Livingstone's

What's it like?

A co-worker and I decided to meet up at Starbucks to catch up and talk shop. The mood shifted from coffee to beer, so we decided to head for the Tower District, ending up on Livingstone's patio. Ten minutes later, we resorted to ordering our beers and food from the bar inside, but more on that later.

The first lesson I learned about Livingstone's appetizers is that the full-size orders offer enough for four to eight people (and thus, too much for the two of us). The second lesson I learned is that the chicken for chicken and cheese quesadillas is cooked on the bone. Unfortunately, that was a lesson I didn't want, as it came at the expense of my sensitive teeth; I discovered the first sliver of bone, and my co-worker found several more. When he discovered half of thigh bone (yes, half, with the joint still attached to one end), we decided it was time to let someone know.

Back to the beginning: I don't like waiting more than a couple of minutes to be greeted by a server. Especially at 6:00 p.m. on a Saturday. Especially when I've been passed by at least four other staff members (one of whom cleared items from a previous patron after we sat down). Needless to say, I was a bit annoyed at having to go inside to order.

Still, I'm not one to complain at a restaurant; I'd much rather rant online. Nick, on the other hand, had no problem calling the bus boy over and holding up the thumb-sized bone (seriously, I'm not sure how it fit in between the tortillas). The bus boy alerted our server, who apologized and removed the dish. The server notified the chef, who further apologized and offered another appetizer in its place. All was taken care of, and we ordered another round of Newcastles (we were actually quite full by this point, anyway).

While the experience started out quite frustrating, the quesadillas were removed from the bill, and I appreciate how the situation was handled—I've suffered worse (elsewhere) without any apology from restaurant personnel.