You must not have gone to the same restaurant that we did. Maybe you ordered wrong. There were so many great specials, and yet you ordered a fried chicken sandwich? How can you review a restaurant based on that one fast-food meal? We enjoyed excellent service and delicious authentic Greek food. I had a very nice Greek salad, and my husband liked the moussaka. The baklava was the best I have had since I was actually in Greece! The portions were gigantic; more than enough to take home for another meal. Please give them another try and don't order a chicken sandwich. If you are in the mood for that, well Chick-Fil-A is right across the street, and that's the best chicken sandwich anywhere.

Wow, kind of bad when a restaurant can't even get one of the most basic dishes right! I hope it's just a matter of being new, but it sounds like the whole experience was bad. Maybe they'll improve in time?

I would suggest going and trying it for yourself Sarah. I have had nothing but a positive experience while there, the writer may have come at a time the cook on duty was having a bad day.

When I try a new place, I try them a minimum of three times. If the experiences are bad for the most part, then I'll write it off.

BTW - one thing I do agree with the writer on - the Tiramasu dessert was AWESOME!

Diana, I completely understand that the chicken sandwich was a safe choice, but I've been burned by these diners before and tried different dishes then. I was honestly giving them a chance with such an easy dish, as Sarah pointed out, and ultimately it was the appetizer's fail that urged me to order the chicken sandwich. And I did write this as an opinion piece--I am no restaurant critic though I'd like to believe I know food quite well--and my opinion was that I was left unsatisfied (although, Michael, you're right! That tiramisu almost saved the entire meal!)
I appreciate your love for the restaurant and perhaps it is loyal customers like yourself that will keep the diner in business. Thanks for reading!

Lindsay, I would hope you would give them at least another shot. They've been open a couple months now, and every time I go by or go to eat, they are packed. Can't be screwing up as bad as your experience was on a consistent basis and maintain that level a business, even being new.

Being a fellow foodie, I also look at my visits to restaurants and the meals I have with a critical eye. Especially if I particularly enjoy it, I'll try to decipher exactly what went into making it, from seasonings to technique, so I can try to duplicate it at home.

Looking forward to reading your future posts. Perhaps a visit to the new Highlander over by the Enterprise rental office on Douglasville Boulevard?

L - I did enjoy reading your blog and hope you weren't upset that I didn't agree with it. I truly was just surprised and disappointed by your experience.

I understand the "playing it safe"" route. I seldom go to a restaurant until at least 1 of my friends has eaten there and survived. I also rely on Yelp! a lot. That's what keeps chains in business:people know that when they walk thru the golden arches, they will have the same food that they could get at any other McD's, No one wants to waste their limited dining $ on a bad meal! However, there is nothing like the thrill of going into an unknown restaurant and finding a real gem.

D'Ville is lacking uniqueness. It could be any town anywhere.I love towns like Decatur where the chain is practically non-existent. Decatur is quirky, eclectic, funky, and just downright adorable. Even nearby Carrollton has developed its own unique charm, particularly around the square. I would like us to encourage more local/regional eateries around here. If there were a few more Gumbeaux's-type places nearby, I would be truly happy.

My challenge: go once more, and try one of the specials. Let the cook/chef show out a little. If you like it, write an encouraging blog about your experience.Your words, whether they are written as a blogger or as a critic, have power. Had I read your blog first, I would probably never have gone to DD. Multiply that by your readership, and we may wind up with yet another empty building. Happy eating!

Diana, I'm just curious - are you somehow affiliated with the diner?

I completely agree about Douglasville needing some uniqueness, but the restaurant has some responsibility too, and I doubt Lindsay had any malicious intent when posting this. You're forgetting the food wasn't the only bad part of her experience. I also know people just have different tastes and expectations. Instead of trying to get to her post something positive about something she was not happy with, why not post your own rebuttal like the guys did below with the gang activity/ICP posts? Just click on "Want to Blog on Patch?"

So sorry. I didn't realize I was not allowed to comment on the blogs. Thanks for letting me know; I will now unsubscribe from the newsletter so as not to offer any more of my insight to the bloggers. And no, I am in no way affiliated with the diner. Good grief!

Diana, you seemed to have such a strong interest in the success of the diner, I thought you might like a chance to write about your own experience and was encouraging you to do so. I'm sorry you misunderstood my meaning. Enjoy your day!

When i get poor quality service, I don't tip. When i get poor quality food, I tell the server and ask for another dish. A talk with the manager is always a good thing. Most managers want feed back. They want your business. Unless, you go to one of those Kitchen Nightmares type places! Maybe you should submit them for the TV show. That would put Douglasville on the map.

