Irina' Kitchen is missing a few burners

Culinary Quest: #1: Irena's Kitchen

As I walked in, I knew that something was wrong. It was 6pm, well into diner time and there was only one other patron in the store, who seemed to be busy working on something while she ate. I heard someone behind the wall to the kitchen talking on a cell phone and telling the person to hold so he could take care of the customer.

The man handed me a menu and told me to sit anywhere I liked. This was easy with so many tables open, so I sat down and looked through the menu. I decided to go with the Irina's Special which was described as roast beef, country potatoes, spring vegtables, and cole slaw.

I waited to order while the man was on his cell phone again, but only for a couple of minutes. It was at this time when I realized that he was the only person working the restaurant. So, he was waiting tables, cooking, and ringing people out. This is just too much for someone to do and it showed.

Before long, the man brought out a plate with a mix of small roast beef peices, breakfast potatoes, onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms with a side bowl of an oddly yellow looking cole slaw.

I was a bit surprised at the plate as it read as if there would be slices of roast beef, some potatoes, some vegtables, and some cole slaw, so I was surprised when it was all combined, and that apparently the vegtables mentioned were mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers.

The meat was pretty darn tasty, though and the potatoes were not bad and surprisingly didn't get too soggy in the mix. However, as I don't typically eat mushrooms, I had to pick them out as I went and there may have been more mushroom than meat.

During this time, two more people came in, including a blind man by himself. During this time, the man running the place continued to be on and off of his phone. When the person after me came in, she ordered chili. I almost did this myself as I have been trying to find a decent chili in the area, but I quickly noticed that he was microwaving it. I don't know if they made it themselves or dumped it from a can, but when I am at a restaurant, I don't want to think about them nuking the food, as I can do that at home.

So, the food was pretty good, if not listed well on the menu, but the price was just too high for the total package. I ended up, with tip, out $18. I don't think I'll be back. The place just had a bit of an eerie feeling to it and is not staffed which continues to add to the strange feeling. Since what I had was pretty good, maybe they will see an increase in business and can afford to have a waitress and a cook. If that were to happen, I might try it again.