Pennsylvania – Perkins Family Restaurant on Route 19

★★★★★★
Perkins Family Restaurant

20013-route 19 Cranberry Township 16066

On February 18, 2011, my husband and I stopped at a Perkins Family Restaurant in Cranberry Township PA for lunch.  It was 2:30p.m.  We had been driving for several hours leaving Michigan that morning heading to Maryland.  We were both famished and didn’t have time to linger at a restaurant other than to stop at a Denny’s or a Perkins.  We choose this Perkins because in was located by a gas stop we had made.

The Perkins parking lot was empty so we figured the service would be fast and we would be on our way in shortly.

As we waited to be seated, we had the opportunity to look over the glass displays, which exhibited muffins and pies, and, in an area set off to the side, salads.  The salads looked great, I believe there were four;  An Italian themed, with big pieces of red onion, olives, cheese, an oriental salad, a Chef Salad and a Cobb themed salad displaying a big grilled chicken breast, four hard-boiled egg halves, strips of bacon, all topped off with a half of fresh avocado.

The menu offered the same salads, all at a premium price, around $10-$13.  However, the salads looked so good in the display case, I ordered the Cobb Salad with that half of fresh avocado.  My husband ordered the French dip with French fries.

When our lunch was served there wasn’t too much we could say: besides the server never came back to our table.  My husband was served a cup of brown gray with his French dip–not Au Jus;  and my salad was a bowl of finely chopped lettuce with a some indication that there might be an egg or a piece of chicken mixed in.  There was some brown avocado found, but nowhere near the amount promised. Actually I would be hard pressed to say the salad contain more than a few teaspoons of bacon.  It looked more like something you would feed a rabbit or use for fertilizer.

We left to pay our bill ( the server had dropped it off when she brought our meals) and proceeded to complain to the cashier about our food.  I think the cashier may have been the manager, because when I started to say I ordered the Cobb Salad with the half of avocado and I wasn’t expecting the salad they brought me,  she said “Yes I know. I think that it’s a waste of food to make those salads like that, look at all that bacon and chicken they use.  I told them to chop those salads up and that way it wouldn’t be wasteful”.

She missed the point that I was paying for a particular meal (as displayed) and I expected the meal I was paying for to be the meal I ordered.  If I wanted chopped greens, I would have ordered them. The conversation was going nowhere; it was useless to speak to her, as she didn’t see a problem.  Hence, I wrote to Perkins Corporate.

In the future, we may try Perkins again.  I know these are franchises and control goes to the owner. The restaurant may be Biker Friendly but it would be the type of place you would have to get up and get your own coffee. If more than two people roll in for a late lunch they may have issues getting good service.   Food may be good if you order something other than salad and French Dip.