Redeeming Some Spotty Service

I'd recently been on the receiving end of some spotty service and quality at East of Eighth which left me feeling so disheartened, I hadn't gone back. But last Friday, my sister Kim was in town for the night, along with a friend and wanted to meet at East of Eighth. I didn't have the heart to tell her I'd stopped going...

EOE's maître d'hôtel, John, stopped by our table and greeted us with a warm welcome and a round of drinks; the three of us had a short dinner and it was pleasant enough. Yesterday, I had to pick up a second shift at the restaurant. At around 3:30 I asked if I could take an "extra-long break," coming back at five. Wanting to go somewhere I could truly kick back and relax on my ninety-minute break, I headed to East of Eighth.

the view from table ten

Upon landing at the second floor dining room, I was delighted to not only see Gloria--one of my favorite EOE servers--but also my preferred table ten, available. I made myself quite comfortable at the corner banquette and proceeded to review the specials. I decided upon the Maryland crab cake sandwich ($10) and black coffee. While I nibbled from the signature EOE bread basket (baguette, focaccia and cornbread), Gloria continually topped my coffee off, "to keep it hot." My crab cake sandwich arrived and was tasty enough, accompanied by a generous serving of (my favorite) EOE housemade coleslaw. When it came time for dessert, I'd already known what I wanted and ordered it by description. Reviewing my receipt: chocolate roulade. ($6)

East of Eighth's chocolate roulade

The last time I'd ordered the roulade, I wasn't all that impressed. In fact, I concluded that they must buy them in. But on a previous visit, I'd read on the menu, 'all desserts made in house.' Nonetheless, I was craving the creamy, chocolate-espresso roulade...

The roulade was absolutely delicious--creamy, soft and very fresh-tasting. I asked Gloria if the roulade was made in house and she confirmed: yes, it was; along with all the desserts and the bread too, made fresh every morning. Gloria's service missed not a beat, from beginning to end and she even brought me a fresh cup of coffee to go along with my dessert--unrequested. Hopefully, East of Eighth will soon return to their high wave... once again.