Blue Ox Restaurant — Restaurant in Monroe

Went here Labor Day for breakfast and was very pleasantly surprised. I'm not one for going to a former Country Kitchen or the like that has been rebranded..however this doesn't actually have 'family restaurant' on the sign..and I wasn't up for drive-thru.

First impression upon entering, this place was clean and seemingly well kept (didn't use restroom). Big plus! I was warmly greeted and seated and served by a very efficient and friendly server..she was, in fact, quite delightful and obviously well aquainted with some regulars. There was plenty of staff and I could see all tasks being done well. Another server with a smile refilled coffee for me, another plus!

I stuck with an omelette as a safe order. It was not too bad at all..I can't rave as this is pretty standard fare, but it was quick and well prepared, with hash browns, wheat toast and a decent cup of coffee..$9.50 w tax. I left a fat tip too.

The hostess (owner I'm guessing) rang me up, and she too was very friendly and appreciative for my stopping in. It wasn't a peak time, but it was busy. The service was really the standout here..exceeding expectation. I must have arrived when everyone was on their A game..on a holiday nonetheless.

I won't be making a regular stop of it, but I'm not afraid to say, I recommend this place and will stop again based on this...

I'll preface this review by stating that I have nothing to gain. We were traveling through the area and won't be passing this restaurant again. This is not written with the expectation of any retribution for my dissatisfaction. I'm merely giving an honest review to help others. First, the good: My wife got the bacon cheeseburger which she said was very tasty and loaded with bacon. I didn't try a bite because she put ketchup on it (I despise ketchup.) The server was friendly and really cared about our opinion on the food. I had to be honest when she asked how the gyro is ordered was. There was very little meat on it. I could barely taste the meat over the pita bread it was served on. I know growing up in the Chicago area has me spoiled by good gyros that are loaded with fresh meat. But this one was pretty pathetic. It wasn't even what I'd consider a junior portion. Even the fries that came with it seemed to be a smaller amount than what was served with my wife's burger. Recommendation: if you go to the Blue Ox, burgers are a good choice. But avoid the gyro. It definitely wasn't worth the $11.99 I was charged. BTW, the waitress followed through and my wife overheard her telling the owner there wasn't enough meat. So hats...

Service was nice, atmosphere was okay, but the food was just awful, I ordered a French onion soup, the onions were undercooked almost raw, the croutons were soggy, the cheese was pretty much non existent and they put PARMESAN cheese on the soup, which isn’t in a French onion soup recipe at all. My father ordered a salad, extra ranch, they came out the salad had zero ranch on the salad itself which it advertised itself to have, only in a small little cup, they claimed that the salad was Romaine Lettuce, but it was Iceberg Lettuce. The cheese used for the salad was sliced AMERICAN CHEESE and HAM sliced with it, my father also ordered no tomatoes and they put giant slices of tomatoes inside the salad. by far the worst salad I’ve ever seen. I ordered the Reuben and I was severely disappointed. It was on white bread, not marbled rye, they only toasted the outside of the sandwich which made it soggy, they had the thousand island dressing on the side and it wasn’t enough for both sandwiches and their French fries are god awful, no seasoning at all, it’s like they just deep fried potatoes without putting salt...