10 Crappiest Restaurants to Try Before you Die

I cannot believe I am admitting this… we brought Chance to Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse for dinner last night. It was his 3rd birthday and I wanted to bring him somewhere close by, kid-friendly and somewhat entertaining. After a few minutes of research, I had my choices narrowed down to Vinny T’s, Bertucci’s, Pizzeria Uno or Bugaboo Creek… all within a 2 miles radius of our home.

We had yet to try Bugaboo – so I figured why not? I could finally check it off my list of the 10 Crappiest Restaurants to Try Before you Die*.

My first mistake was granting Chance his birthday wish by letting him eat one of those candy necklaces (in it’s entirety). The sugar high kicked in right as we arrived and lasted throughout the entire meal. If I disregard how Chance’s behavior affected my dining experience, then I would have to say that overall, our meal was not so bad.

Our waiter was very attentive the entire time — though the place was dead, with only a few tables taken. During our stay, we heard the staff sing Happy Birthday at least 3 times (not including for Chance), so obviously this is a big birthday celebration place for the Dedham crew. We thought this was kind of weird and a bit depressing.

We skipped appetizers and just nibbled on the oven-toasted bread. Chance enjoyed “Moxie” the talking moose, whose head was hung above the bar next to us. If you are a vegetarian or an animal rights activist, this is NOT the place for you. Dead animal heads (I assume real) are hung all over the place… giving me a queasy feeling and disdainful bitterness toward the people who killed them.

For dinner, I had the Grilled Shrimp, which were blackened and served with vegetables, mashed potatoes and fire-roasted tomato dipping sauce. They were surprisingly good. Dan had the Grilled Rainbow Trout with lemon pepper seasoning and the same side dishes as mine. He thought his meal was pretty good as well. My guess is that we were the only folks in the place not eating red meat, so considering there is less turnover of these entrees, I was surprised at their freshness.

Since it was Chance’s birthday, the staff came out, sang to him and presented him with a “piece” of birthday cake… which wound up being an entire Moulton Chocolate Cake covered in whipped cream and chocolate sauce (on the house). Even with all three of us taking tastes, most of it was left over.

Overall, somewhat enjoyable for each of us. Definitely kid-friendly, affordable (Chance’s buttered noodles were only $3.95) and decent food. Would I go back? No… too many dead animal carcasses and meat-centric meals.

*10 Crappiest Restaurants to Try Before you Die:

1. TGI Fridays a
2. Bennigan’s a
3. Chili’s a
4. Apple Bee’s a
5. Olive Garden a
6. Cracker Barrel a
7. Ruby Tuesdays a
8. Friendly’s a
9. Ninety Nine a
10. Bugaboo Creek Steakhouse a

I did it! Barely… but at least I never have to eat at these places again!!!