Savage's Ale House — Restaurant in Muncie

All good things come to an end. I returned to Muncie after being gone for years. I was just around for a few days. A friend and I went to Savage's. This place was a favorite place years ago. It was one of the best values in the area. You could sometimes find $2 drink specials and the people were really down-to-earth and friendly. The place was still good, but there were a few small problems this time. My friend really wanted to use WiFi around lunchtime for a quick teleconference. We called in advance to make sure it was available. On the phone, they told us we had to buy something to use it (as if we would just come there, sit there, and freeload WiFi without getting anything... c'mon). Prices on things went up significantly compared to a couple of years ago. I guess that happens, so that's fine. It was lunchtime and we ordered appetizers and sandwiches. The waitress told us we had to show identification. We briefly disputed this as we did not order alcohol, nor were we sitting at the bar, and it was lunchtime. That's kind of ridiculous that we need to show identification to order Reuben sandwiches, but alright. Also, the board games and other fun things disappeared it seemed, unless it is hiding. The food was still decent, but we just got rubbed the wrong way a few times. Savages was good, but we really miss how things used to be a...

I bet I’ve been to Savage’s hundreds of times since they opened, but I’m not sure I’ve ever left a review. I guess if I keep going back that must be a pretty good indication, but it deserves a review, and the food tonight was exactly perfect. We ordered a buffalo wrap (one of my favorites, always substitute for the vegan chicken tenders), the veggie melt sandwich (added those vegan tendies just for fun), plus sides of fries and onion rings. Basically a rich reward for a hard days work. Those fried sides were perfect, as always. The sweet soft onions inside those rings were crazy. Fries were awesome with bistro sauce, per our usual order. (Still miss the crinkle cut, but really love the seasoned fries.) But unexpectedly, the veggie melt sandwich hit really hard tonight. See, I often get annoyed when served grilled veggies; I can tell the kitchen is in a hurry because they’re either too firm or charred; well, not these. The medley of veg and mushrooms was tender and hot, then smothered in sauce and cheese and grilled on the marble rye bread. Soooo yummy. That buff wrap hit the spot like it always does, and we washed everything down with delicious perfectly poured pints. As always, service was prompt and friendly and even fun. I’m sure I’ll be back a few...

Beers on tap are very good. Onion rings were good. I waited about 30 minutes for a simple order. The crispy chicken sandwich was disgusting despite having traveled 300 miles and not having eaten for 7 hours i couldn't get myself to eat more than half of it. The bartended offered to replace the sandwich when i was halway through; but who would ask for more of something that was gross.....? I declined and asked to speak to her manager, she hesitated a second but complied. The manager obviously didnt care to speak to me and had an attitude she was trying to conceal but she had a bad poker face (she was irritated and it showed clearly but she denied it even when i pointed it out several times) She came across as if i was being petty about the issue and that i "just had to say so if i wanted to have the sandwich comped off my bill".... she also mentioned that i looked like i liked it because in her opinion i ate a lot more of it than i ACTUALLY DID...

Seriously, if a customer complains, take care of them. Comp the shotty food that they didnt want to eat. Dont have an attitude and play mind games with your customer trying to make them feel like a petty loser and they just need to beg you to have pitty...