Oasis Diner — Restaurant in Plainfield

I love these old diners and I want this place to be amazing. I want it to shine.

The Oasis is generally fine but every visit leaves me underwhelmed and a little frustrated.

Today, I had the tomato bisque and the texture was off- it seemed old, condensed, thick enough to be gelatinous and gloppy at the same time and the flavor was off. I didn't feel safe eating it. The waitress spotted the uneaten soup and never once asked if it was okay. She knew it was gross and did not care...or maybe their policy is to not ask if the food is fine. Neither is acceptable.

The batter fries from GFS/Sysco that everyone seems to be serving today are a letdown at a bar and a bigger one when it's a diner that promotes the idea that their dishes are "house made". Some places use those fries because they can sit longer before tossing them. They don't even taste like potato. For some reason, the serving sizes on these fries are also always huge, too. Why? More of something bad doesn't make it better.

Last year, we laughed at the "double scoop" of ice cream to go that they served us. It was a total of 3 Tbs, which is smaller than a single scoop anywhere not serving gelato (they do not have gelato). I'm okay with smaller portions but that felt stingy.

There are things they do well which is why I keep trying. Coleslaw is good. Breakfast. Pie. Fried Green Tomato. Onion rings. I've heard the tenderloin is solid? They used to have a good eggplant sandwich. The sodas are great.

NOTE: Edited to drop a star. Had some intestinal distress. I usually have a guy that can take anything. Whatever was bad wanted out pronto. I think it had to be the bisque? Glad I didn't eat more than a taste. The kitchen really should check product before sending it out and the wait staff should check with customers when they don't eat something. I really, really hope nobody else got the...

We arrived around 215pm very excited to see what this adorable dinner had to offer. It was a huge bonus when we called they said their patio was dog friendly. We brought our 1 yr dachshund. I went in and the host stand was vacant. 4 servers passed me before one finally asked if I had been helped, I replied not yet. I told her two for the patio please. She handed me two menus and started to walk away the opposite direction of the patio. I asked are we okay to just pick our seat? She then took me to the patio and pointed to table without an umbrella. I asked if we could have one of three that were dirty but had an umbrella instead. She said it might be a few minutes until she can clean it and I said that was okay we would like the shade. After about 25 minutes the same lady came out and cleaned about half of one of the tables. Another lady came out a few minutes later and picked up cups but didn’t wipe the table and said here ya go. Then she walked off. The lady fro Earlier walks back out after about 5 minutes and says her manager said they need to move our table to the other side of the patio due to the board of health! Apparently only half of their 8 table patio is dog friendly. Mind you at this point it’s been about 40-45 minutes since we arrived. At this point I was very frustrated felt as if they didn’t even want us there. I let them know there was no need to move the table we were just going to leave. Very disappointed as we had intended to have breakfast food and any other place open with a dog friendly patio was no longer serving breakfast. I am not upset about their patio being only half dog friendly I’m more disappointed at the service. The manager was more worried about moving us once we got seated then getting us seated in first place. I really wanted to like...

I love the food and the atmosphere, but on several occasions now, I have received poor service from the servers on the evening crew. I'm normally not one to complain, and if it was once, I would chalk it up to someone having a bad day, but it has been multiple servers on multiple visits.

On my most recent visit, I was completely ignored by my server after being seated, despite him coming by multiple times. If you can't get to me right away, I understand, but at least acknowledge my presence instead of avoiding eye contact and pretending you don't see me.

Finally, he showed up and took my order, but after that, I had to flag him down for anything additional that was needed, and he never even offered to refill my glass.

Mind you, I don't think the sleight is deliberate on the part of the servers. Instead, many of them seem inexperienced and in need of training. If a senior staff member would mentor them to speak up, have confidence, and show some personality, it would not only improve the dining experience, but it would make the server's day that much better as well, not to mention an increase in tips.

Please note, I know how hard servers work and how they get paid, and I have not tipped less than 20% on any visit. However, when my server is friendly and attentive (and/or goes above and beyond), I reciprocate with a larger tip.

As it is, though, I'm hesitant to come back unless it's at a different time of day. When I don't want interaction, I'll grab fast food or eat at home. When I dine in somewhere and receive poor service, I find it to be an unpleasant experience, and...