Shoeless Joe's Ale House & Grille

I will start right out by saying the waitresses were very nice, pleasant and attractive and attentive and accommodating.  Plus, they have TVs all over the place, including on top of each booth, so that's kind of cool.

Alas, I have to give this place a single star for two reasons:

1) The food is definitely suburban quality for city prices.  The fish and chips is priced at $14.99, but the fish consists of four pressed fish patties, not real fish pieces.  And the side of waffle fries, while decent and even warm, was a pretty small portion considering what I paid for the meal.  I don't count the coleslaw because I hate coleslaw.

2) After we'd been there about an hour--and thankfully after we'd finished eating--the strong smell of sewer started permeating the air.  It persisted for the next hour we stayed.  My friend didn't object too hard, so I didn't push the issue.  Plus I hoped that it might dissipate, but it never did.  Finally I just couldn't take it anymore.  I have no idea how the people around us could keep eating through that smell.

As we were leaving, I mentioned the smell (which was actually confined to the booth area) to the host at the door and he said yeah, that part of the restaurant is under a laundry in the hotel or something, which is what was causing it.  And the best part was when he said--and he actually said this--that smell breaks out every couple of days or so!

I can only imagine that this is the area to which rookie waitresses, or perhaps waitresses they're trying to drive off the job, are assigned to, and they probably even refer to that station as The Sewer.  Or if they don't, maybe they should.

I will leave you with this riddle:

Who has two thumbs and ain't going back to Shoeless Joe's?

Had the rib special..
Tasted boiled and not brine.. Great place to drink and watch a game, especially local teams. Food is there for convenience rather part of the experience..

I have been to Shoeless Joes twice over the past few months and both times I have left unsatisfied with the service. The first time I went with a few close friends. Three of them got the big bucket of beers and my friend and I ordered martini's. The bucket lasted the boys awhile, but when I was ready for another drink my waitress was MIA. By the time she finally got around to us (although there was no one in the bar, she was just missing) we had decided to get the check instead because the wait was so ridiculously long.  

The second time that I visited Shoeless Joes was with a larger group of friends. I came late and wasn't planning on drinking anything that night as I was the designated driver. When I just asked for water the waitress roller her eyes. About 10 minutes later she finally brought me my water. I finished it rather quickly which was a mistake on my part because the waitress didn't come back around for another 15 minutes. When my large group was ready to go it took the waitress another 10 minutes to get everything figured out, which is understandable with a larger group, but then she was rude when some said they were paying with cards or needed cash.

As far as the food, I've only ordered the waffle fries and they were subpar. The mixed drinks were decent, and the big bucket was a good deal for my friends. However, the lack of service is really frustrating so needless to say, I don't think I'll be going back any time soon.