Jergel’s Rhythm Grille
Last night, I went to Jergel’s.
With a menu that looked delicious online and Bon Jovi/Journey cover band aka Bon-Journey set to play the night, I was extremely stoked to eat Chicken and Waffles and sing Livin’ On A Prayer at the top of my lungs.
However, my experience wasn’t as great as I would have liked. Here’s what happened.
Arrival:
When you arrive at Jergel’s you are greeted in the parking lot by a bunch of guys directing traffic. When my friends and I pulled up, the parking lot was PACKED and we were lucky to find a spot. The directing of traffic is helpful so people don’t fight each other in the parking lot for spots. Note: If the lot is full when you get there, parking is available at the near-by Park and Ride with a shuttle to bring you to Jergel’s.
Seating:
I had a party of 7. I understand that seating a large party in any restaurant will require a bit of a wait. But, when I put our name in, the gal said there would be a 1-3 hour wait. I get that, but 1-3 hours? That’s a large window of time to tell a party to wait. But ok, we waited.
Eating:
After 2 hours of waiting and a few cocktails at the bar, my party and I finally got seated. Our waiter, George, was great. Though when he asked us for our drink orders and 5 of us wanted waters, he said he was unsure if there were enough glasses. Enough glasses? For a establishment that has a few hundred people in it, there isn’t enough water glasses? Luckily, George found us 5. We then ordered our food and waited about an hour for two appetizers to arrive: mussels and a chicken quesadilla. Another hour later, we got our meals: cold, flavorless, and completely not exciting.
So, a total of 4 hours of waiting to eat. Ridiculous! We asked George when our food would be arriving after an hour and a half of waiting, and he said “We’ll you’ll be here all night, right?” No George, at this rate we all wanted to run out the door and get MTO’s at Sheetz. After saying something to a nice manager gal, our food finally came.
I ordered the Berry Grilled Chicken Waffle. And at $12, completely not worth it. A basic, flavorless, waffle was topped with fresh berries (thank you for fresh berries not frozen ones) and about a softball of whipped cream. The piece of unseasoned chicken breast was tossed on the side. Not great. Let me offer a tip. To make this better, add the berries into the waffle batter to give the waffle some flavor. Grill and season the chicken breast and place it on top of the waffle. Add a few more berries for garnish and maybe the smallest drop of whip cream on the side, though I don’t think its necessary at all. Serve with syrup AND hot sauce. And chop that price down.
Sweet potato fries: These were actually not bad, but there was no dipping sauce served with them. Not even condiments on the table.
Original Philly Cheese Steak: Three people I was with got this sandwich and each of them said the meat was fatty and cold. All three of them didn’t even eat their sandwiches.
I arrived at 6 pm and ended up leaving at 10:30 pm. And you know what? I didn’t get to see any of Bon-Journey. NONE! We were so hungry, we left and headed to Eat’n Park!
My recommendation: Go to Jergel’s for the music and to drink. I think the place is a great venue for music, but I’ll leave that up to the professional music writers to judge. Don’t go here for food. Go to one of the many chains or local restaurants on 19 then head to Jergel’s.
I think Jergel’s is a good idea, but the execution still isn’t there yet. There are a ton of employees and a huge space, but something isn’t working yet, and I’m not sure what that is. Maybe more kitchen staff? I’m not sure.
I want to like you Jergel’s, but I just can’t yet. Maybe one day I’ll be back to sing Livin’ On A Prayer… maybe…
Urbanspooners seem to agree to:
6 Comments
I had a couple friends go about three weeks ago who had a very very similar experience. They waited hours to sit and forever for their food (which was only salads). Hopefully one day they will work out the kinks, but I don’t see myself trying to eat there anytime soon!
Our party of 6 arrived at 6:15….was told the wait would be around 1-2 hours, 3 hours later no table, still had not eaten, complained to a manager after seeing everyone that arrived after us had already been seated..manager made up a table outside..at this point we had an awesome waitress named Shawna..finally ordered food, an appetizer of chips took almost 40 minutes, finally at 10:10 we recieved our food which was just ok although we were all so hungry by then we were just happy to be eating. At this point Bon Journey had not even started yet although the opening band was good and maybe should have just stayed on stage all night because when Bon Journey started they took more breaks then anything and they were awful, we all waited along time for this night but I must say it just was the worst experience I have ever had out. Maybe Jergels should stick to appetizers, drinks and a juke box. I have been to several large venues in many different states and have never experienced anything like this, if they dont get it together they will be closing there doors just like in Ellwood City…
We must have been sitting right behind you! We had a party of 13 and also had George as a server. Although very nice, we asked twice to place our dinner orders only to be told “not right now, I’ll come back” By the time we eventually received our dinners the opening band had started and masses of people were dancing around our table. We had 2 pregnant women at our table who were the last to recieve beverages and waited over 3 hours for their dinners to arrive. We were also disappointed in the food and the band. (although the opening band was good) Jergel’s need to decide which direction they want to go: restaurant or club! It seems to me they can’t pull them both off.
Clearly, the comments here and over at Urbanspoon seem to all tell the same story. Amy, I totally think I was sitting right next to your table! And I completely agree with you: Jergel’s needs to pick: concert venue and bar or restaurant and bar with live music.
Sarah, We had a very similar experience when they first opened, but more recent trips have been much improved! They seem to be developing a pretty good happy hour crowd, and while we haven’t had the courage to order a complete dinner the appetizers have been very good. While Jergels is not fine dining, I think they might be figuring it out and maybe worth another chance.
P.S. Love your blog!!!
It has been a year since your last experience! I suggest you give them another try, it seems as if they have gotten a hang of it and can really produce a great atmosphere!