Don't Back Down

Yet another in the long line of strip mall restaurants, but different for two reasons. One, because the strip mall isn't your typical strip mall. Instead, it's the fancier type that is springing up everywhere, that looks more like a small village of shops. But let's face it - it's still a strip mall. Two, because it's Wolfgang Puck.

True, it's a Wolfgang Puck Express, but it's still a step up from McDonald's. Perhaps. If nothing else, at least in price. And certainly in atmosphere and selection. As to the food? That is a different story.

First off, you come into a nice place, and the area isn't bad, by any means. Though it could use some work on just how everything works. A very small ordering station exists, and the night we visited, they were just too busy to give us the direction we needed. So the gathered crowd pushed us through the line way too quickly.

This was compounded by the fact that the items on the board, while they sound great, aren't really described well. They aren't even accompanied by any pictures or anything. My suggestion is to go with the advice of those manning the registers. They seem to know what they are talking about.

Another idea is to get a take-out menu. However, this might raise the ire of those behind you - so you may want to do this and then step out of the way while you peruse the menu at a more leisurely pace. However, this does give you the opportunity to get a more detailed description of the items, which they really deserve.

Once you've ordered, you get to watch your food being made at an open kitchen, which is okay. It then arrives fairly quickly, and you eat the vastly overpriced food. The worst of the bunch is the soup. You will actually see things that have shown up on the shows, such as a butternut squash soup, but at nearly $4 for a small cup, it's really not worth it.

The rest of the food, such as a sandwich and a side, isn't bad. But you need to be ready for it. It's a decent place for a lunch-like meal at a dinner price. But for what you're getting it's a bit high.