MGM sent me a pack of 4 coupons, each good for 2 dinners at their
relatively new Lion's Roar pub / sports bar. "Big deal", I
thought, "a couple hundred thou of coin-in chasing (and occasionally
catching) the 9/7 DB progressive, and all I get is comps for bar
food." Man, was I wrong! Generally superb chow, on a par or better
than any of the snooty restaurants in downtown Ann Arbor (my
hometown).
The comp coupons were each good for two complete dinners -
appetizers, dinners, desserts, and non-alcoholic drinks. I've used
two of these coupons. So, here we go with the Good, the Bad, and the
Ugly.....
THE GOOD - Almost everything! They've got a portobella mushroom
appetizer baked with spinach and God knows what else, with cheese on
top. Almost a little mushroom-crust pizza, and it was wonderful.
Got it both times, there was a significant difference in the size
altho both were excellent. She had veal medallions once and the BBQ
ribs/fried shrimp combo on the other trip, both meals were, in her
words, "to die for". My chicken breasts (marsala?) dinner was the
best I've ever had. The ribeye steak on the first trip is mentioned
below. And those desserts - oh, MY, those desserts! Cheesecake
drizzled with raspberry sauce, carrot cake, key lime pie -
mmmmmmmmm! The service was generally fast, friendly, and efficient,
without being pushy.
THE BAD - Sure am glad I wasn't paying cash for these meals. Both
times we managed to run up a $70 tab without trying at all. Even
though the food was (mostly) awesome, I wouldn't drop that kind of
coin on dinner for two in a sports-bar atmosphere. It's obvious that
the prices are cranked up to chew up comp balances faster, and to
make the ploppies think they're getting a better comp than they
really are.
THE UGLY - We almost didn't make the second trip due to a major faux
pas in the service during the first foray. The appetizers showed up
promply, salads soon after (but not TOO quickly after appetizers),
everything was A-OK. Then it took 45 minutes for the entrees to
appear. Nobody stopped by the table to offer an explanation, and the
staff was studiously avoiding us during the wait. It was definitely
not due to the place being busy, there were only a half-dozen tables
occupied. When the meals arrived, her veal medallions in a spicy
mushroom sauce were positively excellent! But, my ribeye - ordered
medium rare - showed up almost well done. And the entire plateful
was cold. I wasn't about to send it back, we'd already waited so
long that I wasn't going to give them another chance to make us sit
there like that. The steak seemed like it probably was mighty good
stuff at some point, but it sure wasn't by the time they delivered it.
OVERALL GRADES - a "B+" for the food. This would have been "A+++"
had it not been for the cold, overcooked steak, but everything else
was simply wonderful. The service gets a "C" because somebody should
have stopped by to explain the delay, an inexcusable oversight
considering how light the business was at the time.
Will I return? You betcha! One bad experience isn't nearly enough
to negate the otherwise excellent experiences.
- Brian in Michigan