I’ve got issues. Yes, I do and I’m going to start venting about them here. This is the time when I get to play part consultant, part BIA (business improvement association) and part consumer with disposable income.
Please indulge me and read on!
In the past I have posted about how stupid some store owners are and how they drive potential customers away by using stupid-signing practices. I’m going to hit up Google street view on Avenue Road in Toronto to try to find an example, but this is what I’m talking about…
Store. Looks like it might be a restaurant.
Giant sign above says, “5th avenue”.
I look at it. Look again, then drive past. WTF is 5th avenue? and why is the name 5th avenue so important that it takes precedence over something a little more relevant, say the word “restaurant”. Maybe even describe what kind of restaurant, like “Fusion”. Nope. “5th avenue”… So I would never go there. I don’t know what it is.
So take that into consideration when I describe what happened to us on Saturday.
We went on a few errands up north of the city and had a pretty tight timetable, when we saw a restaurant on the south-east corner of Dufferin Street and Steeles Avenue (for those of you playing along in Toronto or surrounding area) and what caught my eye and my wife’s eye was not the name of the restaurant, but the tag line under the name, which read, “The world’s best spring roll”.
Yum.
We talked about going there, hemmed, hawed, then decided to schlep the kids inside and partake in the world’s BEST spring roll. I mean you can’t advertise it if it isn’t true, right? Or if at least you think it to be true.
Now keep in mind, I’ve not travelled the world, so I have no freaking idea just where there rank in the world, let alone in Toronto. For all I know, they might just be that plaza’s best spring rolls – but with a tag line like that, how can you not check it out. I’m sure the owners have done their research – thinks skeptical me.
Once inside I announced to the poor employee standing there that we were entering his premises at 4:20pm on this Saturday for the world’s BEST spring roll and hopefully he won’t let us down. We come with mighty high expectations.
We checked out the menu – which was small and fast-food looking, only to notice that the pictures of the food look rather yummy, and although I had no idea whether it was cafeteria style or they come and serve you, we ordered at the cash, then went and plopped our asses down in a booth.
Here is what we ordered which was what they said was the best of the best – and very funny was my kids sitting at the table asking the server over and over when he was bringing D’crisp. I thought they were joking with him, until I took the card of the business and realized after that the name of the place was D’rollz;
d’crisp (lumpia goreng) Deep fried roll with chicken and bamboo shoot filling.
We also had a yummy rice / chicken / coconut dish that we had to eat RIGHT AWAY, before it got hard, and some crepes and a couple other things. Essentially 12 items for $22.00.
The food was very good, bordering on delicious, but here is the thing…
I HATE bamboo shoots, and everything had them inside. My kids also hate bamboo shoots with the exception of our daughter who ate pretty much everything until she tried the coconut/rice/chicken combo and realized too, that bamboo shoots suck.
So I ate anyways, and really enjoyed the d’crisp – bamboo shoots and all – and Linus (who must have been hungry) felt the same way, but poor Stewie held his ground and didn’t eat a thing until we were at the No Frills at Yonge and Steeles (gross) when he scarfed down a bagel.
So D’Rollz, which has every item on the menu starting with a “D'”did not have the “World’s best spring roll” in my opinion, nor in my wife’s opinion, but was totally worth the stop, especially in light of their other claim, that being the “only Indonesian restaurant in Ontario”.
I’m off to Google to disprove that. Done. Took 2.3 seconds for that claim to be shot full of holes. Maybe the owner doesn’t have Google?!?
🙂
But back to my original point to any potential store owner who is ordering a sign for their business… Tell us what it is that makes you great, then ram your brand down our throats. Had I noticed the name of this joint was “D’Rollz”, there was a zero percent chance I was going to go in. But that description made me go, and might make me go again.
I’m just saying…
The Urban Daddy® 