Original Joe's — Restaurant in Calgary

SPITE PICKLES

Had a disappointing experience last night at this location. Evening started out okay, waitress took our order in a reasonably timely manner and brought our drinks and appetizer out. We ordered the dry ribs and they were overcooked, but we ate them anyways and didn't complain. We then chose to order nachos and asked for them to be made with no onions (red or green) as they cause my partner gastro upset. She put it into her computer and sent the order to the kitchen.

When the order was brought out to us, we noticed green onions on top (not a big deal, those ones we could pick off) and lots of red onions underneath the cheese. We stopped the waitress and let her know the kitchen had still put onions on and she said "no, I think those are tomatoes" and I told her that they were purple and tasted like onions, so probably not tomatoes. She took the plate back to the kitchen to have it remade and shared with us that the manager had approved a small discount for the inconvenience, which was great.

If that had been the whole experience, we would have walked away happy. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

When the nachos came back, everything looked fine, there were no obvious onions, so we began to eat them. Something tasted off about them but we couldn't pinpoint it, until I picked off a green(ish) chunk and tasted it individually. It was a pickle. When we looked closely, there were small chopped pickles ALL OVER the nachos, along with some onions underneath! The waitress came back and asked if these nachos were better. I said no, they weren't, because they had PICKLES on them. She looked confused and said "Pickles? I'm pretty sure that's right, they're supposed to come with pickles" 🤦‍♀️. I told her that's something we would have noticed and would have ordered it without, but she insisted on getting a menu to prove she was right, that the NACHOS came with DILL PICKLES. She went back to the kitchen, then came back to our table and said "the manager will take it off the bill". She did not acknowledge that anything was wrong with the food, take responsibility for her blaming us, or apologize. The pickles were clearly added out of spite, not accident.

She did not speak to us again in the following 20 minutes we were there, actively avoided our table, did not clear our pickle plate, and we had to flag her down ask for our bill. True to their word, they did remove the nachos from our bill, which is why I'll still give a few stars.

Really unfortunate circumstance turned into garbage customer service. Definitely could have been easily rectified.

TL;DR When we sent back our incorrect order, the waitress gaslighted us and the kitchen put spite pickles into our food. Management took item off the bill, but did not come speak...

Hey guys it’s Amanda and Mike! Your favorite takeout customers! 😆 We just wanted to leave you a review for your establishment! For us it’s very difficult to find restaurants that serve food that allow us to bring home after our weird work hours so we can reheat for dinner at a later time without the food getting soggy..

As well for me personally I have so many dietary issues.. and there’s not many foods I can eat without it triggering my stomach… everyday is almost a guessing game of what I’ll be able to digest.. I’m also a cancer survivor and also suffer from cerebral palsy and eating hasn’t been the same since with such a hyperactive gut kicking stomach… lots of foods make me ill 3 to 5 hours after eating..

When we found you guys I was skeptical at first because if the unknown based on what I’ve written above… HOWEVER come to my biggest surprise I haven’t gotten sick once eating your food!!! Not 1 stomach problem!!! ❤️ ♥️ 💜 and I feel so clean every time I eat your chicken club wrap with sides of your delicious house made salad!! I’ve even tried mikes Jack Daniel Burger 🍔 not 1 problem!!! Everything is delicious!!! And I don’t get sick!! And I have no pains!! You guys are my miracle restaurant and I hope you’ll stay forever at this location!!

I just wanted to say thank you for existing Thank you for you and your staff Thank you for make amazing quality foods Thank you for healthy option foods with my avocados and goat cheese and salads and nuts Thank you for meeting us in the parking lot to give us our food Thank you for EVERYTHING!! 🤗 I can’t say it enough really!!

I truly hope someone including our favorite manager reads this!! You guys have captured our hearts! For most people it’s just food but for us… it’s everything! I think we’ve ordered several times now in the last couple of weeks I figured I’d take this opportunity to write this for you!

And for everyone else reading this… if you haven’t been here yet you’re missing out!! GO!!! You won’t regret it I promise!!

If I hear back from this I know it’s cuz you’re busy haha 😆 but you’ll most likely get another call from...

First of all I would like to thank the entire staff of Original Joe's 7403 Macleod Trail SW, Calgary for not only being some of the most friendly people I've ever met, but some of the most pleasant as well.

But, the biggest shoutout goes to Emma working in the main bar area for the night. First of alI; I have NEVER in my life witnessed someone store so many separate orders in their head at one time. Not only does she store them all in her mind without failure, but she serves them up in order without one return the entire night. Not too many servers can do that.

I watched Emma not only put a few people in their place with a smile, but I experienced it myself as well. I asked if she was interested in a few things that I was interested in, and I was met with the most polite "No thank you" I have ever experienced. You do that while keeping 20 orders together in your mind without breaking a smile. Impressive.

Also, the people that work at this establishment are not only beautiful inside, they are on the outside as well. These poor ladies are pestered the entire shift, all while trying to stay as nice and as professional as possible amongst an atmosphere that is sometimes not only intimidating but can come with a feeling of vulnerability as well. Keeping all of the orders in one's head that Emma can keep at one time, not only can be slipped via distraction or due to the suggestions that I've offered above. Yet, Emma doesn't lose track.

I truly feel that Emma needs to be recognized for not only her efforts as an everyday server, but also for the management skills that she naturally shows on a regular basis. Emma could run not only this establishment, but also direct another simultaneously via facetime. I kid you not. Do not bypass this wonderful young lady, she's the future of places like these.

Don't ignore what you have, because you currently have the best. And they do it just because that's the work ethic that they hold, and because that's what they're good at. Great job...