FYI: Those amazing desserts at Douglasville Diner & Marietta Diner are made by Alpine Bakery in Alpharetta: http://alpinebakeryandtrattoria.com/bakery/

And speaking of Marietta Diner, I have to recommend PastaBella in Austell, which is owned by the same people - it's one of my all-time favorite restaurants; I eat there whenever I'm in the area. If you go, try their seafood bisque.

Lisa, I understand they are crowded-they were slightly crowded when we went (it wasn't peak lunch time)-and although I am sure those commenting so HAVE had pleasant experiences there, I cannot applaud mediocrity, if that. And I've also discussed the diner with several people as well and they had similar negative experiences. Not the service, I have to stress, the food quality. And we actually asked the server if they knew whether or not the business is a type of franchise of these other diners, and she told us that it was. Either way, I didn't find anything there other than the desserts, which are made elsewhere, that made me think any different. Thank you for reading and I have enjoyed all of your comments!

The Diner had been opened about four weeks. Time to get things tweaked. The server was very nice. The remainder of the experience was not very nice.

They do need to get their Customer Service in order

So,,,is this the state of today's journalism? People obsess in blogs. People diss a restaurant that probably won't survive. A person talks of redemption through his own prism of religion. A real housewife thinks she is a real housewife.....?? People claim to be Constitutional experts.

Got to make you wonder????

LeeR, thanks for following Patch for so long and commenting. I should point out, however, that the blogging on our site is not meant to be journalism. For us older folk, it's like the editorial page; meant to be a place where the community can talk freely and openly. The articles labeled news are journalism.

Thanks for the clarification John. We're now a decade into the 21st Century, and a murkiness has muddied the line between journalistic fact and opinion. I think as long as we are all aware of that, we will be fine, but if opinion and innuendo are perceived or disguised as journalism, the core of the information age becomes morally bankrupt.

Lindsay Millett:

Based on your "review" YOU are partially to blame for your experience

Send food back, complain to the manager, refuse to pay for unacceptable food. If you cannot get satisfaction from the staff and management AFTER pointing out a problem then go crazy telling the world because you did everything you could to ensure you had a good experience.

Yes, I expect every business to aspire to offer a product or service that exceeds my expectations on the first try. However, I understand that this is an imperfect world and on occasion problems will occur. I am not perfect and I do not expect perfection from others.

If you are served unacceptable food and do nothing about it other than not eat it, then why would you come on something like Patch and complain? If you were so unmoved to react while actually in the establishment - where the staff could have done something to correct the problems - why come on here and complain?

continued:

This little bit of personal opinion will be on this website and linked to every story here that mentions the Douglasville Dinner giving this restaurant a black eye over and over again. Since your ability to objectively review this restaurant is hampered by your "ball and chain's" previous bad experience with the ownership, I guess that you accomplished your actual mission. Way to go!

If you have never had a bad experience at such fine food establishments such as O'Charley's, then you must not eat out much.

All in all, your post is a disgrace. It embarrasses me to see my hometowns name on this website after reading it. I would suggest maybe starting a different, much smaller blog and changing the name to possibly the I Hate The Douglasville Diner.

NOTE: I am not involved in any way with the ownership or operation of the Douglasville Diner. I have eaten there twice in the last week and was impressed by the food and service both times. I found the decor no more or less attractive than the wonderful chain restaurants that you prefer. I guess that the biggest difference is that my wife is not a disgruntled former employee.

When I wrote this blog entry I did not expect this much feedback, let alone any feedback at all. And while I'm not pleased with my hometown's diner. I am pleased to see my fellow Douglasvillians strongly defend an establishment they enjoy so much. I'd like to clear up the fact that I "don't eat out much" - on the contrary I've lived in this town my whole life (save when I went to college) and have probably eaten at every dining establishment in Douglas County. My choices of course have narrowed, as they will when I find a place or two that meet my expectations. Also Why would I complain to avoid paying? I asked for a service and I paid for it (with both my wallet & my taste buds). And as for "ulterior motives", that is just banter. I chose a variety of items: a Mexican appetizer, an American & Greek meal & two Italian desserts, I thought it was fair to do this and yet still was not pleased. My blog did not have malicious intent: I praised the service, parts of the meal and especially those desserts. But I stick to my opinion - as everyone should their own - That this diner was not up to my expectations. Again, thank you all for reading.

Actually, and this will be my last reply (because, seriously, you're beating a dead horse), she left on good standing with the Macon Diner. Please try to move past this. And if my post is not up to your expectations, maybe you could start writing some blogs yourself? All you do, as Sarah pointed out, is click "Want To Blog On Patch?" and start writing! Take this energy you're using on commenting negatively so frequently on the Patch and write something of your own. You can even blog about how you love the diner!

Cynthia.....I'm sorry I didn't respond right away. I was actually doing this and that getting next week's column ready here at Patch. Your comment wasn't confusing regarding the line of seperation between Douglasville Diner and the Marietta Diner folks. The original posting (2nd paragraph) lumped them all together and for someone who didn't know they might assume they were all one and the same.

