Junction 421 — Restaurant in North Carolina

Hungry now?? Well,you sure as hell won't be after your visit here. This place was so far ahead of the rest I called Google to ask them to raise star ratings from a maximum of 5 stars to 10 stars. So far they haven't taken my advice and 5 stars is highest rating allowed. With that in mind, simply multiply my star rating x 2 and enjoy the only 10 star worthy eating experience in Wilmington. My wife took me there to celebrate my 64th birthday.....best gift ever. We were greeted with a smile wielding hostess. We were quickly seated in a booth and were glad to see the safety of all was a priority and social distancing was thorough. All employees wore cloth face masks and they remained properly worn even when conversing. Sullivan..Sullivan, I say her name twice only because praising the name only once is not sufficient. As a waitress,she met and exceeded all duties expected of her. Knowledgeable of each meal and extensive beverage menu she was a fountain of information. We opted for the Monday Blue Plate special. This meal consisted of Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf ( to die for ) , steamed fresh broccoli with a seasoning beyond words followed by mashed potatoes like your mom used to make ( if your mom was a great cook ). Whereas some restaurants will have a employee who walks the dining area checking on customers satisfaction. Well, lets admit it, sometimes those employees tend to take it a little too far and become a meal interrupting nuisance. Well, that didn't happen here. A gentleman named Johnathan politely introduced himself and made sure we were 100% satisfied so far. Of course, we were. Johnathon showed genuine interest in our opinion and satisfaction. He was respectful of our experience and he was cordial and by no means intrusive. Unlike paid employees who become too enthusiastic and engaging just to look busy,this was not the case with Johnathan. Turns out Johnathan is the owner and he doesn't get paid hourly, he simply in committed to customer satisfaction and if something is wrong, he will fix it. Well, I am certain he would, but there was even a bit of dissatisfaction with the meal and all the staff. I have friends coming from Iowa and Junction 421 will be seating a party of 4 this time. Not to be corny, but I have no reservations to make a reservation at this awesome restaurant. Thank you, thank you Johnathan and Sullivan....Sullivan ( see, I did it again ) you made my...

We can't wait to go back! Our visit started out a little rocky, the hostess couldn't seem to find our reservation and was a bit flustered. She did find us a table right away and Jonathan, the owner stopped by to apologize for the trouble. He gave us an order of the Pimento cheese on the house. Jonathan has a wonderful attitude and is very welcoming. It was a pleasure to speak with him! The atmosphere here is warm and inviting. It is pleasantly decorated. Now, the important stuff... the food. The fried pimento cheese balls were something I had never tried or even seen before. They are served with a tobasco syrup, which I would have loved a bit more of, but these have a wonderful flavor. I ordered one of their specials for the day, the steak skewers with rice pilaf. It was amazing. The steak had a great flavor and was cooked to perfection. The rice pilaf had a wonderful flavor. The portion size was perfect! My fiancé ordered the Carolina burger. This thing was HUGE!! He ordered it medium and it was a bit closer to medium rare but that is much better then medium well. The flavor of the burger was incredible and the pimento cheese on the burger with the bacon worked well together along with the toasted bun. He had fires as a side. Not much to say about the fries. Standard fries, good flavor. To finish the meal, we decided to split a dish of Creme Brûlée. I was surprised at how large the portion was! Overall the flavor was nice and the texture was smooth. The sugar on top was a bit thick for me and torched a bit too long. I did enjoy it though! Our waiter for the night was Brandon. He was a ray of sunshine. He had a fantastic attitude and was pleasant to talk to. When we asked his thought on different dishes or drinks, he was able to answer and give us suggestions. He was quick to notice when we needed something but also wasn't constantly interrupting us. We will...

Visited the restaurant tonight after hearing good things about the food. Decided to eat dinner at the bar. Bar top was not clean so we asked the bartender to wipe down which she did but proceeded to hand out eating utensils without washing hands in between. Bar staff was friendly, but disorganized. Number of other customers around us were waiting on food that either never showed up or showed up late...appetizers and soups arriving after the entree for example. Checks were adjusted at the end at those customer's requests, but not something you want to see taking place. Witnessed a server bring two beers to her nose and even take a sip to be sure of what she was serving before taking them out to the customers. One employee when asked about this thought it was acceptable to taste a drink using a straw, but agreed sipping from the glass was improper.... Received our order. Burger was good although not prepared as requested, fries were cold. Appetizers ordered were heavy on bread and light on contents. While I know all restaurants are having difficulties in the current environment of staffing shortages, this is one that may need to regroup on operating hours before someone becomes sick as a result of improper food handling. The staff we encountered seemed to like their jobs, but is is obvious there is a lack of managerial direction that is needed to make this restaurant perform at it's best. I still tipped above 20% as I think it is wrong to punish the hardworking staff for the faults of those who should be in charge and I sincerely hope this was just a bad night, but it needs to brought to...