Son of a Gun

[PeonyWarrior]

Warrior: This was our first time at Son of a Gun. It seemed like it was in its twilight years. It was only a third full, charitably, and that always darkens my mood. But the food was pretty good across the board. There was nothing for me to complain about in any of the five dishes. The high note was the linguine with clams and uni aglio e olio. I bet Peony will say this meal was “unimpressive,” but I think we’ve just been eating at a high level recently. I liked the food and would go back if I lived nearby. (p.s.: I agree with Peony on the trout almandine.)

Peony: I thought the dishes were all pretty good. They were rich in flavor and had good texture. I particularly liked the broccoli salad, which was quite a surprise. For the trout almandine, I wasn’t sure that adding the rice enhanced the dish, as I may enjoy the fish by itself more. Somehow, I feel the dishes lean more toward home-cooked style.

[TheCookie]

@PeonyWarrior

I liked the food and would go back if I lived nearby.

We do and have resys this week. Not sure resys are necessary, though. They’re one of the few sit-downs open 7 days a week (lunch & dinner) post-pandemic. But we invited a friend and didn’t want to chance it.

P.S. Is the Amandine worth ordering?

[PeonyWarrior]

Warrior: Sure, the trout almandine is worth ordering! We just quibble for the sake of quibbling sometimes in our reviews. I would say all five dishes we ate (hamachi, bigeye tuna, broccoli salad, linguine, trout) were worth ordering. They were all good in their own way. But if I had to bet on the crowd pleasers, it would be the linguine and the trout.

[TheCookie]

Thanks @PeonyWarrior.

@PeonyWarrior

We just quibble for the sake of quibbling sometimes in our reviews.

Lol gotcha. I’m on the fence between trout & linguini clams. Guess I’ll make a game time decision.

[TheCookie]

A couple of Son of a Gun dinners… and a takeout too.

Old-fashioned w/Blanton’s Bourbon

Imagine this without a chunk of ice. Stingy. Same with the sake pours. We’re going w/soft drinks & beer from now on.

Bigeye Tuna, Leche de Tigre, Avocado, Tortilla Chips

I had been wanting to try this odd looking but popular dish. As much as I like the combo of raw tuna, citrusy marinade, avocado & chips I didn’t care for this preparation. The leche de tigre is sweet (maybe too much OJ) with not much acid. Tuna is cut so thin that the texture is too soft, and although the chips are crunchy I prefer them in a basket for scooping not mixed in the avocado filling. This dish did not work for me. Hubs liked it.

Kennebec French Fries w/Malt Vinegar Aïoli

LOVE! Super crispy, salty & the aïoli is addicting.

Nashville Hot Fried Chicken Sandwich, Comeback Sauce, B&B Pickles, Iceberg Lettuce

Messy, crispy, crunchy, juicy, spicy, delicious. The coating does slip off a bit but it’s so crunchy I don’t care.

The Reglar Fried Chicken Sandwich, Spicy B&B Pickle Slaw, Rooster Aïoli

Just as messy. Not quite as exciting as the Nashville Hot, but a very good fried chicken sandwich. I recommend.

Gettin ready for some Ribs…

Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Pineapple, Chili-Soy

(internet photo)

Tender, salty, sticky, sweet, touch of heat & smoke. Hubs disappeared these!

Linguini, Clams, Uni Aglio-Olio, Chili, Breadcrumbs

This was a bummer because I love the sauce and breadcrumb topping, but I ended up picking most of the clams out because they were very chewy. Staff was surprised, apologized and took it off the bill without me asking. I’ll try it again to see if that was a fluke. Tbc…

Takeout…

Roasted Broccoli, Carrots, Cilantro, Mint, Red Quinoa, Peanuts, Honey Date Vinaigrette

Nice flavors & textures, broccoli was a little over-cooked; honey date vinaigrette is tasty with nice heat.

