Not to make us all feel old, but it’s been over ten years—and three strokes—since I first started reviewing local restaurants for The Lost Ogle. Health issues aside, I’d say it’s turned out pretty good!
During this decade of decadence, I’ve impishly chronicled hundreds of restaurants—the good, the bad, and the aesthetically and politically ugly—in a way that’s made me, and more importantly, us, better.
That said, time changes everything, and restaurants are no exception. What I wrote about a place in 2016 might not hold true today. With that in mind, I thought it would be fun to revisit some of the spots from my early stomps and see how they’re faring.
Which brings me to...
Naturally, I figured the perfect starting point for this revisionist journey would be the old-fashioned spot that started it all—your father’s grandfather’s favorite palace of comfort food: the fast-casual, country-style greasy spoon, Grandy’s.
For my 2014 review, I visited the N.E. 36th and Lincoln location.
As I remembered it, the place was like a dinner-based acid trip through the early 1970s, complete with checkerboard dish towels and ancient warming trays. The “post-apocalyptic” vibes were strong, but after indulging in the All-You-Can-Eat Livers and Gizzards dinner, I realized the end times were still a ways off.
Since then, Grandy’s has undergone some culinary puberty.
For starters, the N.E. 36th location is long gone. Worse still, the gizzards have vanished from the menu, replaced by a more hoity-toity approach to “country fixins.” To top it off, they’ve rolled out a new brand and logo, seemingly aimed at luring the old-timey Gen Y crowd into the fold.
For this revisitation, I ventured to the closest remaining Grandy’s at 5900 N.W. 39th St.
This Grandy’s—like I presume others—has been given a bit of a facelift, sporting a new look that feels more like a 1980s restaurant compared to the 1970s vibe of its predecessor. The addition of a digitized menu board makes ordering fast and easy.
If only fulfilling our order was equally a breeze.
The first time they got our sides wrong. When they brought the new sides out, they were also wrong. Finally, they brought the correct sides. About that time, we realized they gave me and the fiancée the wrong style of chicken meat. They also forgot our cinnamon roll.
Grandy’s, don’t ever change!
With our orders mostly sorted out, I returned to the fast-casual trough for a redux of the Single Country Fried Steak ($9.99). It came with white gravy, two sides—welcoming mashed potatoes and starchy mac and cheese—and, of course, the “famous” Grandy’s roll.
Right away, I noticed the personalized Grandy’s black foam plates were gone, replaced with generic white paper ones. A minor downgrade, but the chicken fried steak itself was still pretty passable. It had more breading than I remembered, but it paired well with the creamy potatoes and, naturally, the dependable roll.
My fiancée, on the other hand, had never been to Grandy’s. Sparing no culinary rite of passage, she opted for the 2-Piece Fried Chicken Meal ($9.99). Featuring two pieces of Southern-fried white meat chicken – that she wanted to be dark meat chicken – it also came with mashed potatoes, corn nuggets, and the obligatory Grandy’s roll.
To be fair, it wasn’t half bad. The corn nuggets—easily the best part of the meal—added a nice touch. The fried chicken itself was respectable, with just enough spice to keep things interesting. Overall, a decent meal.
Now, would I come back? Maybe—if it were part of some ten-year reunion of restaurants I’d reviewed—but probably not.
As I said, Grandy’s is your father’s grandfather’s favorite place to eat. And as a young, brash, and undeniably hip 46-year-old, I know it won’t be long before I’m ordering off the senior’s plate at a place like this. At least by then, the décor might have finally caught up to the late ’90s. Pass me the rolls!
Cómpralo ya… otra vez!
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Follow Louis Fowler on Instagram at @louisfowler78.
