Mid City Grill — Restaurant in Johnson City

I will start by saying I previously had left a glowing review and we used to come here all the time when the previous owner was there. This used to be our absolute favorite place to get burgers and biscuits and gravy! We have been there a few times since the new owners took over and I was let down both times with some of the changes as well as the food quality and the service wasn’t as good as it usually was but I will say in their defense the servers seemed over worked and not treated the best by whomever was running the kitchen. The last time we were there may be the last time we come I’m not sure we may give it awhile and try again and see if the kinks are worked out. The last time we were there it was our first time coming in during brunch hours we normally are there for dinner or late night. On our most recent visit Our server this day was super nice I will say that. We ordered a beckinator burger with a salad and a double order of biscuits and gravy. We had to wait forever on food which is fine I will gladly wait within reason as long as my food is of good quality. We get our food and my salad was great. My salad was great but my burger tasted off compared to what it usually does but I ate it I figured new cook or something but I wasn’t impressed and it wasn’t hot like it normally is. The biscuits and gravy which are normally our favorite Of anywhere hands down were not good at all. The gravy was bland, thick, and seemed as if it had maybe been sitting awhile or been reheated. The worst part was that the biscuits where completely hard especially the bottoms they couldn’t even hardly be cut with her fork. Usually when hard they have been cooked for awhile. You may need to look into making less more often for freshness or maybe a steam drawer for holding which won’t dry them out as much. A week or so prior to this I visited on a date night we should have known when we walked in and where greated by screaming from whoever was running the kitchen to the staff. that this would be a not so great visit. It took a few minutes but we were finally seated and he ordered a outlaw burger with home fries and I ordered a big daddy I think it’s called no bun with salad. I have to say as someone with many years in management in both restaurant and finance that how whoever was running the kitchen was talking to the staff was absolutely unprofessional and unacceptable. It went on for the entire duration of our visit. If you have a problem with your staff by all means correct them, coach them, retrain them but screaming at them to the point it can be clearly heard through the entire restaurant is not how you motivate or run a successful and productive team. Our food was mediocre at best and the home fries he got where cold. We didn’t say much and tried to be understanding and just eat our food as we didn’t want anymore issues for anyone from the kitchen seemed it was a bad enough night as it was. We made the comment to our server gee someone is having a bad night and his reaction made it seem as if this was a common occurrence for whoever it was. Our server was great although he did make us feel a bit rushed and were to pay halfway through eating as he had to get to break. It seemed as if it was frowned on if he hadn’t by a certain time because he was working a double. And we then didn’t see him again and had to waive down a nearby waitress to grab us a box. Food quality issues this night seems common. Im fairly observant and noticed two tables next to us who sent back parts of their orders. We actually felt unwelcome this night by some. I hope the kinks are worked out and that things come somewhat back to normal soon. I can say we were disappointed to see some of the wall decor go. It simply didn’t have the homey safe space for all feel that it’s always had in the past. We were told on our last visit new owners where doing renovations and that there would be more changes and some new artwork which we will be excited to see...

We just moved to the area from Asheville and we thought we weren't going to find any Vegan options outside of the Asheville bubble, but SURPRISE! Our friend who knows we're vegan recommended this place and boy was he right! I was shocked that they had an entire menu dedicated to all vegan dishes! Even the vegan ranch which was the best we've ever tasted! Our server, Reagan, was an absolute gem, super friendly, and very knowledgeable on the menu and even though she wasn't vegan herself, she treated us as though she was too. We're so used to having to ask a zillion questions at restaurants which honestly keeps us cooking at home in the kitchen most nights. When we got our order, we had to ask out of habit if the ranch was vegan and she said of course, I wouldn't do that to you (meaning she wouldn't serve vegans any non-vegan dishes). It was such a relief and a pleasure to have not just a "normal" dining experience but an awesome one!

When the chef heard we were vegan, she said that he was also vegan, and wanted to make us something special! After our meal we got to meet him, Dodee (sorry for the spelling) and also Steve the manager (owner?). Everyone was super friendly and exuded positive vibes. The food itself was your favorite kind of greasy spoon diner food, no frills, served in baskets, simple and delicious! We had chili cheese fries, fried banana peppers, a philly cheesesteak, and a chicken quesadilla. For dessert, Reagan told us about their amazing vegan cheesecake that this woman had been perfecting through a ton of recipes and how amazing it was even to her non-vegan taste buds! So we got that too and wow, it was delicious! Definitely get the blueberry sauce to go with over it.

I also love how late they're open! We're night owls and have gotten used to everything in the "country" closing up early, but they're open well past midnight which is such a relief to know we can grab some food at 10 or 11pm without worry that the place will be closing soon. Keep in mind that they do close at 9pm on Sundays and aren't open on Mondays. Oh and the 80's and 90's memorabilia is a fun touch! We loved seeing how many movies and tv shows we could spot around the restaurant lol They are also a BYOB place meaning you can bring in your own alcohol to drink at your table. This is an entirely new concept to us, so wanted to share that for anyone heading out that way. We'll definitely be back next time with some beers to go with those amazing vegan dishes!

Oh one more thing, some reviews have mentioned about the area...listen...this is a "downtown". I don't care what city or state you're in, if you're in downtown you're going to see rando's walking around, and OF COURSE businesses would have security cameras up in a downtown area. Comparatively this downtown is quite nice and we felt VERY safe walking around. For reference I grew up in South Florida so I'm used to huge metro's like Miami and later lived in Tampa for many years. I actually like that they aren't right in the center of downtown, sort of tucked away like a special secret, but with ample free parking and close by. What we did notice is how clean downtown Johnson City was and there was FREE street parking! Yes, JC has a bunch of free parking lots...that's a new thing for us too! What else is great about this place, is now when we have non-vegan friends come to visit, we have a place to go that has options for everyone! Thank you Mid City Grill! I actually can't wait to share some vegan recipes with you all! We'll be seeing...

Update: Owner met with me and listened to what happened. He has taken care of the situation with employee and suggestion were made to have a menu where someone can access for to go orders. I just hate that mother was treated that way and hope she also reaches out to the owner. Sometimes despite your best effort our employees don't act accordingly. The rest of Midcity Grill staff is amazing!

Midcity is the only place in Tri-Cities I can get a GF hamburger and french fries. Today, craving a good hamburger, I called in an order to pick up after church. When I came in the place and was standing at the counter waiting to be helped. The dark hair waiter standing at the drink station, was throwing a temper tantrum like a 2 year old, about a lady ahead of me grabbing a menu by using GD and other cuss words repeatedly coming out of his mouth all while slamming down the glasses filled with ice. This went on for well over 2 minutes before I announced very loudly so he could hear that I had a to go order, but was not going to give patron to an establishment that I had to listen to this and left. To the very nice blonde waiter, I'm sorry you tried to help and deserve a raise for working with a 2 year old. To the black haired waiter, if you don't want someone to grab a menu, then place one where people can see one, wash your mouth out with soap, and learn there are a lot of things in life your not going to like, throwing a tantrum and using that kind of language will...