Biscuits and Gravy Review : The Dash-In

The Dash-In has been around for at least twenty years. They sell over-priced sammiches at lunch and host live music in the evenings. You're almost guaranteed to see a hipster or two inside wearing flannel*. A full order of biscuits and gravy is a whopping eight bucks so I broke my own rule and just ordered a halfsie for a still whopping $4. And then I waited.

And waited.

And waited some more. It took twelve minutes before my food arrived and that place was NOT busy. There were other patrons, sure, but the place was far from capacity. I suppose one could Dash-In but you aren't going to be Dashing-Out any time soon.

When they finally brought my vittles this is what I got. Pretty, yes? The green onions are a nice touch, giving a nice zing of flavor when you chance upon one. That's about the only positive thing I can say. The biscuit, while large and homemade, had not been warmed. It tasted okay, though, and had a good non-gummy consistency. Slap some butter on it and throw it on the grill and it might have been the bomb-diggity.

As for the gravy, well, maybe my order had sat for a while waiting to be delivered to my table but it was barely past the warm stage. I think I had one bite that could be characterized as "hot." The meat was of a decent amount but it was pink/grey and had a strange texture. Maybe, being a hipster place, it was free-range goat meat. For as cold as it was I'm surprised that the gravy was not gelatinous, but it had an okay flavor with just a hint of spice. It was skimpy in volume, although I was able to make it stretch for the whole meal. Overall it was a disappointing experience and I'm glad I didn't throw away eight hard-earned dollars.

Biscuits - 4
Gravy - 4
Value - 3
Service - 2
GRAND TOTAL - 3.25

As far as I know this will be the last Biscuits and Gravy review, unless some other place downtown adds them to their menu. It's been a good, albeit brief, run.

So how are they ranked?

Arbys : 7.25
Comfort Food Cafe : 7.0
Cindy's Diner : 6.75
Revitalize Health Bar : 5.25
City View Cafe : 4.75
Dash-In : 3.25

That's a little embarrassing... a fast food place won. Keep in mind that this ranking includes service and value. But what if I was rich and had ample time and ranked them based on just the food?

Cindy's Diner : 6.5
City View Cafe : 6.0
Arbys : 6.0
Comfort Food Cafe : 5.5
Revitalize Health Bar : 4.5
Dash-In : 4.0

That's a bit better. I've actually had a hankerin' for more B&G from City View and Comfort Food Cafe**, which in my mind speaks volumes for the quality of their food.

* Back in the late 90s, before there were hipsters, you would see guys wearing flannel shirts and whatever else was trendy with grunge fans. I guess they were hipsters before hipsters became hip.

** Until I went back and looked a the vomitous picture of Comfort Foods Barfcuits and Gravy. It really is somewhat off-putting.

Biscuits and Gravy Review : Revitalize Health Bar

The Revitalize Health Bar is a very small cafe located on the ground floor of an office building. There's no seating in the cafe but you can sit at a table in the building lobby or outside, if you so desire. They normally serve smoothies and gluten free toast with almond butter but in the morning one can also get an order of biscuits and gravy*. I wasn't sure what to expect from a place that uses wheat grass in their food... Healthy biscuits and gravy?!?

The services was very quick! I placed my order, two biscuits were popped into the microwave for what seemed like ten seconds, and then they were topped with what looked like too little gravy. They were done preparing my food before the credit card machine approved my purchase! The cost was $4.95... no tax?

I'll start by saying that this isn't health food. There was no sprinkling of bean sprouts, no gluten free biscuits, no soy-based meat alternative. Nope. This is your basic, standard, no-frills biscuits and gravy. I have no idea why they serve them except there must be in demand**.

The biscuits were not homemade and were gummy. Definitely sub-par. The gravy, however, was good. It had a nice consistency, didn't gum up before I was done eating, and was actually just plentiful enough to last (although there could have always been more). There was an adequate amount of non-crisped sausage and it was in small enough pieces as to be non-obtrusive, adding a nice flavor. I wouldn't say the gravy was packed with flavor, though. It was just, well, adequate. I doubt it was made from scratch but it didn't have a goopy "I'M FROM A CAN" consistency.

Biscuits - 3
Gravy - 6
Value - 5
Service - 7
GRAND TOTAL - 5.25

All in all, these are an amazingly average serving. Nothing stands out, nothing really detracts.

* Except in the summer months. Apparently healthy eaters don't eat B&G during the summer.

** Except in the summer months. Apparently healthy eaters don't eat B&G during the summer.