Weekend at Blu Duby's II
Did you know that, typically, a movie sequel is guaranteed to make at least 1/2 of what the previous film made? That means, that if the 1989 cult-classic Weekend at Bernie's made over $30 million at the box office, why wouldn't you want to make a cheap sequel and pocket a cool $15 mil? But the real question should be, after seeing a bad movie, why would you go back for the sequel?! So why, after the Weekend at Blu Duby's review would I go back to Blu Duby again? The answer to both of these questions is poor judgement and peer-pressure (sounds like an after-school special). Looking back at Weekend at Blu Duby's, I started thinking that perhaps I was wrong...maybe my taste-buds were off (I was getting over a cold), I didn't have anything to drink (newborn at home), and I was tired (newborn, plus two others at home). Besides, my friends wanted to go. So, finishing-up a glass of wine, I put on my big-girl shoes and headed to the second location for the Blu Duby sequel.
Blu Duby still lists its extensive appetizers under the heading of "nosh" (why?! Were they watching Weekend at Bernie's when that seemed like a good idea?). The dinner menu is also overwhelming. The problem with the menu isn't that its varied, it's that it is poorly organized. Soups and salads should be together, pastas and seafood should each get their own section, and the big stars of the show--chicken, pork, lamb, steak--should appear at the end based on their price-point. It took a long time just to choose the wine because it was hard to narrow-down even what type of food to eat let alone which specific dish. One Reviewer enjoyed the escargot--not because snails are inherently good, but because they are served in a tureen of rich, buttery goodness. Phat Elvis enjoyed the pear salad and my Korean-style dumplings were tasty, though a bit on the salty side. At this point One Reviewer would like to mention that the water served during appetizers wasn't cold. So far, it seems we were getting our money's worth out of the sequel.
But then things started to fall apart (much like Weekend At Bernie's II when some crooks put a voodoo spell on the Bernie corpse and he seemingly moves and gets into mischief). Our table ordered a variety of dishes including the Crispy Skin Atlantic Salmon, the Walnut and Dried Fruit Supreme of Chicken, and the Strip-Sirloin Steak. For me, the chicken was a bit dry--the flavour was good but the savoury walnut and dried fruit compote had a more autumnal or Thanksgiving dinner flavour to it and it could have used a bit more sauce to tie the dish together. The crispy salmon was cut unevenly and parts of it would be better described as salmon jerky it was so over-cooked. Everyone liked their respective sides--Phat Elvis made a big deal about his quinoa--but the protein is supposed to be the star. And about the steak…unfortunately, the medium-rare was once again over-cooked--more of a medium to medium-well.
So we sent it back--which is awkward to begin with but when you’re dealing with steak, you gotta have the right cook! Unfortunately, the awkwardness was made worse when the waitress brought the new steak and said, "Well, the chef said it looked fine to her but she would cook you a new one anyway." <<SPIT-TAKE>> Awkward! On the plus side, the second steak was actually cooked perfectly and was delicious but it’s hard to enjoy your meal when you've waited thirty minutes for the re-cook and you’ve been made to feel like an idiot for sending it back. One Reviewer would like to comment that his second water was warm as well.
If you haven't walked out of the theatre or gone back to the Netflix menu by now, you plod ahead to dessert. Blu Duby makes a great cup of coffee and their in-house vanilla-bean cheesecake is velvety and smooth with probably the best crust I’ve ever had. After the steak-fiasco, they brought a complimentary piece of cheesecake as well. And while I was having the Londonlicious menu--which might have a smaller dessert, the free slice of cheesecake was a standard cake slice which made mine look like a three-bite miniature version. And I wouldn’t have been bothered by this had I not seen the size of the other one. One Reviewer and Phat Elvis' wife (Lil' Priscilla?!) enjoyed their ice cream and sorbet--particularly the raspberry sorbet--but complained that it had melted quite a bit. One Reviewer finished his meal with a third and final glass of warm water.
