Why does everyone seem to love this place? When people come to town they always seem to have heard of The Old Fashioned and suggest going there. I have personally experienced this with friends and family, and I know others who have as well. This boggles my mind. The food is mediocre, and I say that only because I do enjoy their breakfast. Their menu is scant in my opinion and the service is terrible. I have just never been impressed by the place.
Exhibit A: The first time I ever visited the Old Fashioned I was not impressed by the menu. There are not many healthy options on the menu and when I found what I thought sounded amazing and healthy (No. 35 grilled eggplant and portabella sandwich) turned out to have a highly unpleasant texture and zero flavor.
Exhibit B: I arrived at The Old Fashioned for lunch when my sister and mom were in town and we were meeting a friend. The server got us water and took our drink order which seemed to take a while even though the restaurant was quiet at the time. After getting our beers my sister asked for some lemons for our beers. They never came, and we had to ask for them a second time, but by then we had almost finished our first beers.
I ordered their summer sausage sandwich which sounded delicious, and it was okay. Very greasy, but okay. However, I left the restaurant feeling sick and crampy - not how I want to end a meal.
Exhibit C: Now, my husband and I always forget that the Sunprint Cafe is closed on Sundays (which is incredibly silly and feels like a bad business decision to me, but anyways) and we end up walking up to the cafe and realizing this after we arrive. Therefore, we always end up having to choose another brunch option. Automatically we think Bradbury's, but then we usually get there and the line is out the door, which means waiting probably another hour before eating. At this point we probably have considered going to Gotham or heading somewhere down State St., but a couple of times we have made the decision to go to The Old Fashioned. The first time we made this decision I was very hesitant, but thought I would give them another chance on breakfast. It went well, the food was good, but again, not very healthy as half of our plate was covered in potatoes.
So, after trying to go to Sunprint again on a Sunday morning we ended up at The Old Fashioned for brunch a second time. We ordered coffee when we first sat down and our coffee did not arrive before our waiter came to take our food order. We reminded him and again, our coffee did not arrive until just before our food came out. We waited probably 15-20 minutes for our coffee....
Exhibit D: After having an okay experience for breakfast I decided to go to The Old Fashioned with my mom the next time she was in town. Again we were meeting up with a friend and thought it would be convenient since it was the same place we met the last time we got together. So, we get our coffee, etc. and are waiting for our food and when it comes out my mom's is cold. They take the plate from her and apologize, but bring it back a minute later. She's pretty sure they just threw it in the microwave or something. NOT IMPRESSED.
I'm done with this place. I applaud them for using fresh and local products, but their representation of Wisconsin eating is sad. Some people say, "But what about the cheese curds?" and to that I say, "I prefer the curds at Graze."
Unless I'm going because someone else really wants to or am just going for a drink, forget it. I'd rather spend my money at Bradbury, Lazy Jane's, or Sunprint Cafe (if they ever decide to open for Sunday morning brunch)
Horrible service, mediocre food, have left feeling sick more than once.
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