Newk's - 10.06.09

Newk's - 10.06.09

The Promenade, pronounced prah-men-odd if you live in Bayou View and prah-men-aid if you live in Diberville, opened up recently. It's a few acres of the latest and greatest in shopping and food for this area.

There's a Best Buy, an Olive Garden, a couple hotels, an AT&T store,
several random shopping village type stores and variety of restaurants all nestled around a winding strip of roads that surround the headliner, Target.

All up amongst the middle of this spaghetti junction of turn lanes and crossovers and four-lane nastiness, that's sure to be programmed in the favorites section of your local ambulance's Garmin, sits a little restaurant that, quite frankly, I'd never heard of before. I guess I don't get out enough. Newk's is a great little secret of this new Promenade. It's owners are local folks. It's founders are the same group of people that started McAlisters Deli. So that should at least get you in the door the first time.

Before I get started, I must say that the atmosphere there is nice, the food is great, the service is exceptional. Kudos! We have eaten there a couple of times already. I highly recommend it, if you get the chance to go by.

However, you've got to know this. Once again, I was both shocked and amazed during my most recent visit. It blows me away the rollercoaster level of service we get here on the Gulf Coast. But Newk's does it right!

There are two ways to enter. First there is the main front door. Then, there is a side/back door entrance that requires you to walk through past the fountain machines and through the crowd a little to get to the order counter. This time we came in the front.

The restrooms are to the right and I thought it was very fitting to have a sink out front in plain site to wash your hands before placing an order. That was a nice little touch. Since I had not been in their restrooms before, I thought I'd check that out first. I always like to see how clean the restrooms are. It's amazing how similarly restaurants maintain their restrooms and their kitchens. You can't always see how clean the kitchen is. But you can always check out the restrooms. I opened the door and was blown away.

As I said earlier, this is a fantastic little secret in Diberville. You simply must go! But I wish I had not gone into the restroom first. It's very poorly designed. I will explain. (You may want to skip down a couple or three paragraphs.)

I opened the door and took a step forward. The main stall there inside is facing the entry door. And more importantly the gap between the door and the facia where the latch is, is about 3-4 inches wide. Get the picture? If someone is sitting there doing their business, and this time they were, then they are in your exact line of site as you enter, and this time they were. And if they react, as human nature would have us, they might look up, as they did this time. And if they look up, like they did, they will, without a doubt make complete and total eye contact, just like this guy did last night.

Talk about uncomfortable. What was I to do? I made eye contact. I didn't mean to. But I don't see how it could be avoide. I'm sure he didn't want to see me any more than I wanted to see him, but our eyes met. It was uber uncomfortable. I didn't want to make eye contact with a guy doing his business. That's private. And to make it worse, I said "How ya doin'?"

How ya doin'? How ya doin'? Not only do I already know how he's doing, I also know what he's doing. And even though it's a perfectly natural occurence and everyone does it all the time, it's just one of those moments I wish I could take back. But I couldn't. Then he said "Not much, man." Now, I knew he was uncomfortable too. Just like me. I asked "how ya doin'?" and he answered with an answer that didn't even make any sense. I guess in a way it was kinda funny. So I did what I went in there for and left. That was the longest 1 1/2 minutes I've lived through in quite some time. Just awkward.

So I meet back up out front with my wife.

She asks "So how are the restrooms?"

"Oh, they're nice" I say. Apparently I had this shit eating grin on my face because she said "Oh, ok. Alright." And then she smiled too.

Of course, I'd have to tell her later. How could I not. I guess I'm still a 4th grader on the inside.

I've only been here once and I've not done any menu research. So I really don't know what I want to order. Pizza? Salad? Soup? I'll just get a suggestion from the house. I'm actually expecting, "Oh, well what are you in the mood for?" or "It's all good" or "I'm sure you'll like it all." I've already prepared so that I don't have a repeat of the C&G incident. I'm standing at the order counter, tapping my hands in nervous rhythm and looking over my right shoulder trying to read the ill placed menu. And that is where the amazing part kicked in.

The girl at the register asked "Hello and welcome to Newk's. Can I take your order?"

The following happened in the course of about 30 seconds. I was not as prepared as my wife.

She ordered first...

"I think I'll have a sandwich."

