Santee Crossing Embers Amercia

Entering the Embers, I was transported back to my teen years, waitressing in a tenderloin joint in Des Moines.  They say that smell is the most evocative sense, and I can believe it.  The smell of bleach and fried food was transporting.  The waitstaff is friendly, welcoming, and promptly greeted us and seated us.  Since this was an "intermittent fast day" for me, I watched patrons (cycle riders in leathers, families in travel clothes) and the staff, all in t-shirts and jeans.  He ordered country steak and eggs, and took advantage of the offer of marbled rye toast.   He said it was "totally awesome."  Hence, the five stars.  Toast was thick, well browned, eggs were fluffy, and hash browns were crispy.

The food is mediocre. The service needs to be better.

1. The first time I went, I got the buffalo chicken sandwich...which was one of the worst Buff Chicken sandwiches I've ever tried in my life. The waitress was not attentive at all, and did not ever come back to refill drinks. (Lunch)

2. The second time, I got a turkey burger, and it is also one of the worst turkey burgers that I've ever had. The burger was clearly not 100% ground turkey but tasted like cardboard. The waitresses were chatting among themselves in the breakfast bar area, looking over newspaper ads. I had to wave them down to get their attention. (Early Lunch)

3. The last time I went, I got the Ruben sandwich, it was okay. I HIGHLY recommend the restaurant to STOP OVER BUTTERING EVERYTHING!!!! The bread of the Ruben was just SATURATED in butter....not good. However, we had a waitress that was attentive, came back to refill drinks, and was very polite. She did her job. I can't say the same for any of the other waitresses - especially the AM staff. (Dinner)

The reason I keep coming back to Embers is because in Jackson, there is not much dining choice, and Embers seems to be the best of the worst.

Hoped for a satisfying breakfast before we jumped on I-90.. Was served a "scone" that wasn't even half-baked - more like greasy, grainy cookie dough. Very disappointing.