I have to say that in more than 45 years of dining out, I have never had a worse meal given the price. My party and I found the food disgusting and in several cases, inedible.
Moreover, given that we were in Gettysburg to give two young boys an authentic historical experience that was promised on their website, the disappointment was even greater.
Some of the main problems:
My colleague was served a grossly inferior quality New York strip. Tough as leather, without flavor and totally overcooked. Outrageous for the $21 price. Asked for medium rare, was served charred and past well done.inedible and sent back, and he did not ask for a replacement since, based on the other food, we had no faith that their kitchen could produce a decent steak.
I was served a tiny, flavorless, and grossly overcooked filet mignon. Even with butter on top (which I had asked the waitress not to do) this was an inedible piece of steak. I took one bite and did not touch the rest. My steak, as well as my friend's, also was sprinkled with some type of cheese, which was not on the menu and was not requested. What if he or I had had an allergy to cheese? I have had far better steaks in a $7.95 steak house like Ponderosa. To charge $22 for this piece of leather is an outrage.
Overly sweet, mass-produced, institutional cole slaw served right from a plastic bucket. Unbelievable in a fine dining restaurant. None of the three of us who ordered it as a side even touched it. I doubt that folks dining in the 1860s shopped at Costco.
A hamburger made with sour-tasting meat, perhaps even spoiled meat, and overcooked to the point of being carbonized, on a flattened and stale bun. Repulsive.
Stale, flavorless bread that had the constituency of loaves that are frozen and reheated in a microwave. Served with institutional butter in foil.
Pumpkin fritters, the only thing that were approaching decent and authentic, were nonetheless greasy (obviously cooked in oil that was not nearly hot enough).
"Open yourself" institutional cup of sour cream accompanying an undercooked potato. Again, unbelievable that the Farnsworth House, which is priced at and purports to be a fine dining establishment, would serve sour cream in this way.
This repulsive food was topped off by terrible service:
- Asked waitress to bring out bread. She replied that bread was coming out with the main course, so we had to insist on bread right away. Still waited 15 minutes with two hungry boys who had been running all over the battlefield for hours on a cold day.
- Unusually long time to serve main course. Well over 35 minutes after appetizers were served.
- Waited almost 15 minutes just to have our initial order taken..
- Waited almost a half-hour for someone to clear our table that was full of dirty dishes. I had to ask the hostess to clear them. Didn't see a single bus person.
And the piece de resistance:
As we left, we saw roaches crawling on paintings that were hanging in the entrance stairway.
Two emails and a phone call to the proprietor, one Mr. Schultz, went unanswered. And I have learned that the Farnsworth House Inn has a standing roach problem.
And aside from the so-called period costumes worn by the incompetent serving staff, there was nothing remotely charming about this place. I would warn my worst enemy to stay away from this placeno one should pay what the Farnsworth charges for such a disappointing, disgusting and evidently unsanitary experience.
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