I flew my Grandmas there for lunch yesterday. Here's my PIREP for ya'll:
As I didn't find that airport diagram with Crusoe's pointed out, I asked for progressive from ground. They sent me to Jet Aviation. When nobody came out to marshall me to parking, and there are no marked parking spots, I asked ground and they said they didn't know where to park. So I just pulled up in front of the door and we got out. Went to the front desk to ask if that was O.K., and the 3 desk ladies were too engrossed in their personal conversation and ignored me for several minutes until I worked to get their attention. Finally asked if that was fine, and one of 'em said, "Umm, yeah, sure, whatever" and resumed their gossip. Had to interrupt their conversation again to ask where the restaurant was, as there were no signs. (For your reference, it's to the right down the hall after you walk in from the ramp, through the door just to the left of the security desk, then to the right.) They didn't bother asking me if I needed any services (fuel, oil, ect) but did end up moving the plane to the far side of the ramp. Not a huge deal, but I feel they should have noticed I had 2 older people with me that couldn't really walk too well.
So we're finally in the restaurant, and waiting at the hostess stand where the sign says to wait to be seated. It took about 3-3.5 minutes before anybody came out, and when she finally did, she hollered across the dining room for us to have a seat wherever. We were walking around trying to find a table by the windows with a view, but there were many tables with dirty plates and trash on them. While we were walking back to a clean table, the hostess came to give us menus, but exasperatedly said she'd be back when we finally made up our minds and sat down. Very rude.
What an adventure just to get a seat. Our waitress arrived shortly (a woman about 80) and was very nice. We ordered and the appetizer (toasted ravioli) came within a few minutes. Didn't have to wait too long for the entrees, which came about 15 minutes later. The food and waitresses service was good, except she avoided walking around the small divider wall, requiring me to get up to hand my cup to her for a refill. Definitely not what should happen. Overall, the food was great, but with lousy service. Cost about $50 with the tip. That got the three of us an appetizer to share, drinks, and 3 burgers. If you can overlook the service, it's good. I'm sure I'll be back when I want to take some friends on a short flight.
As for the $20 fee Tim talked about, I was not charged that. I asked the desk lady (who was nice this time, as her gossip girls were not present anymore), and she asked if I got fuel. I replied in the negative, and she said I was good to go.
To summarize: Overall, it's a great short flight (got 1.0 hobbs, .7 tach) from Spirit of St. Louis Airport (KSUS) with a great view of the city. (Just watch that Bravo airspace, large towers, and heavy medical helicopter activity from the hospitals.) I usually stay at 2,000' under the 2,500' shelf, just south of the highway (highway 40/interstate 64). And again, if you can overlook the poor service from both Jet Aviation and some of the restaurant staff, you'll be rewarded with good food. It's nothing special, but still good. We all had the burgers, so I can't comment on how their salads, wraps, pizza, ect. is, but I'd expect it to be the basically the same; glorified bar food.
I'll be back.
