We got stuck behind a snowplow going 30 mph, driving up a windy and icy mountain road. 45 minutes (and one missed turn) after leaving Vail we pulled into the town or Red Cliff. Our hotel, the Green Bridge Inn, was the first building. (http://greenbridgeinn.com/)
Still donning layers of spandex and goretex, we headed to eat at Mango’s (http://www.mangosmountaingrill.com/), the only restaurant in town. The menu was varied, but nothing sounded very good. At length, I decided to order the Teriyaki Mahi. Some of you might be thinking “But Colorado is landlocked! Never order seafood in a landlocked state!” Well, you’re absolutely right. But I’ll get to that.
Michelle also ordered the Mahi. She picked it before I did, but I swear there wasn’t any collusion involved.
When the food arrived, fear coursed through my body. The mahi was tiny, the beans didn’t have a sauce and the garlic bread looked pretty burnt and stale. My fears were soon confirmed. I took a bite of the beans and nearly spit them out.
The waitress was nearby and explained that the beans were cooked on the grill. Hmmmmm… Out of sheer hunger, I choked the meal down. It was, without a doubt, the worst meal I have ever eaten at a restaurant. But the baked potato wasn’t half bad. Guess that’s hard to screw up.
At the hotel check-in (on the first floor inside the general store), a 50-something hippie awaited us. Long curly hair, bandana, jade necklace and all. He programmed our door code for room 33 (0933… very secure…), and we were in.
As we were entering, a couple was leaving and asked the hippie if there was food in town. He said “Mango’s is right across the street. It’s great!!!” I shared our recent experience and the desk clerk looked shocked.
At about 9 pm the phone rang. I answered, and it was the hippie. He said “I did some follow-up because I had to find out what happened with the mahi. You see, I was the cook there for 6 months, and the mahi is one of our best dishes. So I called over and here’s the deal. The cook is new and there wasn’t any mahi in the refrigerator, so he pulled some out of the freezer and put it right on the grill. But I’m really sorry you had a bad experience, because Mango’s is usually incredible.”
I found that interchange pretty humorous. I definitely appreciated his effort. It was quite unexpected.
The room was great. It was all built in August, so everything was practically new. There were two double beds, a flatscreen TV with a DVD player, and a stereo alarm clock with an iPod hookup. I was quite impressed that they had a DVD player and iPod compatible stereo. I’ve rarely been in a hotel with those amenities.
On Saturday we decided to stay at my friend Brig’s house in Longmont instead of the hotel. We called around 11 and asked if it was too late to cancel for that evening. The lady at the desk was incredibly kind and accommodating and said we could cancel the reservation and pick up our stuff whenever it was convenient.
We didn’t get off the mountain until late, and then we lounged around Lionshead Village for a bit. When we finally got back to the hotel it was around 7. We decided to check with the front desk again to make sure that we wouldn’t have to pay a penalty at all, and the lady was so nice. The hippy was there too.
As we thanked her for her flexibility, she added “Plus, I was really sorry to hear about the bad experience you had at Mango’s last night. I’ll send you a coupon for a discount on your next stay.” Even she had heard about the Mango’s incident! I was a little embarrassed, to be honest. I’m a little picky about food but I’m not one to complain. The whole town knew that we had a bad meal at Mango’s!!
Lessons learned? The hotel was great. The staff was nice and the rooms were new, clean and well-equipped. Just stay away from Mango’s!
3 comments:
LOL. I haven't tried Mangos, but did I tell you about the time I bought 5 lbs of tilapia and it was disgusting? No matter how I cooked it? My sympathies.
(hippie is spelled with an "ie")
i'm sorry to hear about the bad experience at mango's.
i, too, went through a self-destructive phase where i'd order things like a baked chicken breasts at a bad diner. next time you crave mahi from mango's...get help.
you stayed in a hotel room with a girl? derek, derek, derek, did I not teach you anything??? we need to talk.
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