By Faith Rein
Searching for a good review of Greene Turtle in Smithtown? You’ve reached the right place.
2021 Olympics were here. Finally, and some did not notice.
Is there a lack of national pride? Perhaps just a year of covid TV watching has become so sophisticated and full of choices.
Gone are the days we scheduled our lives around the TV schedule. On-Demand is just that. When we demand something, it happens.
I grew up loving the Olympics. Not unlike the Oscars, I imagined myself on the podium receiving a medal most likely for all-around Gymnastics. Reality. my tumbling was limited to cartwheels on the lawn.
Now I am an enthusiastic spectator.
The Olympics at Greene Turtle in Smithtown
Greene Turtle in Smithtown has created a fun way to enjoy the Olympics and celebrate your nationalism by suggested pairings. Click here to visit their website.
For Mexico…BUFFALO CHICKEN TACOS
Hand-breaded tenders, kinda hot sauce, house slaw, pico de gallo, ranch drizzle
Paired with a corona.
Germany…BAVARIAN PRETZEL STICKS
Oven-baked, soft, your choice of dipping sauce: Fat Tire® Beer Cheese or Bavarian Mustard with a Heineken. We had the cheese…mmm.
USA… HOT WINGS. Sauces: Blazing hot, Kinda hot, Firecracker Korean BBQ, Bangin’ BBQ, Kinda Crabby, Maple Jalapeño Bacon, Mild, Thai chili, Cajun Ranch, Garlic Parm, Smoky BBQ, Honey Old Bay ©, Carolina Gold BBQ, Maryland Style (Old Bay) ©
What else but a Bud.
I have been to many sports bars, but Greene Turtle is the Grown-up Chucky Cheese. Forget the arcade games. With 56 big flat screens and your own screen at your table, there is not any game you would miss.
The Sports Memorabilia
Smithtown’s location was overwhelming in size and visual overload.
Sports memorabilia on every inch of the wall that is not digitally covered. Paying homage to all the greats.
A party room and huge outdoor patio seating. Not to worry…your Flat screens are there as well.
Sports Bars are meant for Sports. Enjoy cheering and yelling loud.
This space gives you the opportunity to feel free to all. Socially distancing is easy here. safety is so important now.
During the day this is the place for family fun while Dad can watch and teach his budding athletes the rules of the game while having bar fare in a family-friendly setting.
The food is also the fun part of celebrating your favorite sports.
Wings were great. The variety of sauces will make anyone satisfied.
Chicken Tacos and Pretzels
The buffalo chicken tender tacos are not only delicious but a generous piece of tender. 2 in an order is a meal. When tacos can be an appetizer this is not your small bite taco.
I love soft pretzels. Shareable pretzels with a cheese sauce, thank you. The presentation was adorable and puts you in the mood to Party.
Beyond the great atmosphere and fun food pairing.
Kelly our server was the perfect compliment for Greene Turtle.
This is a time restaurant and bar staff are being scrutinized.
As part of the alumni of hospitality workers, my heart always goes out regardless of receiving good or bad service.
This can be subjective. Our expectations in NY have always been high yet acceptance for a busy packed bar or obvious understaffing issues hopefully brings out the best in a patron.
Neither was an issue here at Greene Turtle.
Our hostess was friendly and inviting.
Granted we were there for a purpose and were an expected guest.
The Service has a Graceful Style
Kelly who we discovered was part of a mother (Sue) daughter team.
Sue was friendly and there if we needed assistance.
But Kelly is a shining light. Attentive, personable and informative.
Having just the right balance of being there for the customer without being overbearing or intrusive.
I noticed her graceful style throughout the restaurant with every single customer.
Staff can make or break this experience.
The food can be amazing but an unpleasant experience with interaction with your main physical contact representing this establishment you have waited a year to attend as well as having your server make your day. You make theirs.
Yes…this is the profession they chose. They work for tips. They can have a bad day. Some are not suited for the job. It is not your fault if they are not making a living wage. They work at places like this because they just want to and need to work.
Pity tips are not what they want.
Working hard, sweating and sore muscles are part of the job. Abuse, verbally and sometimes physically, is unacceptable.
If you have bad service, it is your choice to tip. A zero tip is the message. A tip of pennies is an insult.
Still your personal choice.
If you have amazing service and observe the difficulty that may have occurred while you waited for your meal, yet the staff went above and beyond to make things wonderful for you still with a smile on their face. Please tip generously
You may have been the customer that smiled back after they got the pennies for a tip and after being abused, ordered and degraded.
Be patient please and be gentle.
Appreciate that we have a place to go and that there are Kelly’s so happy to serve.
Want to read more of our latest posts? Read our post about how to use Chutney in your meals.
Living and loving in NYC, food has been a passion of hers. East Coast to West, Faith’s goal is to explore and learn with the contribution of other like-minded foodies. Faith Rein has written for 2Girlsfromabar@blogspot.com. Youtube channel – faith.rein, love food love faith. You can find her @: Faith.rein/facebook (always looking to add friends) / faith rein@twitter / faith.rein@instagram / faith.rein@gmail.com
