Avogadro's Number — Restaurant in Fort Collins

This, I hope, will serve as a formal addendum and apology for the formerly abrasive review I wrote concerning Avo's. As I mentioned before, this is a great music venue! I mean a really great music venue. It is true that their menu at one time wasn't like a five-star restaurant, but I have seen them make great strides in the quality and variety of food they offer and I will rate it overall as actually a really good restaurant, like the Dark Horse Saloon of Fort Collins.

In regards to what I said about my five years of service in the house Bluegrass band there, that is true... I did work there for five years. I don't think, in retrospect, we really got "screwed over" by Avo's itself, and in absolutely truthful fact, we did not get screwed over at all. There was an ongoing argument I guess you could call it between one of our former band members and the owner. What exactly went down, I may personally never know the whole story. One day we we were a regularly scheduled band, and then I guess we had our run and was not to last. The owner, in all honesty, always did indeed treat me with respect and admired my musicianship. We had been having trouble with this band member before anyways. And he is not necessarily a bad person. Something happened between him and the owner, rumors were spread, character debasement resulted, and finally the entire band decided it was time to move on. I just truly don't really have all the facts to debase this place where so many memories were made, and where so much good music happened. I mean no ill towards Avo's and hope no parties will hold a grudge.

Concerning what I said about the pay, based on other gigs I have played, yes, I think it could have been a bit better, but in reality it was more than fair. Nonetheless, we were compensated for our hard work and I personally am very proud of what we accomplished in the Acoustic Music scene over five years there. Like anything in life, there were both good and bad times, and I can at least happily say that the good times far outweighed the bad. As far as recommending Avo's, it is kind of and icon in Fort Collins and I am pleased to have been part of that experience in creating good music there with good people for so long. I highly recommend Avogadro's number because, for one, the incredible artwork that you find in the building is just amazing to look at, and you get a lot of food for your money, plus unlimited coffee refills. There's a lady who works there that always makes breakfast and it is so so good! I think I will actually start going there again for breakfast because I miss it.

I was stunned and disillusioned when our band broke up... we were doing so well, and I truly wish I had all the facts concerning what caused it, instead of just politically divisive opinions and and trash talking. I am a very well respected musician and simply am a gentle peace loving person. Whatever I may have heard and repeated, the truth is this: Avogadro's is an extremely nice family oriented restaurant and bar and I won't waiver in stating the music you can hear there is simply great! Also, the Bluegrass and Grateful Dead jams that go on there sometimes make magic happen musically!

There is a place for every type of person at Avo's, and it has a very welcoming feel when you visit. Avos isn't a place that will judge you based upon your race or sexual orientation or anything like that. There is indeed truly a place for every type of person at Avo's. I think Avogadro's number is a fantastic representation of the tolerant and kind-hearted attitudes that so many coloradans have, and I won't allow a few bad experiences with a few bad apples sway the knowledge of the fact that I have a lot of fun here, and feel like I really am accomplishing something while here. Overall, it is an...

This one is tough, and I've sat on it for a few weeks to give it a fair shake.

First off, the food. The food was pretty good. I'd give the food 3.5 or 4 stars. I went with my wife and a friend and we ordered the fish and chips, tempeh tenders, and a salad. The portions were a little small for the price we paid, but it tasted like quality ingredients (although the tempeh was overcooked). We sat on the back patio area and they had plenty of space in the shade where we could sit and eat, which was really nice. Despite it being over 90 degrees, we stayed cool as we ate.

What we really felt was lacking was the service at Avogadro's Number. We'd seen several recommendations online, and we like to support local whenever we can, but I don't think any of us will be returning due to the poor service we received.

Our friend had a dog, and we called ahead to make sure she could bring him along. We'd neve been, and so we didn't know there was a side entrance where animals are meant to enter. When we came in the front door, the woman at the register asked if the dog was a service animal. We told her he wasn't, and she immediately lambasted us for bringing the dog into the restaurant. I get that there are food safety concerns when animals are around food, but this could (and should) have been handled differently. For such an animal-centric city, this was surprising.

