Sam Miller's

After being out there for 35 years, we finally dined at Sam Miller's.

I had gone on-line to see the menu. A lot of traditional offerings; a couple of inventive ones. We actually made reservations (a bit unusual for us).

When we arrived there were a few folks at the bar and the dining room was less than half full. So, where were we seated? Not in a little cozy corner for two (even though we had made reservations and cozy tables were plentiful). We were seated with a grand view of the dining room entrance and the TV at the bar playing that night's NBA game.

Really?

We received our menus and the choices did not match the on-line menu. Gone were any signs of inventiveness. Oh well. Hubby was on the wagon tonight and I almost ordered a glass of wine. On second thought, the place was not busy and I did not trust the turnover of the open bottles. I ordered a whiskey sour, instead. (This turned out to be a good move. Later in the evening another couple, seated after us in a cozy corner, sent back a glass of wine.) Upon ordering, our waiter asked which type of whiskey I wanted. I asked what the house brand was. After a bit of hesitation, he stated Evan Williams. Fine by me since it would be added to sour mix. At this point I got the impression he was used to serving business entities with corporate accounts.

To eat I ordered the crabcake sandwich on a freshly made roll. Hubby ordered the salmon over mashed potatoes. My crabcake was decent, but not the best in Richmond. A bit bland for my tastes. The roll was a typical upscale sandwich roll that I can find at Kroger's or Martin's. When the salmon arrived, it was over roasted potatoes and topped with asparagus (these sides were on the fish of the day offerings). When we pointed this out our waiter said all dishes came with these sides for the evening. We had to insist that we had read the menu correctly and had even seen another table (also in a cozy table) receive the type of dish we ordered. He returned with the correct sides and said he thought we had ordered the fish of the day. Really?

The salmon was a great piece of fish and hubby thoroughly enjoyed it.

Upon clearing our plates, our waiter asked if we needed separate checks. Really? I understand that Sam Miller's must make its living from the business/convention crowd, but none of those types of groups were dining there that night. It just seemed a bit odd.

While the fish was good, the rest of the experience was less than satisfactory. I'll throw Sam Miller's back into the business/convention ocean and seek sustenance on other shores.