Volstead Proper — Restaurant in Conway

Heard mixed reviews about Volstead Proper, but figured we'd give it a shot, and try something new.

Out of the gate, they seemed short staffed, and not very busy either..so I already had concerns.

My wife and I started with the potato wedges. Not bad to be honest; and sadly, the best part of the whole experience. Potato wedges with mac and cheese on top. Not too bad.

My wife went with the smoked chicken, mashed potatoes, and collard greens for her entree....decently priced around $18. It seemed dried out, and all the flavor of the chicken was on the skin. I'll get to the mashed potatoes later. She did say she enjoyed the greens.

I went with the Surf & Turf, priced at $43. The S&T consisted of roasted carrots, mashed potatoes, lemon butter shrimp, and a 6 ounce filet.

So, the mashed potatoes. They were ok, but I prefer a more creamy mashed potato, with some actual cream or milk. These appear to have just been blended with the water they were boiled in and seasoned. Not terrible, but not the best by any means. The carrots were adequate, and seasoned ok for the most part.

I didn't catch a single hit of lemon on the shrimp; however, they were still seasoned ok. They were a bit on the small side, considering there were only 4.

Here's the kicker...let's talk about the filet. I ordered my filet medium. It came out still very much purple, with a slight tinge of "fake" searing around the outside. (I'll get to the "fake" part in a bit).

In the past, I would have just dealt with it...but the older I get, the more I realize....if I'm paying for a service, it should be done right, and I shouldn't settle.

I sent the steak back. To my surprise....that same steak that I had cut in half...had been re-cooked, and brought back to me. Any you're probably thinking....ok, now it's overcooked. Negative...the steak was still purple in the middle, and cool to the touch. Of course, I sent it back again.

Let me make this brief intermission to state that our server was very upset with the kitchen at this point. We have absolutely zero problems with our server. She was great.

So...after about 10 minutes...the steak returns (now in 3 pieces). Yes, they re-cooked the same steak again. This time, the steak was a very medium well. Before I even cut into I knew, and the server had already spoken up to say she was going to have them cook a new one.

3 tries....still bad, and no appearance of a manager. Another 10 minutes pass, and a new steak comes out....that has already been sliced open on one corner! Our server looked terrified bringing it over. She knew it still wasn't correct....because she actually put gloves on and cut into it before brining it to me.

This 4th try, with a new filet, also came out rare. At that point, I asked the server why the manager hadn't even bother to come out yet. Apparently he was washing dishes.

He finally appeared, and gave his apology. He did remove the charge for my meal from the ticket. (Let's be honest, I wasn't going to pay for it anyway.) He also offered free desert which we passed on.

I expressed my concerns about the cleanliness of re-cooking a steak that had been on a customer's plate.... This is when he informed me that they run the steaks on their own plate through a Turbo Chef.

That's right, they sous vide the steaks, and they run them through a Turbo Chef. It seems to me like their "Culinary Artist", Steve Binotti, needs to give the cooks a little lesson on how to properly use their equipment.

I know the restaurant is new....and I know they were short staffed. However; If you are going to charge $43 for a meal, you better know how to get it right the first time.

Will most likely not be going back. And given the crowd on a Friday night....I'm guessing many others have the same opinion, and just haven't...

Positives first, our server was good. I can't remember his name but no issues there. So first off this used to be a Steak and Shake. And so you already know this wasn't a big building. But they're trying hard to create this real upscale atmosphere in there and honestly it just makes the space seem even smaller. It feels like they sacrificed space for a look.

Next up the food. We got cheese dip. It is 100% Rotel dip from a potluck with bacon added. Now that's not to say it tasted bad, but it's definitely not some new exciting cheese dip you've never had. I did like the thick chips they serve with it but this wasn't impressive.

We had brunch. I got the French toast. It was fine but it's hard to mess up French toast. My biggest issue is that it says "topped with strawberries" and as you will see from my photos there was like 2 tiny strawberries cut up on there. They are barely a garnish and should not be listed as a feature. The side of bacon was fine, could have been a little crispier.

Now for the brisket Benedict. The eggs were overcooked and the presentation looked like something from a hospital cafeteria. It didn't LOOK appealing at all. And the most egregious part is that the brisket was bland with zero smoke flavor. None. For a place that seems to be promoting itself as a restaurant that specializes is smoked meats, this ain't it chief. It somehow had a smoke ring with no smoke. I'm not even sure how you do that. It's honestly impressive to give the illusion of smoke with none of the flavor.

From reading reviews and speaking to people who live in Conway, this place wants to be the kind of joint that requires reservations. They are a LONG way from that. If they can't get a basic brunch right, they're in trouble. Go back through my reviews and note the Waffle House. It has better brunch/breakfast I can assure you. This place has potential but the food is not living up to it yet. I get the impression this restaurant WANTS to be a place like Rober in Benton that's a little upscale but not totally pretentious. They're going to have to wildly improve their food to ever get close to...

So we heard mixed reviews on this new restaurant and we have been wanting to try it for a few weeks. So we had an impromptu date night on a Wednesday. I went ahead and made reservations last min and I am glad I did. The place was full and several people came in and left because they didn’t have any.

We ordered the salmon dip appetizer. The salmon had good flavor, but needed a little more spice in my opinion. The only real negative about it was that it was watery at the bottom of the bowl. My guess is from the lemon juice. It just created a soggy texture.

The wife ordered garlic shrimp and she loved it. I looked up and she had cleaned her plate before I was halfway done with mine. She said the green bean and corn casserole were both had good flavor.

Smoked Prime Rib man was I really impressed with this cut of meat. It had great smoke flavor, it was tender, and cooked perfectly. This prime rib had to be one of the best I have personally had anywhere. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes a great piece of meat. Mac N Cheese was good, creamy and you could tell it was homemade. Bourbon black beans I could live without. It tasted like the bourbon needed to be cooked out of them just a little bit longer. It had a very bitter flavor to them.

Bread pudding was good and moist. I only wish they had a scoop of homemade ice cream to put on top of it. And maybe a bourbon cream sauce.

Overall it was a great experience and I am sure we will...