Fred, you seem to be bringing up her wife quite a bit and the fact that YOU won't let it go makes me think you have an ax to grind against the gay community in Douglasville. Or maybe just lesbians. perhaps you don't want to support the diner as much as you'd like to make this woman and her wife feel as though they are not welcome here. About taking this thread down, every non-chain restaurant will have to deal with critics and if they cannot stand under the weight of criticism then they will not last. That is just a part of the business.

I've stopped by the diner twice in the last week. Both times were to go. The first time I ordered a classic steak philly with onion rings (wife's favorite), and I tried the gyro philly with pepperocinis instead green peppers with onion rings. Both by the way were phenomenal. Not done exactly in the traditional sense (originally a Pennsylvania resident), but pretty good nonetheless.

What impressed me was our waitress, who works behind the bar, not only was she very warm and a delight to chat with but she checked through the orders when they were brought out. She saw that the kitchen messed up and forgot to exchange the green peppers for mushrooms on my wife's sandwich. She immediately sent it back to have the whole order done over.

Yes - it took longer, but I didn't mind waiting the extra time when in comparison, if had I driven the 8 miles home, gotten settled in and my wife would have found a sandwich she would not have enjoyed (does not like green peppers AT ALL), I would have been REALLY put out.

My next visit, I ordered the greek omelette for myself, and my wife got the chef's salad with bacon added. It all came out fast, order perfect, service great, had same waitress who remembered me by name, and when I got the meals home, thoroughly enjoyed them. I highly recommend the greek omelette. There was SO MUCH salad, my wife had half for dinner last night, and the other half for lunch about an hour ago.

To wrap this up I have to saw WOW on their coffee.

While I am at this point wondering if I should bother commenting...as there seem to be too many people going after the person blogging, instead of just posting their own personal "positive" experience. Which would give others the other side of the story and encourage them to try it personally. I too would like to see this establishment succeed as we have lost too many in our county already. However, My experience at the DD was mediocre at best. I will admit to not trying the desserts...which I will now be encouraged to do. As I agree that we usually have to give a second chance to most places. I have been to the new Highlander Tavern and both times have been very impressed with the food and service and staff. Not sure they will survive because they are not in the best location, but certainly hope they do.

Just a quick note....I was there with my family last night and I noticed that the guy at the next table was drinking a beer. So, apparently they DO have alcohol now.

Mr. Roberts:

Wow.

It was not until I was writing my first post in this thread that I even picked up on the orientation of Ms. Millett (it was kind of a 'wait, what?' moment, but I simply moved on). She was the one who used the terms the I quoted. In my last direct response to her in this thread I never even mentioned anything about her wife. All of my comments have been directed at the possible bias against the Diner Ms. Millett & her wife appear to have and the way in which Ms Millett did nothing while in the Diner to correct her problems with the food.

I have no idea about your 'sentence' that starts, "perhaps (sic) you don't...", even means.

As far as critical pieces on Patch; this website is trying to become a type of web portal / news consolidator for Douglasville. At least that is what the About Us says. However, it does seem to be devolving into a conglomeration of personal blogs rather than facts about the community. A trained journalist's article about a bad experience at a restaurant would be helpful to the general public. A personal screed such as this original article is not.

All the back and forth about the Diner and you come away with issues about sexual orientation. If anything, YOU appear to have an axe to grind in the area of the gay community in Douglasville.

They also have a nice selection of Woodbridge wines

First of all let me state that I was hoping to be able to comment and interact regarding actual news stories here at Patch. Unfortunately, all I’ve see offered of late is a series of written pieces I don’t even want to refer to as blogs because there are so many valid, well written blogs on the Internet to enjoy. I see very little of that with the Patch blogs.

Fred, I certainly agree with you regarding the expectations here at Patch. They are lacking and it’s disappointing. Where is the real news?

Lindsay, you had a mission or two here. It’s obvious, and it didn’t exactly go your way.

You mention early in your piece you were headed to O’Charleys, when your “ball and chain” wanted to try the diner. Then you switch gears and provide the reasons behind your food choices had to do with your “planned” restaurant review. Which was it? Planned or not a public blog piece attacking a business not only jeopardizes the business owners, but can have an effect on every employee’s livelihood as well. You should realize this since the “ball and chain” is a server.

Don’t you profess to be a “freelance writer” on Facebook? If you are, then it would make sense to do a little homework regarding the place you want to review. Your paragraph regarding the various diners is little misleading to the reader. Why string together a series of businesses that only happen to share the word “diner” in their name? The only two that are connected are D’ville Diner and the one in Carrollton. You did not research and one can only assume from your your own words that you thought they were all related.