Overall, Blu Duby North works the way most sequels work--enough people enjoyed the first one to draw an audience (and their money) to a second one. I would probably go to Blu Duby again just like I would probably watch, begrudgingly, Weekend at Bernie's if it were on TV--there must be something on their endless menu that is better than the night I had! But for now, it's time to go somewhere new and finally put an end to Weekend at Bernie's.
Location: Blu Duby (745 Fanshawe Park West, London, ON)
Entree Cost: $20-$35
Number of Reviewers: 4
Value: $$
Overall: * * 1/2
Blu Duby still lists its extensive appetizers under the heading of "nosh" (why?! Were they watching Weekend at Bernie's when that seemed like a good idea?). The dinner menu is also overwhelming. The problem with the menu isn't that its varied, it's that it is poorly organized. Soups and salads should be together, pastas and seafood should each get their own section, and the big stars of the show--chicken, pork, lamb, steak--should appear at the end based on their price-point. It took a long time just to choose the wine because it was hard to narrow-down even what type of food to eat let alone which specific dish. One Reviewer enjoyed the escargot--not because snails are inherently good, but because they are served in a tureen of rich, buttery goodness. Phat Elvis enjoyed the pear salad and my Korean-style dumplings were tasty, though a bit on the salty side. At this point One Reviewer would like to mention that the water served during appetizers wasn't cold. So far, it seems we were getting our money's worth out of the sequel.
But then things started to fall apart (much like Weekend At Bernie's II when some crooks put a voodoo spell on the Bernie corpse and he seemingly moves and gets into mischief). Our table ordered a variety of dishes including the Crispy Skin Atlantic Salmon, the Walnut and Dried Fruit Supreme of Chicken, and the Strip-Sirloin Steak. For me, the chicken was a bit dry--the flavour was good but the savoury walnut and dried fruit compote had a more autumnal or Thanksgiving dinner flavour to it and it could have used a bit more sauce to tie the dish together. The crispy salmon was cut unevenly and parts of it would be better described as salmon jerky it was so over-cooked. Everyone liked their respective sides--Phat Elvis made a big deal about his quinoa--but the protein is supposed to be the star. And about the steak…unfortunately, the medium-rare was once again over-cooked--more of a medium to medium-well.
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| Steak Cooks (BTW we're not friends unless you order medium rare.) |
If you haven't walked out of the theatre or gone back to the Netflix menu by now, you plod ahead to dessert. Blu Duby makes a great cup of coffee and their in-house vanilla-bean cheesecake is velvety and smooth with probably the best crust I’ve ever had. After the steak-fiasco, they brought a complimentary piece of cheesecake as well. And while I was having the Londonlicious menu--which might have a smaller dessert, the free slice of cheesecake was a standard cake slice which made mine look like a three-bite miniature version. And I wouldn’t have been bothered by this had I not seen the size of the other one. One Reviewer and Phat Elvis' wife (Lil' Priscilla?!) enjoyed their ice cream and sorbet--particularly the raspberry sorbet--but complained that it had melted quite a bit. One Reviewer finished his meal with a third and final glass of warm water.
Overall, Blu Duby North works the way most sequels work--enough people enjoyed the first one to draw an audience (and their money) to a second one. I would probably go to Blu Duby again just like I would probably watch, begrudgingly, Weekend at Bernie's if it were on TV--there must be something on their endless menu that is better than the night I had! But for now, it's time to go somewhere new and finally put an end to Weekend at Bernie's.
Location: Blu Duby (745 Fanshawe Park West, London, ON)
Entree Cost: $20-$35
Number of Reviewers: 4
Value: $$
Overall: * * 1/2
It seems the author had a better experience then we did earlier this year. Dismal service. Before any wait staff came near, all our party had to be seated, 2 of us were early as well as the others being late, then it was at least 20 minutes wait once everyone was there before they even took a drink order. One of us ordered the quinoa and scallops, she could only eat the scallops because of the over salting of the dish. They kept trying to clear our plates while we were still eating our entrees, knives and forks in hand and still chewing.
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