J. Alexander's/Redlands Restaurant Review Fort Lasuderdale

@GreatMartin (23675)
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
July 1, 2022 5:56pm CST
If a review was based on just service Jessica would get 5 stars but this is a mixed review with my taking a lot of the blame for what I ordered. I haven't been to J. Alexander's since they changed the name of the restaurant to Redlands. I have been wondering what that was all about and decided to have lunch there today. It started with my knocking over a glass of water! (Never a good start!) Jessica immediately gave us another table. The menu didn't look much different emphasizing beef before the name change. Anticipating the answer, which I didn't want to hear, I asked the server if the Prime Rib came on the bone and the answer was"no." I still should have stayed with a beef choice. Looking over the menu I saw "Mr. Jack's crispy chicken platter South Carolina low country recipe with french fries and Southern cole slaw 23" and ever since my friend in North Carolina mentioned his cooking up a mess of fried chicken for dinner it has sort of been on the back of my mind so I decided to go with that but I should have asked if it came on the bone--it didn't! (On the check it was listed as 'chicken fingers'--if it had been listed like that I never would have ordered them!) Sorry but the whole dish was a big disappointment--from the very thin, tasteless f(small f)rench fries to a 'Southern cole slaw' and I have never tasted such a dry cole slaw while the 'breading' on the chicken was flavorless which is why I think they offered 2 different sauces in addition to the ketchup. Next time I will stick with beef and even though Allen's Filet Mignon was very small, and buried under the fries, he did say it was very tender and tasty. Last, but not least, anyone who knows me I would kill for a piece of carrot cake but the 'carrot cake' I was served is so bad I left half on the plate! Lunch cost, with tax and tip, $85. In the future I would rather stick with JMarks or the Quarterdeck for a good lunch! PS Still don't know why they changed/added the name to Redlands on the restaurant front unless it has to do with a business decision.
5 people like this
5 responses
@much2say (53942)
• Los Angeles, California
2 Jul 22
That lunch cost that much ? And oh man, I didn't think there was ever such a thing as bad carrot cake - for you to leave that much, it must've been pretty awful .
3 people like this
@GreatMartin (23675)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
2 Jul 22
Maybe if they called it something else I would have eaten it but---no--still pretty bad!
2 people like this
@much2say (53942)
• Los Angeles, California
5 Jul 22
@GreatMartin I just don't know how any baker could screw up carrot cake that badly .
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (460235)
• Switzerland
2 Jul 22
It is very expensive for a tasteless meal. Those French fries look horrible, wrong size, too dark, simply horrible.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (460235)
• Switzerland
3 Jul 22
@GreatMartin That is expensive for something you would have found (better) in a fast food.
2 people like this
@GreatMartin (23675)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
2 Jul 22
But $23 for chicken fingers!!!!
2 people like this
@xander6464 (40936)
• Wapello, Iowa
9 Jul 22
Flavorless chicken and bad carrot cake? That probably explains the name change. The corporate parent doesn't want to be associated with this location.
1 person likes this
@GreatMartin (23675)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
9 Jul 22
I just found out there is some sort of law regarding the number of a business using the same name for all their store--doesn't seem to affect McDonald's!!
1 person likes this
@GreatMartin (23675)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
16 Jul 22
@xander6464 Even good coffee wouldn't affect Starbucks!
1 person likes this
@xander6464 (40936)
• Wapello, Iowa
13 Jul 22
@GreatMartin It doesn't seem to affect Starbucks, either.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (74043)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
2 Jul 22
Now you know where not to eat and sorry it was such a bad lunch, That is some price tag for food that is not tasty, I think it should not be called Redlands but Badlands to keep people aways
2 people like this
@GreatMartin (23675)
• Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
3 Jul 22
I don't know how high restaurant prices are going to go up before they hit a ceiling or restaurants close because people can't afford to eat out!!!
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (158341)
• United States
3 Jul 22
That's a LOT of money for a disappointing lunch. We spent a little more than that for a LOT of good food at Red Lobster.
1 person likes this