Our friend took her dog back out the front, and my wife and I asked if outdoor seating was possible. The woman at the register replied that it was. I asked if we needed to be seated by staff, and the woman stared at me like I was crazy, then replied with, "you need to seat yourself". Finally, I asked if I could grab a menu to take with us to the table, and she shrugged and said, "you'll probably want to". Now, I've worked in retail and food before, and while I can understand a little snark, this felt unwarranted. I was being polite, smiling, and since it was clear this was our first time visiting, I don't think the questions we were asking were idiotic.

We took a menu, found our friend at the table, and figured out what we wanted to eat. I returned to the register, where the worker stared me down and asked if "I'd figured it out yet". At this point, I felt pretty flustered. She clearly wasn't happy, and so after ordering I left a substantial tip. We all have bad days, maybe she was having a particularly bad one herself. I returned to the table and we began the long wait.

Twenty minutes, thirty minutes, finally, forty minutes later, our food arrives--but only some of our food. My friend didn't get her salad. When she asked about it, the server replied with, "Oh, I dropped it. It'll be a while yet." Another five minutes passed, and then the salad arrives, but it is the wrong salad. My friend brings this up as the server is leaving, and the server tells my friend that it is the correct salad. But it isn't. It isn't the correct salad. It is, most definitely, the wrong salad. She ended up eating the salad just so that she could have something to eat, as it was getting on towards eight in the evening.

All in all, pretty darn disappointing. The service definitely put a damper on the evening. Avogadro's appears to be a FoCo institution, but I'd be fine with not having to go...

Before I start this, I want to go in by saying I very scarcely leave reviews, let alone negative ones. I've been in the service industry for over ten years, and tend to just let negative experiences go, having been on the other side of the grass. But this was so outrageously disrespectful and odd, I have to say something.

I've been wanting to try Avo's for a while now, and went there to meet with a writing group for the first time last night (a Monday, mind you, not a weekend). It was supposed to be ten of us, but just ended up being eight. We sat in the concert room (there were no bands booked last night) and the only other table besides us was a four top; the rest of the room was completely empty.

We all ordered our food from the bar separately. I got a tempeh burger, someone got a beer, someone else bought a salad, and someone else got a side of fries. The 5th person had planned on ordering food to go, since it's hard to eat and write at the same time, and a sixth ordered food mid-session.

About halfway through our meetup, the owner approached us and asked if we were a studying group (sort of odd, since the youngest in our group that night was 36). We explained we were a writing group---we meet for an hour, set an alarm, and don't talk during the course of that hour as we write. He then began to lecture us in a deeply condescending tone, saying that he "doesn't mind if we come in for free Internet and some air, but if we're going to stay we have to buy something, and we're a business and you need to respect that." It was so out of left field and bizarre, not to mention that the only other table in that room, a four top, were on their laptops too, but the owner said nothing to them. Weirder still, most of us were writing freehand in notebooks (only a few had laptops), so I'm not sure why he thought we were there for "free Internet." While we had eaten everything we ordered by the time he approached us, there was clear evidence on the table we had ordered food: crumpled napkins, half empty glasses, and even a number indicating someone in our group was still waiting for their meal. We tried explaining this to him, but he was deeply dismissive, and talked to us like we were college kids that were just there to mooch. As six out of eight of us ordered food/drinks, I still have no idea what his qualm with us was. How is that any different than a group of people ordering apps to split for the table, or a guy who cashes out at the bar after two beers, but stays for another two hours to watch the game? Keep in mind we weren't even talking. The group is called "Shut Up & Write." It was just the eight of us with our heads down, not saying a thing, yet he treated us like we were somehow being disruptive. So if you go, be sure to purchase eight burgers per person, because apparently one meal for each participant isn't enough to keep this...