"Chicken Salad, Club, Grilled Chicken, Shrimp Po-Boy, Italian, Newk's Q, Pesto Chicken, Pimiento Cheese, Roast Beef, Smoked Ham, The Wreck, Turkey Breast or Veggie Club?"

I stand a little closer to listen. This is gonna be good.

"Can you describe the Italian?"

"Sure. It is capicola, mortadella, pepperoni, salami, provolone, mayo, spicy Creole mustard, lettuce, tomato, yellow onions, hot sliced cherry peppers and Italian cheese."

This girl really knows her stuff.

"What's on your Club."

"Ham, turkey, cheddar, swiss, Applewood bacon, tomato, lettuce, our original honey mustard and mayo."

She didn't miss a beat! Wow! This girl is flawless!

"I'll take that. No mustard. No mayo."

"One Club, with ham, turkey, cheddar, swiss, bacon, tomato and lettuce. No mustard. No mayo. Would you like a drink with that?"

"Sure, what do you have?"

"Pellegrino, Evian, Acqua Panna, Coke, Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Sprite, Diet Sprite, Mr. Pibb, Powerade, Iced Sweet Tea, Unsweet Tea, Bud Light, Michelob Ultra, Coors Light, Miller Light, Heineken, Amstel Light, Orangina, Fresh Ground Coffee and we have a list of wines available bye the glass or by the bottle."

Holy moly! And all this is from memory. I'm still looking over my shoulder trying to double check her work. It's spot on!

"Unsweet Tea."

"Would you care for a desert? We have Banana Cake, Big Krispy (regular and peanut butter), Brownies, Caramel Cake, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Cake, Pineapple Cake, Red Velvet Cake and Strawberry Cake."

"No thank you."

"And you sir?"

I'm not really sure that I am prepared to answer with all the choices. But I'm so enthralled with her ability to quote directly without using a cheat sheet. I'm taking a step closer to the register to make sure I can accurately hear her and I'm still trying to look over my right shoulder to see the menu. Not that I will need it. This girl is fantastic!

I stare at her in awe for just a second becaue I've never, and I repeat NEVER, come in contact with such an efficient young person to take my order. This is great!

"I will have a salad."

"We have Black & Bleu, Caesar, Chef, Cobb, Greek, Newk's Favorite, Shrimp Remoulade, Simply Salad, Southern Salad and Ultimate."

"What's on the Newk's Favorite?"

"Mixed greens, grilled chicken breast, gorgonzola cheese, dried cranberries, grapes, artichoke hearts, pecans (pronounced 'puh-cons', so I know she's a local) and croutons tossed with Newk's sherry vinaigrette."

I want to hire this girl.

"And the Ultimate?"

"Mixed greens, grilled chicken breast, ham, turkey, bacon, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheddar cheese and croutons tossed with Newk's original honey mustard."

I could do this all day long. She doesn't miss anything.

"I'll have that without the tomatoes. No cucumbers. Axe the honey mustard. I'll take something close to Italian."

"That would be our Greek Dressing. It's clear like Italian, with a tangy kick."
"That works."

"Ok. I have an Ultimate Salad with mixed greens, grilled chicken breast, ham, turkey and bacon. No tomatoes. No cucumbers. Substitute Greek for Honey Mustard."

"That's it. Exactly."

"Would you like a drink with that?"

"Coke."

"Regular, Diet or Zero?"

"Regular."

"Any cake, krispy or brownie?"

This gal is efficient.

"No thank you."

"Your total is $16.02. Will that be cash, credit or debit?"

"Debit."

"Please swipe your card and enter your pin."

I did.

"Please press ok."

I did.

"Ok sir, your number will be 180. Please take this and place it in the holder located on the top of the table of your choice and we will have someone bring it right out to you."

I'm still smiling. Never once, did she say "oh, it's good" or "oh, you'll like it". Just short, direct and to the point. That's my kinda deal.

"I will. And thank you very much. I don't think you know just how pleasant that was. They are lucky to have such a great employee."

"Thank you, sir. (pause and smile) Can I help the next person in line please?"
We walked over to the only open booth. This place is packed. The table is clean. The tabletop is not sticky. The food came out momentarily. And it tasted great!

Quite honestly, the food could have been less than par and I'd still want to do business there again just because of the treatment we received and the good service we got.

I'm still not all that excited about the restroom set up.

But I can go before I go next time.