Bob Evans, Erie, PA

Restaurant Review by Jennifer Kumar.

Meet and Greet
We were greeted at the door instantaneously by a hostess and whisked off to a nice table. Within a few minutes of being seated, coffee was served. The waitress did not take much time to take our order. But, waiting for it to arrive to our table, seemed to take about 15 minutes, which seemed a bit longer than what we are used to. (Photo left: Krishna Kumar- big size click here.)

Mise en Scène
Right off the interstate 90 highway on exit 24, you will find Bob Evans right next to the highway. This location is quite a bit bigger than the ones I have gone to in the past. It was big and spacious and at the time we showed up, about 7:30pm on a Sunday night, was not very busy.

Though the place was quite empty, I was surprised to find that many tables had not been cleared. I originally thought possibly they were to be cleared very soon; maybe the people had left just before we arrived. The tables had not been cleared throughout our stay there. Though hubby did not mind it because customers would not be seated near us (and the staff allowed him to charge his cell phone at a nearby table yet to be cleared), I thought it did not add to the cleanest environment that I usually find at Bob Evans.

** I did use the restrooms at this location. The restrooms were spacious, had a different kind of layout, and were very clean.

Choosing a Veggie Treat
It seems Bob Evans changes their menu on a yearly or sometimes a seasonal basis. Possibly menus are targeted to certain regions also. In my favorite location (Corning, NY), they had some veggie Chinese stir fry on the menu along with some pasta choices with non-meat based sauces. This was not the case at this location. There were no vegetarian dinner meals (though plenty of vegetarian side dishes), so I opted for a breakfast menu item. Again, with Bob Evans one can not go wrong in wanting Breakfast, as there are a multitude of choices. At my preferred Bob Evans location, they used to offer (saying used to as I have not been there in a long time) the ‘sausage gravy’ breakfast without sausage. That means the flour gravy is cooked separate from the sausage and the sausage is added on the top. But, it seems most locations (and restaurants that I have visited that have this menu item) do not make it this way anymore. If you want this menu item, it will have the sausage mixed into the gravy. It’s a shame as besides vegetarians, Muslims and some Hindus also do not eat sausage (as it is pork). I went for my second choice, eggs Florentine (without ham).

Overall, my suggestion is to add more vegetarian dinner items and to take the sausage out of the gravy!

Checking In
Once our food was served, our waitress did not come back to check on us until she bought the bill. Luckily we did not need anything. I also admit during the whole time we were eating, I was bothered they had not worked on clearing the surrounding tables. It actually is not appetising to see all those dirty place settings all around you.

See you later
After the bill was handed to us, we waited about 10 minutes for her to return and collect our payment. She did not come, so we went up and paid at the register. This may not have been the waitress’ fault as what I have noticed is that the habit of collecting the payment depends on the location. (Photo to right: Jennifer Kumar)

**Interestingly enough, the lady who took our payment at the register was very knowledgeable about Rodeos and seems to travel to many different places to see them.

**While sitting at the table, I read about Bob Evans. Till this visit, I did not realize Bob Evans was a real person. But, I was happy to find out he was and the restaurant is based on a business he used to run on his farm. In fact, there is a Bob Evans farmstead where they do events throughout the year.

Pay Scale
$6-10 per person
Tips
We left $3.00
Star System: 3/5
(Could be improved by adding more vegetarian options and clearing off the tables. We love the Bob Evans coffee that is what keeps us coming back in addition to knowing something can be had from the breakfast menu.)

To find/Contact
Bob Evans Restaurant
8041 Peach St
Erie, PA 16509
(814) 864-5444‎
bobevans.com
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tags: 3 stars, breakfast, diner, pennsylvania, restaurant review,