Review: O'Charley's (Louisville, Outer Loop)

I have been to O’Charley’s a few times in the past. It’snever been a place that I frequented often. Then again, I have always been moreattracted to what I call “genre’” food, than your typical everything place.But, one thing I have always remembered about O’Charley’s was a great Rueben Ihad there many years ago. It was with this thought in mind that I called up mybuddy Ken to propose dinner on a Sunday afternoon. I am not usually a fan ofdining out on Sunday because of the crowds, but we got there early enough thatwe were seated immediately. Unfortunately, I was extremely disappointed to findout that O’Charley’s does not serve a Rueben any more.Having set aside my disappointment, and being a huge fanof Chipotle, I opted to start my dinner with an order of their Chipotle BBQChicken Tenders. Ken decided to give the twisted chips a try. The tenders weretasty and fairly juicy, but the Chipotle sauce was mediocre at best. I am usedto a spicy, heat –driven chipotle, so once again I was a bit disappointed. Ken’stake on the twisted chips was that they were ‘alright.”
Decidedly in a sandwich mood, I found a somewhat adequatealternative to the Rueben I craved in the Philly Cheese Steak sub. The steakwas tender and succulent, with good flavor. Unfortunately, all the flavor hadbeen cooked out of the green peppers and onions; I could barely taste them. Andwhat’s more, when my sandwich made it to me, it was far from being piping hot.A Philly Cheese Steak is one of those foods that really is best served pipinghot. Lukewarm just doesn’t cut it. There was also the issue of how long it tookfor my sandwich to actually get to me. On top of that, the central air conditionfor the restaurant was malfunctioning according to the server.
On the topic of service, it was yet anotherdisappointment. Our server informed us that they were short-staffed. I find itincreasingly more annoying and agitating that restaurant managers continue toscale back on their labor as a cost-cutting plan. When you are in the foodbusiness, this is bad business. The server is the most important part of yourbusiness besides the food itself. I will eat every week at a hole in the walldive if the food is tasty and the service great, before I go to a chainrestaurant. Our server was overwhelmed, distracted, and obviously frustratedherself. The amount of time it took for us to meet our server, order food, eatfood and get our check, was at least 75% longer than it should have been.
Overall, the food was lackluster, the service wasinadequate, and the experience not worth the money spent. I doubt very much Iwill be returning there anytime soon. Needless to say, we didn’t even both withdessert.
Wolf’s Rating: * * ½
Ken’s Rating: * * *