Flashbacks, in a strip mall (ain't they all?) at Shelbyville Road and Southport Road, has been open for a couple months in the space where Brandon's was. The location is surrounded by residential subdivisions for several miles around, so it is quite an alcohol oasis amid the great suburban-sprawl wasteland that is most of Franklin Township. The layout is basically the same as Brandon's but they've renovated it nicely, with a kind of faux-marble floor instead of just concrete, and all the exposed duct work has been painted glossy black, along with other touches which give the place a slightly more elegant look. I met Mike, one of the owners, and he seems to be a nice, really sharp guy. There is a lot of old Franklin Township High School Flashes memorabilia on the walls, which may be the source of the Flashbacks name, I suppose. The decor is understated and not overwhelming so I felt really comfortable in the new place. The drink prices are decent but not a bargain, and the food is your basic pub grub but very decent, too. They have a good selection of draft beers, and an actual wine list(!) I've heard the pizza is especially good there, but have yet to sample it. My bro-in-law (see his guest review of Vito Provolone's, below) absolutely loves the French Dip here. Yet another reason to go back it is, young Skywalker....
UPDATE: 12/27/2012-- I went there for a family member's birthday celebration (there were 8 of us) and was totally disappointed, sorry to say. The birthday boy loved this place, raved about its French Dip sandwich, said the meat was marinated so well and the generous cup of u jus was so tasty he would drink what was left after dipping his sandwich. Well when his sandwich came this time, it was smaller than anyone remembered, was not as tasty, and the cup of au jus was tiny, not enough to even dip the sandwich. My tenderloin was decent but nothing special.... When they brought the food, another person in our party, who had ordered the exact same thing I did, did not get her food until like 15 minutes after the rest of us. On top of that, one of our party paid for her own meal with cash and yet her bill was added onto the host's check, charging us twice for the same meal. I dunno if that was intentional or just incompetent, as the wait staff seemed generally clueless. I did not see any of the place's owners there, which was unusual, so maybe they suffered from a lack of supervision. There was no excuse for the apparent downsizing of the French Dip, though. I still enjoyed the relaxed ambiance there, so I'll give 'em a second chance, but only one. ;-)
UPDATE: 12/27/2012-- I went there for a family member's birthday celebration (there were 8 of us) and was totally disappointed, sorry to say. The birthday boy loved this place, raved about its French Dip sandwich, said the meat was marinated so well and the generous cup of u jus was so tasty he would drink what was left after dipping his sandwich. Well when his sandwich came this time, it was smaller than anyone remembered, was not as tasty, and the cup of au jus was tiny, not enough to even dip the sandwich. My tenderloin was decent but nothing special.... When they brought the food, another person in our party, who had ordered the exact same thing I did, did not get her food until like 15 minutes after the rest of us. On top of that, one of our party paid for her own meal with cash and yet her bill was added onto the host's check, charging us twice for the same meal. I dunno if that was intentional or just incompetent, as the wait staff seemed generally clueless. I did not see any of the place's owners there, which was unusual, so maybe they suffered from a lack of supervision. There was no excuse for the apparent downsizing of the French Dip, though. I still enjoyed the relaxed ambiance there, so I'll give 'em a second chance, but only one. ;-)
No comments:
Post a Comment