Why mention in the same paragraph embarrassing details regarding the location in Macon? Oh yes, “the ball and chain” worked there. Does she also work at O’Charleys now since you kept directing the reader to go there as a better choice?

I never once got the impression Fred or anyone else here made a negative reference to your living arrangements or personal choices. You made reference to “your wife” and “the ball and chain” more than once so, I have to assume you wanted the situation to be noticed since your picture was there, and I have to take pause when I notice the only one who brought it forward was Steven Roberts, a friend of yours on Facebook, right? Did you not get the comments you anticipated? Were you a bit disappointed when the supposedly straight-laced Douglasville folks didn’t take the bait and do a little gay bashing.

It was interesting to note the flow of the comments, and once you had people that disagreed with you, you folded your tent and went home. Even those associated with Patch stated if we disagreed we should just blog ourselves. In most blogging circles comments are welcomed. Folks who comment are not told to go start a blog. A blog is actually a two-way dialogue between reader and writer. If you are going to be Patch blogger then be prepared to accept responsibility for what you put out there.

Post all the negative things you want to about Douglasville. Make fun of people and attempt to become the next blog star just be prepared because when you put yourself out there in the public eye on a website where people can react – they will react and it won’t always be the way you want them to.

You people take yourselves far too seriously. It's just a blog! A blog about the writer's experience in a restaurant. Have none of you ever had a bad dining experience & then told all of your friends about it? I would hate to see how harsh some of you could be if you were offended by a blog written on actual issues in our world today.
Basically, all I'm trying to say is cut Lindsay some slack, grow up, and stop being so critical of criticism.

I’ve clicked on and off this comment three different times in the last hour, and it keeps calling me back I can’t leave it alone and go off to bed.

“People don’t have to read if they don’t agree.”

Myra, my weekly column here at Douglasville Patch isn’t my only “gig”. I have been blogging since 2006 fairly successfully with two major blogs carrying advertisements and numerous subscriptions, plus three additional sites I just piddle with. I write to teach, to share, and sometimes I even write just for me, but I never write with the notion that if people don’t like what I’ve written they shouldn’t read me.

Are you only writing and hitting the “submit” button for folks who agree with you and hang the rest? Blogging isn’t just about the writer. Blogging is a relationship between the writer and the reader and you have to understand unless you have your own domain and the ability to close your site to people of your choosing your writing will be read by folks who agree and those who don’t, and they both have the freedom to comment. Some of my worst critics have actually made me a better writer.

Various opinions….even those I don’t agree with are part of the debate.

OMG, I started reading this last night and couldn't stop! Just wished I had popped a bag of popcorn before I started. Who says Dville's not exciting? :)

Thanks Bill, I think that was the best post yet!

Welcome to Topix-lite everyone!

I, for one, enjoy the honest feedback by Lindsey on her experiences on the Diner. I haven't been to the Diner: mainly so others can be the guinea pigs on new places (got burned by that place that use to be in Smokey Bones-yuck). I didn't get the feeling that there was any hidden agenda because of past experiences with employment, or for any other reason. Everyone who has worked in the food service industry knows how things should work and have incite that others may or may not normally have. Bringing the quality of the food up to mgmt would have been a good way to also test the responsiveness of management. To me that says a lot about the restaurant in the way managers handle those situations (I had a terrible experience with Texas Roadhouse on that front, but I'm not posting to bash them) I also think the follow-up comments regarding good experiences were also helpful and possibly indicate maybe this was an isolated experience and may be worth checking out. Obviously, the post was successful as it got some people to share their experiences on the restaurant which I think was the whole point. The comments regarding other motives, sexual orientations, etc. are just silly and I think were made just to get a rise out of some folks. I look forward to other posts on reviews of Highlanders (have heard mixed reviews so far) so I don't have to be the first to try it out. Keep it up.

@Myra-my post is older than your newest post...I think you can get well past my amount of comments (and I didn't mean to put TWO comments, I just NOW read your reply to Bill's post, I'm not trying to up my number hahaha) but I enjoyed yours very much! I tried to put a little humor into mine, but your humor I think is read a lot better. Keep writing, PLEASE!

I had a similar experience as Lindsey, but since I've only been once I didn't want to judge too harshly. However, I just ran across their reviews from Urban Spoon and apparently they still don't have their act together.

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/9/1596758/restaurant/Atlanta/Douglasville-Diner-Douglasville

Just two words for everyone. Five Guys. Best Burger Joint ever. You can watch them make the burgers after you order, but the best thing are the fries. I was estatic when they came to Douglasville. For anyone who uses Foursquare, I'm the mayor of the Douglasville five guys and you will never get my title.
http://douglasville.patch.com/listings/five-guys-burgers-and-fries-86
https://foursquare.com/v/five-guys-burgers--fries/4ae79cbcf964a520d1ac21e3