Larry B's is a little diner at 617 State Street, where the former Tokyo Express used to reside. They serve breakfast, lunch and dinner and are open from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, Saturdays 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to close. Their grand opening was Feb. 8 but it was anything but \grand."" When I walked inside the atmosphere was chaotic to say the least. I noticed right away they had four people on staff---a waitress, a busboy, a cook and the manager. All the tables were either full or covered in dirty dishes when I arrived so I decided to clear a spot at the bar (which wasn't any cleaner). I swept up bread crumbs and pushed used silverware, napkins and dishes away from my area
After it was semi-clean, I perused the menu and was very pleased with the affordable prices. Sandwiches ranged from $4.25 to $6.95, while burgers were in the $5.25 to $6.75 price range, depending on size. Both came with a pickle and your choice of fries or a side salad. A variety of soups and salads were also listed, along with a medley of vegetarian choices.
I waited about 10 minutes for the waitress to take my order. She never came. Lo and behold, I decided to place my order at the register since this seemed to be the trend with a few other customers who looked as confused as I did. Normally a server would take your order however, since the waitress seemed to be running frantically all over, the owner was taking orders at the register.
As I began to tell him what I wanted, he told the people behind me in line that I was the last one that would be served that night. They did not have enough staff to keep up with the amount of orders being placed. More people continued to walk in and get turned away. It was only 7:00 p.m.-probably not the best thing for business.
After I ordered, I went back to my bar stool and surveyed the restaurant d??cor. It was fabulous. There were several pictures along the walls of famous musicians, such as Frank Sinatra and Louis Armstrong. More jazz pictures could be found underneath the glass-covered bar, some in color and others in black and white. From my observations, I concluded they were striving for a classy '50s style diner with a jazz and blues flair.
A few notes from a saxophone began to play over the speakers but stopped abruptly. I was not too happy about this. All good restaurants provide music along with your meal because it allows for a great atmosphere and a pleasant dining experience.
About 20 minutes passed, and still no food. The cook asked if I was waiting for my bill. I told her I was waiting on my dinner and caught her by surprise. They forgot my order. She apologized and gave it to me ""on the house"" because of the extra-long wait.
After everything thus far had gone wrong I did not expect much from the food. Yet it proved to be delicious. My hot ham and cheese sandwich was served on a nice buttery piece of toast and was stacked with a piece of crunchy lettuce and a tomato slice. The cheeseburger was sumptuous as well. It was cooked at about medium well and done to perfection-not too greasy and not too dry. The crisp lettuce, tomato and onion only added to this culinary delight. Aside from my cheeseburger, what would a well-balanced meal be without a side of fries? I ordered curly fries but received steak fries by mistake. They were fat mushy wedges, just the way I like them, although they needed to be doused with salt. I also ordered a side salad and a cup of tortellini vegetable soup, but those never came.
When I finished eating, I noticed that all the tables were still laden with dirty dishes, food remains and tips that had never been collected. By this time I thought they would have been cleared, considering at that point they hadn't been serving anyone for about 30 minutes. This bothered me because there was no reason for this sort of mess.
I think Larry B's has the potential to be great, but would have run a lot more smoothly if it had postponed its opening day and waited until they had a full staff at hand. The food was great, the prices were cheap and the employees were friendly, but the service and atmosphere was a disaster. I would wait a week or two until things calm down and the chaos is restored to order.
