Russo’s is a chain restaurant in Richardson that has no business being semi-expensive. Our experience had bits and pieces of good, bad, and dirty. Russo’s menus were dirty enough to make me wonder why the menus were so dirty. When a severely sweaty waiter walked over to take our drink order, little did we know he would soon return with a red lipstick-wearing wine glass worthy of scaring air. Keep in mind, lipstick on a glass does not mean a restaurant is nasty. It often happens to the best of them.
After asking for a new, non-dirty glass of wine, our sweaty waiter walked to the bar and poured the same wine into a different glass. This method of dirty glass problem solving is not working out for anyone. If any kind of lipstick’s presence is so extreme a person can tell the exact color, as well as every crack and crevice of the previous wine drinker’s lips, then a new everything is necessary to move on.
I know a person who sticks her tongue out before taking every single sip of any liquid. It’s like being locked in a slow motion moment as her tongue travels at turtle speed toward the glass. This is a solid example of someone licking a glass before performing an actual sip. How do I know the lady previously drinking from the lipstick-tainted glass isn’t a passionate pre-sip glass licker? I don’t. No one does. Providing new wine in a different glass was the only option. It’s really simple, kind of like giving photographers credit for their work instead of using the pictures as your own. Both are as easy as one-two-three.
It is now time to defend our waiter. This guy was new. There’s no way this wasn’t his third day on the floor. It was obvious everyone had been cut because he was triple sat on top of opening wine for a table he picked up before the others arrived. He then had to open another wine bottle behind the bar, which he sadly dropped. Glass was all over the place as he continued to be a new employee in the weeds. No wonder he was sweaty. How could he not be sweaty? Our busy waiter was innocently over-sweating under the sad circumstances. We decided to love and support our waiter, rooting for him to successfully get out of the weeds and move into some kind of mental happy place. The manager was not helping out. It was sad watching this particular manager lean against the bar doing nothing. Maybe he was thinking while standing still because he was seriously doing absolutely– nothing.
My silver was dirty– twice. Not just water-dried dirty. This silver was real deal dirty. The entire time we were there things really felt dirty. Soggy-looking black Romaine could be seen here and there throughout my Caesar. Everyone else said their food wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t the quality they expected for the price. Russo’s quality of food does not warrant the price– in my opinion. There are probably people who love Russo’s so much it hurts. If you are one of those people and just so happen to see a sweaty waiter in the weeds, please hug him with kindness oozing from your arms. He’s a hard working waiter and a super nice guy.
FIVE: High 5!
FOUR: Please & Thank You
THREE: Yada
TWO: Double Wow
ONE: Wow + Ouch = Wouch
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Russo’s Coal Fired Italian Kitchen
700 E Campbell Rd
Richardson, TX 75081
972.235.7992
nypizzeria.com
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