A big disappointment.

I hate days like this when the things you can usually count on surprise you and let you down. My wife and I just had pretty bad meal at one of our favorite cafes. Cafe Campagne has always been one of our go to spots for lunch in Pike Place Market. The French bistro fare was always fresh and expertly prepared and the waitstaff pleasant and attentive. Today was not the case. First we were shoved in the corner (of the empty dining room) with a table that wobbled so severely every time I moved I spilled my water. After ordering our food it took nearly a half hour before we got our cold, overcooked, and uninspired meal. Now I'm a pretty patient person, but to wait that long in an empty restaurant for two sandwiches was a little annoying. What's strange is that as the runner was bringing our food, the waitress intercepted him and sent him back to the kitchen. K said she overheard her say that it was undercooked. He came out a minute later like nothing had happened. I ordered the lamb burger, medium rare and what I received was a medium/well in parts dry burger on a hard stale roll. Even the frites were hard, dry, and cold. Being a cook myself, I came to the conclusion that perhaps they tossed it in the microwave after it was brought back to the kitchen (and I wasn't even the one to send it back). K's croque madame was dry and the fried egg on top was an overcooked piece of rubber. The side salad was a total joke. Wilted old lettuce with a drop of oil to dress it. Now, I'm not the kind of person to send food back and if it wasn't for the fact that I was hungry I wouldn't have eaten as much as I had. I know cooks are a testy lot so when I get a bad meal at a restaurant instead of sending food back I just tend to not go back. However I do hate throwing away sixty dollars for bad food and a bad time. This saddens me because I really liked Cafe Campagne. I still can't decide if I give it another chance. Maybe it was just a bad day. The one thing I do know is that any kitchen worth it's salt does not allow dishes like the ones we had today get to the customers. Our waitress didn't even ask us how our meal was or say anything as we left. Good service is good service not matter what your prejudices are and today they dropped the ball. Like I said, perhaps they had an off day. All I do know is that if that had been our first time at Cafe Campagne we definitely would never go back.