Tail O' the Pup - Open May til October — Restaurant in Town of North Elba

Me and my taekwondo class came here after hiking up Mountain Cascade. We were looking for a place to eat that wasn’t super crowded and we came here.

I dig the outdoor and rustic aesthetic. I’ve never been to a restaurant where everyone is seated outside on picnic tables under a huge cover so that’s neat. Our server was very nice to us. I ordered the Wade Boggs without onion and pickles as I don’t like those. And my drink was the frozen lemonade. After the hike up and down the mountain and running out of water, that frozen lemonade hit the spot. And I could it was made with real lemons as real lemons have that bitterness as powdered lemonade is sweeter. Everyone has a their preferences but real food is the way to go for me so that was nice. I had to go to the rest room while waiting and since this was my first time I was confused but I found the room and again it has that rustic aesthetic. I really did feel like I was on an adventure, like being in the Yogi Bear universe or in an Adam Sandler movie.

The wait wasn’t too bad. Our server came and brought us our food. First off the fries which are waffle fries, the give you a very generous amount which was a nice surprise. And my sandwich came exactly like I asked, no onions and no pickles, just lettuce and tomato. The chicken was excellent, it wasn’t a cheap chicken patty, but a legit piece of chicken with layers, perfectly fried and crispy. And with the added melted cheese blend, absolute deliciousness. The fries again were also good, perfectly crispy and complemented the sandwich nicely. About half way into my meal I was feeling myself getting full. But no so full I couldn’t finish. My buddies and teacher couldn’t dent their meals. They all got the barbecue dishes, ribs, barbecued chicken, corn bread, my teacher got pulled pork sandwich. And they could barely finish their meals so they got to go boxes. Perhaps I made the right call to get my meal as I finished it up. But then again, I am a big eater haha! I did get another frozen lemonade which honestly did take a little while for it to come, I was considering speaking to my server again about this but then a girl came to our table with it so I was happy. We all paid separately and my meal including amounted to $47.20. Some people will say this is expensive but, the experience was cool, the service was nice, the food quality is top notch. So I think it’s worth it, especially if it’s a once in a while thing, why treat yourself?

The frozen lemonade did cost extra for refills which I knew, so for anyone who wants a refill on certain drinks except soft drinks, as even the glass bottled soda drinks cost extra for refills.

Overall my experience was...

Disappointing dinner on vacation. We stopped for clams that were advertised on the big sign out front and they were out. We brushed it off with substituting for other things. One of us didn't get a straw and it never came. We had to stop another worker to ask for it and he got really irritated. I'm sorry but that shouldn't be a bother. Then we recieved an appetizer that required utensils that were never given to us. Again we had to wait for someone to pass by to ask. This time it was a worker who came out and was really nice about it. Where did that person go because the end of the night was definitely not nice. We all get our food they got one of the orders wrong. It was okay they brought us the correct thing. The food was great but we never got asked for any refills on drinks. We finished our drinks before we even got our food! Then again just brushed it off and finished eating. Then we were done eating and we watch a group that had came in after us eat and leave before us?! So we waited and waited then finally we just wanted to know what we could do to pay our checks since we had a long drive to do. So the guy (same irritated guy who gave us the straw) picked up some of our plates. We simply asked what can we do to get our checks. Since some places require you to go up and pay somewhere we weren't sure. We had never been there before... So this guy gets annoyed and says "I can see what I can do and see who your under." Leaves and comes back and we say we have 3 separate orders. He replies with "What did you order?" So we start to answer him with what we ordered because that's the freaking question he just asked us! He cuts us off and says "I CAN'T DO THAT ON THIS PHONE. SHE HAS TO DO IT ON HER COMPUTER! I CANT SPLIT THEM ON HERE!" Okay we didn't say he could but he was getting loud saying this over and over saying their real busy. We were simply answering his question calmly. For some reason he got really loud about it repeating it over and over. All he needed to do was say hey so we are going to have to wait for the other girl to split it and it would be fine. He didn't need to get loud about it. Then right after doing that he was getting loud to some other guy who walked up to him and asked him something. Maybe this guy is in the wrong profession or should not work in customer service. We will not be returning or recommending this place. Also if our waitress had come back maybe we wouldn't have had to ask other...

For years, we have looked forward to our annual get together at the pub, often going several times. Sadly, thiis year was very different, not in a good way.

We had a party of six, and none of us finished our meal, not because of quantity as in past years, because of poor quality.

Our meals came out a different times, as did out drinks. One member of our party was 20 minutes late, but his meal came out 12 minutes before everyone else.

Three members of the group ordered the ribs, all were small compared to prior years, as well as tough, and way over cooked. Nothing fell the bone. If you wanted to eat any of what little meat there was, you were in for a fight.

Two members of the group ordered chicken fingers. The four shriveled up strips of chicken were way over cooked. The normal dipping sauces served with this meal in the past was replaced with one container of, well, yuck. . One member of the group ordered the shrimp. Three of the group tried it, all agreed it was over cooked and had a rather odd taste, with comments ranging from it had freezer burn to ok, past its serve date.

I had the Reuben sandwich, and only at a little over half. The meat was so over cooked, the poor thing had no life left in it! Dry, no flavor, did I mention dry.

The sides were, sadly, no better, beans from a can, cold fries, and warm slaw. The corn bread, which we had to ask for, was brought in 3/4 of the way through our meal. Always a high point in the past, this bread did not fast like corn bread, and was more air than substance. Most of it was left on the table.

The good part of our visit was no waiting, maybe a result of the place being more than half empty, which was rarely the case in the past.

When we got back to our lodgings, we learned that the place had been sold to a fellow from New Jersey who recently sold his ambulance business. Maybe he should have an ambulance on hand as the place is on life support with the poor quality of food coming out of the kitchen. Oddly, we were not asked how our meals were, maybe the food left on our plates clued them in.

We are looking for a new place to eat, as this tradition has run its course, and is now...