The Roadside — Restaurant in Blaine

We had spent about a month corresponding back and forth with Jordan for a retirement party. We have all the emails confirming the party was all planned and we picked out the food two weeks in advance so they could make sure they had what they needed. The party was confirmed and all set. We show up for the party and nothing is set up. The staff had no idea a party of 25 was coming. They showed us the party room but the smoke from the food was so bad in there that it burned our eyes. They then offered to open the big garage door to air it out but then we would be cold because there was no heat in there. So we ended up sitting in the dining area. And the level of smoke in the restaurant is insane. It will be coming out of your pores by the time you leave. Our waitress was amazing for having to deal with a last minute huge party and most of us were mad that all that planning was for nothing. The food was good but expensive. And our overall cost ended up being way more than it would have been had we had the taco bar like we told Jordan about two weeks in advance. I feel most bad for the staff because they were caught completely off guard and had to scramble to help a large party. But like I said our waitress was very kind and attentive. I do not blame her at all. What’s even more disappointing is Jordan, when emailed about it claims he had a family emergency and that it was his staffs fault for not checking the event book. They saved him and he throws them under the bus. I’m pretty sure staff doesn’t just come in and learn about events that day. The fact that Jordan couldn’t take responsibility for not informing his staff of the party and not having things in place for it was really disappointing. And the fact that a boss would blame his staff after they worked so hard to make things better is just ridiculous. And no I do not believe he had an actual family emergency. I think he even had the audacity to lie about it. Because if that were true his staff would have known and explained that to us. Instead they said the things that are usually up for an event for them were not there. And that Jordan had been really busy with Thanksgiving and probably just forgot. His staff was just as flabbergasted as we all were that there was nothing about the party anywhere. I would not recommend this place at all because Jordan is not a reliable person and has no trouble passing blame onto his staff. And he has offered us free food for our trouble but that doesn’t do us a lot of good being we live 45 minutes away from there. Do not plan your party there or you risk there not being an...

I was here yesterday during very slow hours and only 1 or 2 other customers were in the building. Everything was going fine until the unexpected happened & my cousin ended up having a seizure in our booth. When we decided that he needed to go to the ER immediately, we tried to tell the bartender. With the most disgusting attitude, she rolled her eyes and told us that we needed to talk to a server first. When I explained again that we didn't have the time, she pointed her finger to the opposite side of the restaurant and raised her voice a tone or two and said "yeah and she's right over there."

After I yelled across the restaurant that I needed to get to the emergency room & all of them agreeing and being so understanding, I got nothing but sheer attitude from this bartender. I had to have another CUSTOMER tell us to go and tell us that he has our bill because he overheard what happened and another poor customer walked out when she saw what happened too.

I don't think that I have ever seen somebody act so unempathetic and vile towards another human being during a serious medical emergency in my LIFE. What if god forbid somebody choked or died in your restaurant? Why should anyone come here when there's such an unprofessional (and honestly a quite dangerous) atmosphere coming from some of the staff? Avoid this place if you have medical issues because clearly, it won't be taken seriously AND you'll get disturbing attitude with it. All we wanted to do was pay and leave.

I'm urging the management of Roadside to deal with this professionally...

Food quality was ok. Service was good, albeit a little slow, but we'll just chalk that up to staffing issues.

The reason we won't be back, which echoes some other reviews, is price and portions.

• Everything is a la carte. Nowhere on the menu does it mention this. Sure, it doesn't say what DOES come with an item, but why not be transparent about something so basic? It's super rare that an entire menu is a la carte. Had I not seen other reviews or asked our server to be sure, I would have ordered a burger fully expecting fries with it. So that's between $14 and $19 for only a burger. Are you kidding me? Then a side of average thin cut fries for $6.

• Portion sizes for the price left a lot to be desired. Our table of four ordered a rice bowl, burger, and two different tacos. Rice bowl was about the same size, maybe a little smaller, than from chipotle but for nearly double the price. taco orders come with only 2 and it was as if the chef/cook took zero effort to drain the juice/water OR contain the food actually inside the taco shells. Imagine eating a sloppy joe with your hands but without the bun. They were an absolute mess. Now, if you do still find yourself here, I would highly recommend the deep fried cookie dough balls with ice cream. SO good.

But in the end, for these kinds of prices, a 3% staff surcharge to boot, we will not be back. Really...