Review #67 - The Maxwell's Plum

The Maxwell's Plum
Variety: Pub
Address: 1600 Grafton Street
Date Visited: Friday, August 21, 2015
Orders: Burger Platter (breakfast style), Chicken Fingers & Fries

Taste: 7 + 8 = 15/20
Portion Size: 8 + 8 = 16/20
Presentation: 8 + 8 = 16/20
Value: 10 + 8 = 18/20
Service: 7 + 7 = 14/20
Bonus: 1
Minus: 1
Final Grade: 79% (Good)

(Scoring: 100% to 140% = Exceptional, 85% to 99% = Excellent, 67% to 84% = Good, 60% to 66% = Satisfactory, 50% to 59% = Marginal, 0% to 49% = Poor, -40% to -1% = Abysmal)

Notes: Back in J's university days, he frequented The Plum fairly often. Their current slogan "1% Fancy, 99% Beef" was true then, and it's true now. Although, to be fair, "1% Fancy" was generous back then, when you could have all the peanuts you wanted and were expected to dump the shells on the floor. He misses those days.

Anyway, the food was always pretty cheap and nothing special. Not much has changed on that front. J ordered the "Best Burger Platter in Town" (breakfast-style, meaning with a fried egg on top). The burger and fries were fine, but the bun was toasted a LITTLE too well (it was borderline burned), which took away from the taste a bit. It certainly wasn't the BEST burger platter in town, but for $7.99 (plus $1.95 for the egg), it was certainly good value.

T ordered the Chicken Fingers and Fries (a little more pricey at $12.95, but still reasonable) and almost instantly dropped a finger on the floor. Had there been peanut shells on the floor (and had she been a drunk frat boy), the lost finger might have been salvageable, but she's classy so it went to waste. Otherwise, it was a perfectly good pub meal, and the sweet & sour sauce came in a fancy little dish. On that note, our meals were served on cool branded plates - definitely worthy of a bonus point!

It felt as though the server was a little too eager to get our butts out of there, although our table ordered a fair portion of food and beverage. She kept clearing things the instant we were finished with them, and sometimes when we weren't - she inexplicably nabbed T's napkin three times, which was annoying. Minus point for that.

Although it had been years since our last visit, we weren't surprised by anything. It wasn't great, it wasn't bad, it was just fine. Nothing wrong with that.

Final Verdict: Still cheap and consistently ok!