "the Bull" doomed(and not for the first time) himself.— June 14, 2011 10:37 p.m.