Hotshots Sports Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Edwardsville

We visited tonight at around 6 pm. I got an order or Jamaican boneless wings and a pizza with a water. I was with a party of 6 people who ordered under separate checks, which I understand is difficult to keep track of sometimes. When our food came out, our waitress gave me my order of Jamaican boneless wings and seemed to be having trouble keeping our orders straight which is not a big deal. I never got my pizza, but we weren't planning on being there long so I figured she just forgot about it and didn't make a big deal about it. When we were finished and our checks came, she again struggled to keep everything in order. First, she asked who had the pizza. You never brought out a pizza at all, so why is it even on the tab? She agreed to take the pizza off, she returned and I paid cash. She charged me for two orders of wings, taking my tab for one order of boneless and a glass of water to $25. When I brought this up to the manager, he acknowledged the pizza was taken off the tab, but proceded to imply that I was lying about not getting two orders of wings, before conferring with my waitress and finally relenting and giving me my proper change.

The service was polite and attentive, but still had major issues. Not getting my pizza was an issue. Not getting our checks straight is an issue, but it happens. Still having food that you acknowledge never came out charged on the tab to begin with is a MAJOR red flag. Trying to overcharge after they messed up my order is a major red flag. A manager who wants to blame customers for their own restaurant's gaffes is harder to take that a waitress' honest mistakes. It's unprofessional and insulting. All Hotshots gave me half a meal...

It has been a commonly-agreed-upon premise between my foodie friends and me that there is only so much one can do with hamburger. There are bad burgers (glares at McDonald's) and there are excellent burgers, but, at some point, you reach what we've deemed the "burger plateau." It's the point at which the burger is as good as it gets. Many establishments can be at the top of the plateau, with their individual sandwiches outstanding in their own way, but there's only so much you can do with a hamburger.

The Massive Woody (teehee) burger I had, today, made me realize that there can, indeed, be a level above the proverbial plateau!!

I must say, of course, that, had I ordered the burger in the store, or even over the telephone (I ordered through Doordash), that I could have only done so with a straight face with supreme effort. I, like most males, halted the development of my sense of humor at the age of 12 and salute establishments that can cater to that immaturity. But I degress.

The burgers themselves had that perfect crisp brown exterior, while still being juicy in the center. The bacon was the perfect consistency for a burger (too soft pulls the whole strip out in the first bite, while too crunchy comes apart and falls out). The grilled cheese sandwiches took me back to a happier time (not childhood, mind you, as my mother always used sharp cheddar, but that's for my therapist to work on...). Combined, these ingredients came together to create one of the best burgers I've ever had.

Tears of joy (or, perhaps condensed cholesterol) rolled down my face as I ate this masterpiece. I look forward to stopping back through the area soon for...

13 of us went out to eat Friday night. I ordered a salad w/ranch. The dressing was as thin as water. I explained to the waitress, please dont take this the wrong way, but do u know how hard it is to eat water with a fork? She looked confused until she looked at the bowl of salad soup I had in front of me. She took it back to manager. She came back & said, manager said yes, people have been complaining & returning their salad all week. Whoever made the ranch messed it up. I said, so u are ok with serving this knowing it's bad? She said they're gonna try to figure out who made it. 10 minutes later, another lady at other end of my table was served her salad w/ranch. SAME THING! I got up to talk to manager. He said yes, it's been like that all week & everyone is sending them back complaining. I said, I just had mine returned 10 minutes ago. If u know this is an issue, why would u continue to serve this? He said I've told my boss, but, it's still edible. Not necesarily preferable, but still edible. I said You said people have sent them back & complained about it ALL week. Why would you risk the negative reviews & risking dissatisfied customers when you know this is a problem? He said, they try telling the waitresses to try to steer customers away from the Ranch & suggest the dressings that ARE good, but they dont listen to us. WOW!! Btw, I had to chase down a waitress to order, & sat with an empty soda. Never once came by to see if I wanted a refill. I was pretty disappointed in the service, my food & their unbelievable logic to keep sending something out of their kitchen when they know customers have complained & returned...