Chilled Peel & Eat Shrimp + Lime Mustard Sauce

Big, plump, juicy, shrimp w/Old Bay-like seasoning & mustardy mustard-lime sauce w/a hint of sweet to balance the salty, extra lime wedge for squeezing. De-licious.

Smoked Baby Back Ribs, Pineapple, Chili-Soy

This batch was not quite as tender, a little chewy, still tasty but way salty. We usually eat at SOAG in the early eve. This takeout was kinda late in the eve and I’m wondering if the ribs had been sitting in the warmer.

SOAG’s menu is my kinda seafood menu and hubs can get his grub on with fried chicken sandwiches and ribs. They’re local and conveniently serve lunch and dinner everyday. Con side: some portions are kinda small for the price… because Beverly-Grove. The service is satisfactory but aloof at times. And the 18% service charge poses that how much to tip dilemma. So far, none of this is a major deterrent, as I still want to eat my way thru the entire menu.

https://www.sonofagunrestaurant.com/menu

[PorkyBelly]

@TheCookie

18% service charge

are the servers doing the ol’ there’s-an-18%-service-charge-but-it’s-not-actually-a-tip move?

[Ns1]

[TheCookie]

Haha @Ns1! You posted my response as I was typing.

They do more then verbally inform you @PorkyBelly - they go hard by putting it right on the check.

They’re getting hits on Yelp for it. But we like dining there and have decided not to feel pressured to pay 36-40% to do so. We leave a little something on top of the service charge. I’m sure they prefer that to the alternative of not dining there at all. Hubs is more annoyed about the weak pours than the service charge + tip.

[TheCookie]

@TheCookie

We leave a little something on top of the service charge.

In cash.

[BlurA14]

Had this happen to me here last month, first time at a Jon and Vinny’s establishment. Ended up tipping around 32% yet still felt bad that I somehow undertipped. Nobody should be guilt tripped or tricked into tipping 38%.

I listened to a podcast where they explained that servers are strongly warned against pointing out that the service charge is not a tip, which led me to a Reddit rabbit hole where many former employees said they had no idea where the service charge went. Really an unpleasant experience and makes me hesitant to return to any of their restaurants to be honest.

[moonboy403]

@BlurA14

no idea where the service charge went

typically, they’re spread around to increase the hourly wages of the whole restaurant including the back of the house. as one can see, the front of the house typically aren’t happy with a services charge since their overall wages go down, perhaps by a lot especially in fine dining, because they don’t get to pocket all the tips amongst themselves. that’s why it’s difficult for a lot of restaurants to switch from a tipped scheme to service charge. once implemented, many front of the house employees would jump ship to other restaurants that are tipped based.

[ShadrackToussaint]

Had a similar experience at Jon and Vinny’s last August. Also went down the Reddit rabbit hole, recounted in this thread.

Restaurant surcharges & service charges: threat or menace?

[TheCookie]

The hope would be that it’s going toward a more equitable wage for BOH and medical benefits for all (which would offset the loss of tips). But as was mentioned on the threat or menace thread this may not be the reality. Bummer.

[hungryhungryhippos]

I think unfortunately there’s no good answers. Raise menu prices people complain or have ppl pay tip on top of service charge ppl complain. So it’s a lose lose for restaurants.

It does at least make me happy that the bill states that “100% of the service charge goes towards workers wages” instead of going to a morass of money and having owners/investors skim off the top.

[TheCookie]

@hungryhungryhippos

“100% of the service charge goes towards workers wages”

Yep, good point. It must be working at SOAG because they don’t seem to have a lot of turnover. We’ve been going there for a while and always see the same faces.

[blackave]

It seems to me that the question to ask is whether “100% of the service charge goes towards workers wages” goes toward the minimum wage or is paid in addition to the minimum wage.

[hungryhungryhippos]

That is actually a good point!

[hollywood]

I had not been for a couple of years and returned last Saturday. At 5:30 it was not busy.
I had the Kennebec fries and the fried chicken sandwich. Both were really good.
And the bartender was able to make a Last Word for me that was excellent.