Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Did Fred's go upscale?
Based on the amount of our most recent dinner bill, the answer to this question is "YES!" FWJoey and I recently dined with another FW couple for dinner at Fred's and our check total for the four of us was a whopping $140 (not including tip). At Fred's! Since when did Fred's start charging $11 for a glass of wine. Or better yet, when did Fred's start serving wine?? If you recall, Fred's historically only served beer. If you wanted to consume wine, you could bring your own bottle. Those days are long gone now that Fred's is serving wine - expensive wine.
When we arrived at Fred's on a recent Friday night, the dining room was crowded and there were no tables immediately available. We had a seat at the bar and I asked to look over a wine menu. The bartender gave me a look like... you want a wine menu? You are at Fred's - you think we have a wine menu? I assume they do not have a wine menu because rather than giving me one, the bartender proceeded to present me with various bottles of wine but did not mention the price per glass of the wines. Already feeling silly for asking for a wine menu, I ordered a glass of the Fat Bastard cabernet because I was familiar with that label and knew it ran about $9.99 per bottle at the liqour store. I expected the cost to be around $5 per glass, so I was surprised when we got our bill and it was $8 per glass. After we consumed the Fat Bastard wine, we were served another red wine that cost $11 per glass. Wow! I don't even pay that at most upscale dining establishments. The men consumed beers at about $4 per schooner.
Onto the food, the men, for reasons unknown to me, decided to order the calf fries as an appetizer while we waited at the bar for a table. Those suckers cost $16. Sound overpriced? Uh...yeah. Then came dinner. Joey and I both had a Fredburger and fries ($8.50) for dinner. The meal was good and greasy - just like a Fredburger should be! FWBrittyn, at the server's suggestion, opted to try the Steak Fingers dinner special. Little did she know, she had just ordered a $22 entree at Fred's! SURPRISE!
I suppose the lesson I learned at Fred's was never to assume anything. Don't assume the wine prices will be inexpensive (or even reasonable for that matter) and don't assume the Chef Specials will be priced in a range similar to the rest of the menu (the Ribeye special was $31). So long as you stick to beer and burgers, you should have a great dinner experience, but if you decide to tread off course, be sure to find out the price of what you are ordering. Proceed with caution!
When we arrived at Fred's on a recent Friday night, the dining room was crowded and there were no tables immediately available. We had a seat at the bar and I asked to look over a wine menu. The bartender gave me a look like... you want a wine menu? You are at Fred's - you think we have a wine menu? I assume they do not have a wine menu because rather than giving me one, the bartender proceeded to present me with various bottles of wine but did not mention the price per glass of the wines. Already feeling silly for asking for a wine menu, I ordered a glass of the Fat Bastard cabernet because I was familiar with that label and knew it ran about $9.99 per bottle at the liqour store. I expected the cost to be around $5 per glass, so I was surprised when we got our bill and it was $8 per glass. After we consumed the Fat Bastard wine, we were served another red wine that cost $11 per glass. Wow! I don't even pay that at most upscale dining establishments. The men consumed beers at about $4 per schooner.
Onto the food, the men, for reasons unknown to me, decided to order the calf fries as an appetizer while we waited at the bar for a table. Those suckers cost $16. Sound overpriced? Uh...yeah. Then came dinner. Joey and I both had a Fredburger and fries ($8.50) for dinner. The meal was good and greasy - just like a Fredburger should be! FWBrittyn, at the server's suggestion, opted to try the Steak Fingers dinner special. Little did she know, she had just ordered a $22 entree at Fred's! SURPRISE!
I suppose the lesson I learned at Fred's was never to assume anything. Don't assume the wine prices will be inexpensive (or even reasonable for that matter) and don't assume the Chef Specials will be priced in a range similar to the rest of the menu (the Ribeye special was $31). So long as you stick to beer and burgers, you should have a great dinner experience, but if you decide to tread off course, be sure to find out the price of what you are ordering. Proceed with caution!
