Hurricane Grill & Wings-Poughkeepsie — Restaurant in Town of Poughkeepsie

To preface: it was my first time trying this place and it was ordered through DoorDash. Ordered their fried pickles, extra hot buffalo wings (sauce on the side), gridiron wings, side of fries, and salted caramel cheesecake. To say it was underwhelming would be an understatement. Considering the fried pickles were the most exciting thing about the whole meal is sad. They weren’t the best fried pickles, very little flavor and the sauce was the equivalent to a shoulder shrug, but at least they were crispy. I then moved onto their “Extra Hot” buffalo wings, which were… okay… as long as you’re going in with the expectation that the “buffalo sauce” is actually Franks Original Red Hot Sauce, which is not actually buffalo sauce and isn’t “Extra Hot.” It’s your basic hot sauce to throw on your breakfast so paying $20 for something like that when I could have just gone to my fridge and added it on myself was…lackluster. Next was the Gridiron Wings, described as being “Marinated in flavor and heat, these chicken wings are crispy-skinned from a rub of Cajun and jerk seasonings and caramelized for a tasty experience.” They definitely had jerk to them, but in the way that I was jerked over into believing that these were going to be good. Cajun and Jerk seasonings must have left and went out for smokes because the only “flavor” was salt. Now I love a suburban-white-family-special-seasoning, but when I bite into a wing with the expectation of some spicy smoky jerk chicken and instead I’m cruelly met with becoming a goat chowing down on a salt block at the local farm, I can’t help but think this has to be some kind of joke. So I moved onto the fries thinking it could help absorb the amount of saliva that has accumulated in my mouth and help ease the pain of my tongue as all the salinity eats away at my taste buds just to spit out the fry moments later. Honestly I kept getting my hopes up only to be let down again like getting back together with a bad ex. The fries tasted freezer-burned. Not to mention, it was obvious they don’t make them in shop, and I’m pretty sure I could buy fries from the grocery store, cook them with my eyes closed, and they’d still come out better than the ones they offered. But I digress. Finally, I mustered up the courage to have a slice of cheesecake as options were slim on dessert which I’m not complaining, not every place has to offer dessert. However, if we’ve noticed the theme already, I wasn’t exactly holding my breath on it. And I’m glad I wasn’t. a couple dollops of what was obviously cool whip was a surprise considering the price; and the cheesecake itself? Have you ever held a cookie in a glass of milk until it’s so soggy that it turns to grainy mush? Yeah that’s the cheesecake crust, unpleasant, bad texture, wants to be a graham cracker flavor but can’t commit. I think cheesecakes from costco have a better wrap than what Hurricane offered. It felt like it was pulled from the depths of someone’s grandparent’s basement freezer with an expiration date of 1996. Overall, not fantastic. Would I eat there...

While not the focus of this review, the food was phenomenal. Freshly prepared and promptly served, hot & crispy perfectly seasoned fries, breaded-&-fried-to-order golden brown chicken tenders, incredible dipping sauces, and chilled crisp coleslaw that wasn't dry yet also wasn't swimming in dressing. Kitchen crew performed A+ work!

The true inspiration to write this review however, was the impeccable customer service I received sitting at the bar. My bartender this evening (4/9/2024), Kim, was a perfect example of how the job should be done. I cannot praise her enough. Even though I came in an hour before close and was the only person in there not on the clock, Kim was the physical embodiment of hospitality. Greeted me with a smile and eye contact, provided a natural and seamless flow of service, ensured accuracy of everything from the sauces ordered to confirming one extra time that she was about to run the correct card on the food and not the beer. I never once felt rushed or that my presence was in anyway impeding on her ability to finish the shift, this is, sadly, a rare quality these days. Kim even did the side work and stocking in a way that seemed to downplay the fact that they were closing tasks.

I have worked in restaurants/hospitality for 20 years and have observed hundreds, if not thousands, of different servers/bartenders doing their jobs and interacting with guests or coworkers. In the post-COVID era of restaurants, or any customer service industry, the percentage of workers that have a true passion and love for their craft has plummeted. This all-too-often results in a poor guest experience compounded by the indifferent attitudes of staff and management. My experience tonight with Kim at Hurricane Grill reminded me that people who truly enjoy bringing a small slice of happiness to a stranger's day can and will find their way into the industry I so love and have dedicated my life to. And I hope those people, like Kim, continue to consistently provide the level of service I received tonight, for...

We have a dinner at Hurricane tonight at 8:30, the food was good, until we have that coconut shrimp. Hurricane don’t have coconut shrimp in the appetizer, It’s a main entree, it come with two sides. The coconut shrimp is very sweet, so when it deep fried it turn brown easy, that is not the problem. But it not FULLY cooked! A dish only have about 8-9 pieces of the shrimp. We have four people, each of us eat one, we all feel it tastes little weird and not right. I have second price, bite it halfway and see the shrimp is no fully cooked, and in the dish there only have 3/4 pieces left, plus we already eat the side dishes. We talked to one of the servers about the problem, she said she will let the manager to come. The manager come, we explained the coconut shrimp is not fully cooked! I think the at that moment the manager might think we want a free dishes or something. The manager said she can replace it with couple more pieces of coconut shrimp for us, make it more crispier to make sure it done, or replace with other side dishes . we replaced it with a house salad instead. The manager was agree to replace with salad, but after 10-15 minutes wait, We still not received our salad. Pulse we already finish with other dishes, and during that waiting time no one check on us. We choose to pay our bill, tips our waitress and left. Manager didn’t do any more additional work, she just said sorry and took my money. Our bill is around $110. I think that manager need little more training. And handling the problem like that, she need to do the following up with the kitchen and the services. we usually have it carry out. Food is always been good, tonight is the first time we try that coconut shrimp, so disappointed. Everyone who is going to order that coconut shrimp again in Hurricanes, don’t put the whole piece in your mouth, because you might not able to tell it fully...