Purple Cow House of Pancakes — Restaurant in Fairfield

I had seen The Purple Cow around but never went in until I applied for a cook position and got asked for an interview, so to check out the place I went in for breakfast with my partner a week before. He got French toast with strawberries and I got the hash and eggs. The food took a moment but that’s alright, I know the drill and I figured they might have been understaffed, and the food was good! The corned beef hash was clearly made on site which made me happy cause most places use canned stuff, and to see that they took the effort to make it was impressive. Service was polite and prompt, and the waitresses were all nice. My issue came later with a manager handling the interview. I had already arrived in Waterville so I got there about 40 minutes early to which I let her know and waited until 2, when I figured I’d go up and tell an employee I was here as well, as I assumed she might be busy, and the employee went to let me in, telling me to go around front (I was at the ice cream part)and letting the manger/owner? I was there. When I got to the front another employee let me in and also let her know, and kindly directed me where to sit. 15 minutes pass and it’s 2:17, and I’m still not bothered cause as I said, I’m sure she’s preoccupied, but I was starting to worry as I still hadn’t heard anything from her. At 2:30 I figured I’d give it another 5 minutes and if I didn’t hear anything still, I’d leave. The 5 minutes pass and an employee tells me good luck when that interview happens. At this point I assume this might be a common problem and get up to leave. I tell the employee by the door to have a good day and she mentioned she didn’t see me get interviewed to which I responded that that was the problem and walked out the door. I was going to text the manager my disappointment but before I could she texted me a very curt message saying that she was running behind. Sorry. So I responded that I didn’t think it was very professional to leave me waiting for 35 minutes without a word and that I would have been happy to wait if I was informed that they were behind, I also thanked her for the opportunity but I think it’d be best if we didn’t continue talking. She responded again, angrily belittling me and my experience telling me I must not know how restaurants work and that I probably wouldn’t have been a good fit anyway. She then blamed her waitresses saying that she assumed they’d tell me she was running late and that it’s not her fault for not telling me, ending her nasty message with “Happy Job Hunting!” I understand that restaurants can be busy and that managers can be busy, believe me. That could be forgiven and I wouldn’t have been opposed to waiting if she took the few seconds to tell me, or even sent a waitress to tell me, that they were busy and behind. The texts after the fact however were so unprofessional it’s hard to believe. I don’t blame the waitresses at all, how could they know? So I don’t know what is going on with management at the Purple Cow but it was disappointing to experience such a dichotomy of the food and the way I was treated. The two stars is only because of the decent food and homemade hash, I’d keep the manager...

This review is based only on this one experience, I'm sure future experiences good or bad will change each time, not every service is perfect no matter where you go.

This is a very busy place so if you don't have patience then this isn't the place to go. We came here for breakfast yesterday and the food is absolutely delicious. They serve breakfast and lunch meals at any time of day. They are open until two in the afternoon everyday. We came yesterday around eight in the morning. Was pretty busy but the portion sizes are worth the wait, it reminds me of Big G's. Parking seems okay, they have vegetarian options, and it's definitely kid friendly. They have a ramp for wheelchairs and plenty of booths and tables. They have a back lounge as well. The decor is pretty nice, photos all across the walls of the restaurant. It's a cozy atmosphere. I got the eggs benedict, they put a lot of ham in it, most places don't. I got a side of potatoes/hash browns. The potatoes were yummy and the eggs benedict was amazing. I got a side of stuffed french toast, not a lot of cream cheese in it but was still good. My husband got pancakes that were bigger than his head. No joke. Portion sizes are definitely worth the price here. The waitress could have been more attentive but she did have a lot of tables.

For how busy it was the place was reasonably clean, go early in the morning, the later you go the more busy they get. Price wise it wasn't bad, I would definitely recommend trying this place. They seemed to have a lot of crew on that morning. They have an atm but they still accept debit/credit and cash. My only real complaint is the menu is super busy with way to much to read, too many choices but that's just a personal nit...

I'm amazed that anyone would stop at this place. I grew up in waterville and relocated to Washington, D.C., so I have both a local's perspective (I still have family in the area) and a visitor's perspective. A young man by the name of Parker attempted to take my family's order at the serving window on the side of the restaurant. The pace was deathly slow, the food practically lethal and several interactions were shady such as the lack of a receipt and the long period where the server and his friends "disappeared". There were no other customers and at various times we saw two other employees standing around behind the window. I managed to speak to someone who seemed like a manager who happened to pass by. She asked me to describe the server (who I later learned is named Parker) and then proceeded to scream at him through the window... After eventually receiving the food, I decided that the owners of the place deserved to know what happened. I tried calling the restaurant later in the day and a kid answered who claimed that this was normal. As a resident of a large city, I was surprised that a restaurant could survive like this: horrible service, inedible food and long waits. I can only assume they are preparing to shutter the place.

Do yourself a favor, go to Big G's just across the river, less than five...