BIG MISTAKE! If I could rate Salty’s on Alki a “minus 99” I would. We arrived early for our Thanksgiving buffet reservation to ensure we would be seated on time. A couple barged-in ahead of us and asked the hostess if they could be seated even though they didn’t have a reservation. The hostess replied with a smile, “Sure!” They were seated right away and were going through the buffet line while we were still waiting in the extremely cold, cramped, and disorganized “waiting area” for 45 min past our “reserved” time. Finally, we were shown to our table, but had to wait another 20 min before our “server” acknowledged our existence and gave permission enter the buffet area. I searched for the advertised Snow Crab and finally asked a staff person where it was. She replied, “I guess we don’t have any” and walked away. Disappointed, I placed some stuffing (with lord-knows-what in it) and cold mashed potatoes on one of the few clean plates I could find, and tried to obtain some turkey at the “carving station”. I asked the attendant for a piece of turkey breast and pointed to the sad-looking piece of carrion that once was a turkey (I think). Instead of carving a slice of meat from the bird, the attendant sliced a rubbery piece of “turkey product” from a “loaf” and put it on my plate. When I nicely stated that I also would like a piece of breast meat carved from the bird itself, the surly attendant replied “It’s all the same…it’s breast!” and turned his attention to the next person in line. When I asked for prime rib, the attendant used his FINGERS to pick up a scrap of pre-cut, gristle-laden “meat” and placed it on my plate as if it were a “sacred offering”. When I asked for a piece carved from the rib itself, the attendant REFUSED and said “that’s all I’m going to give you”. I did my best to choke down the “turkey product” in between spitting pieces of gristle into my napkin. I tried the stuffing, only to find a large piece of bone and other foreign objects therein. The prime rib was, of course, full of gristle and inedible. I gave up on eating any kind of meat, potatoes, or stuffing, and decided to try the deserts: the red velvet cake was hard as a rock, mostly icing, and tasted like something airlines served years ago (it tasted like it was several years old, too); the “home baked” cookies left me wanting the ones I buy at Costco…YUCK!; I couldn’t taste any pumpkin in the sour, supposedly pumpkin cheesecake; the pumpkin pie tasted like a Sara Lee reject; the strawberries looked like they were grown at the North Pole (i.e., far from ripe); the macaroons were globs of lard and coconut; the snickerdoodle was hard, cold, and tasteless. All in all, this honestly was the worst meal I have had in years…anywhere. I wouldn’t wish a meal like this on anyone! We served far better meals at the homeless shelter where I volunteered years ago. Salty’s: clean up your act! (I left hungry and stopped at Arby’s on the way home. Their roast beef was far better than Salty’s horrible prime rib!)
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