The remodel is complete - and with the old decor, so has gone the fabulous brunch that Scholars Inn used to have before the new chef arrived. My husband and I, fans of the old SI brunch, were eager to try it again after the three-month hiatus. We are native to Indy, but lived in Manhattan for a few years - the old brunch at SI was the only one in Indy that rivaled NY champagne brunch. It took 10 minutes for the host stand to figure out how and where to seat us, 10 minutes for anyone to greet us or to bring us water, and then we were told that they were out of the type of cocktail that we would have ordered. So far, not great, but forgivable. We ordered a cinnamon roll to start which was underdone but still fairly good. Then, the eggs arrived. Both of us ordered a variation of Eggs Benedict - a dish that consists of poached eggs, hollandaise sauce and other garnish. As a NY culinary school-trained working chef, I am well familiar with this dish and have prepared it and eaten it hundreds of times. The poached eggs arrived cooked through (in other words, we got hard boiled eggs). As a chef, I rarely send things back, but this was a special case. The server was very apologetic and said the kitchen would rectify the mistake immediately. Then the very young manager (her first gig?) came to my table and with an extremely quizzical look, asked if I had had a problem with the eggs. When I explained that I had, I received a lecture regarding food safety and was told that the chef prefers never to serve runny eggs. When I explained that runny was the only way that eggs were to be poached beyond a diner's request otherwise, I again received a terribly misinformed lecture about food safety. The redone eggs arrived at our table, only to be overcooked again. They did pick up the $15 check that we had amassed prior to the eggs, which was the only positive (besides the fabulous decor) of the entire experience. My advice? Go for drinks - that's it. So sad.
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