Ate at the Firehouse, the potato wedges were no longer battered and fried, but the chicken tenders and brisket seemed to be about the same as last year. No house-made sauce, only the heinz stuff, but I'm not sure when I saw it last anyhow.
Eatery Upgrades for 2025
- Thread starter MusicEnlightens
- Start date
I had the beef at Outpost and it was still really nice! Was cooked a nice medium/medium rare. You can get half and half sides now (I don’t recall ever being able to do that before if they did) which was nice. Half mac and cheese and half potatoes is the way to go.
No changes to the menu that I saw there. Can’t report on much else unfortunately.
No changes to the menu that I saw there. Can’t report on much else unfortunately.
Jukebox diner had cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and chicken tenders. No onion rings though I can’t tell if they just didn’t have them today or forever
A small but nice detail I noticed about the Biergarten: in addition to the building being repainted, new German-style artwork has been added above the eatery. It's nice to see little details added like this -- they help put the "international" into International Street.
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The brisket at firehouse is now dry tough chewy chunks of meat buried in sauce to try to cover how low quality they are
The beef at Outpost was dry and obviously sitting out for awhile. Chicken was moist but under seasoned. Portions leave something to be desired. Definitely going down a little each year.
I only tried Outpost a couple of times after they discontinued the prime rib. Things definitely went downhill there.
Brisket at Firehouse had some bad days last year as well but was overall pretty reliable. Hopefully you just got it on a bad day.
Grain and Grill remains the most consistent.
Brisket at Firehouse had some bad days last year as well but was overall pretty reliable. Hopefully you just got it on a bad day.
Grain and Grill remains the most consistent.
Brisket on member preview day was pretty good, but a week ago it looked tough so I got something else; had good beef during spring break at Outpost.
Unfortunately, the beef at both Firehouse and Outpost are somewhat inconsistent and have always been. (I've gotten bad brisket even during opening year of Firehouse, and at Outpost, I've gotten tough and dry beef before as well.)
Hot chicken sandwich has been pretty consistent though, if you like it. (Wow, just realized I've already had 4 meals in park since opening day.)
Unfortunately, the beef at both Firehouse and Outpost are somewhat inconsistent and have always been. (I've gotten bad brisket even during opening year of Firehouse, and at Outpost, I've gotten tough and dry beef before as well.)
Hot chicken sandwich has been pretty consistent though, if you like it. (Wow, just realized I've already had 4 meals in park since opening day.)
I wonder if the inconsistency is unfortunately a result of the park reportedly eliminating the executive chef position. Moving to a regional level chef might have seemed like a nice cost-cutting measure on paper — and it probably does yield similar results when it comes to designing new menus and selecting ingredients for the park — but I think you really lose that day-to-day quality control. Chef Maurice, and Chef Denis before him, both took a lot of pride in making their rounds and making sure the food being served was up to standard.
I honestly think letting go of a park-level executive chef is one of the worst blows the park got dealt this off-season. I don’t think it’s the end of the world — SF still seems committed to the Cedar Fair direction of better ingredients and a variety of menus — but it definitely makes the inconsistency seem like it’ll be more common. The only bright side is that it’s a mistake that can technically be reversed more easily; they can always hire a new executive chef if things get bad enough and food sales start to slip.
I honestly think letting go of a park-level executive chef is one of the worst blows the park got dealt this off-season. I don’t think it’s the end of the world — SF still seems committed to the Cedar Fair direction of better ingredients and a variety of menus — but it definitely makes the inconsistency seem like it’ll be more common. The only bright side is that it’s a mistake that can technically be reversed more easily; they can always hire a new executive chef if things get bad enough and food sales start to slip.
I would bet the food quality is a convergence of a good number of small things converging such as:
- Loss of Chef
- Change of ingrediants
- Change of suppliers somewhere on the line
- Loss of full time staff
- Cleaning standards
- Velocity of menu items
This is my thought. The ingredients are good enough quality, but execution was lacking.
The meats I got yesterday weren't prepared well or cooked correctly. That's a technique problem, not source ingredients being bad. The sides we got were all good, but those are easier to prepare than cooking meat is.
I’m not just saying it to say it but I truly haven’t had a bad meal this year. Haven’t really seen much of what some of you guys are talking about. To be fair, I usually do peak in a restaurant or 2 and see what’s on the line to decide if I’ll eat there or not.
The only 2 things I'm not much of a fan of is the chicken tender sandwich at Chicken Shack and the grilled shrimp everywhere. Everything else has been pretty good!
I do really miss those nice fried shrimps that Outpost had in its opening year though. Having an executive chef again could maybe help keep some of these more “special” menu items that have recently been removed across the park - didn’t Great Adventure just hire one? It’s not like the chain completely abandoned the concept.
The only 2 things I'm not much of a fan of is the chicken tender sandwich at Chicken Shack and the grilled shrimp everywhere. Everything else has been pretty good!
I do really miss those nice fried shrimps that Outpost had in its opening year though. Having an executive chef again could maybe help keep some of these more “special” menu items that have recently been removed across the park - didn’t Great Adventure just hire one? It’s not like the chain completely abandoned the concept.
It’s not the same brisket. Last year they sliced it. This year it’s chunks of meat in a sauce.
You must’ve gotten a bad batch. I got it recently and it was in slices like always. Which again makes me think that quality control and the lack of a park-level executive chef are the culprit.
Maybe that’s the reason. But one bad batch can give a guest a bad impression. Especially if they don’t attend a lot
At the park today, and peering through the windows on the refresh of the Pizza Parlor on International Street...
It appears entry/exit into the eatery is now reversed; entering now on the far left side of the building - where it's very welcome to see an actual queue line, vs what the location used to have:
And you now pay/exit on the far right - noting how the drink machine is actually accessible after paying and getting your drink cup... where before you had to battle your way back through the crowd (with your food) just to fill your cup:
Unfortunately it does not look like they have the menu up, as what they have displaying appears to be the new Funnel Cake Kitchen just down the way on International Street:
Overall looks like a very nice revamp, especially given the constrained space they had to work with. And as Pizza Parlor has historically had the best pizza in the park (IMHO), I'm very curious to see what/if any changes to the menu there are.
It appears entry/exit into the eatery is now reversed; entering now on the far left side of the building - where it's very welcome to see an actual queue line, vs what the location used to have:
And you now pay/exit on the far right - noting how the drink machine is actually accessible after paying and getting your drink cup... where before you had to battle your way back through the crowd (with your food) just to fill your cup:
Unfortunately it does not look like they have the menu up, as what they have displaying appears to be the new Funnel Cake Kitchen just down the way on International Street:
Overall looks like a very nice revamp, especially given the constrained space they had to work with. And as Pizza Parlor has historically had the best pizza in the park (IMHO), I'm very curious to see what/if any changes to the menu there are.
KD posted that the Pizza Parlor (and it looks like the rest of the Italian building) exterior is getting refreshed to match its original 1975 paint scheme. Plus, they've uncovered the "columns" which were hidden by the tacky Pizza Parlor awnings for a number of years. And finally no more ugly purple building to the left of it, which has always slightly bothered me. Love to see it.
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Not sure if this should go in Eateries, but the refreshment station over by the old Days of Thunder ride building is open again, and is now a fountain drink and Icee stand.
You are correct, where the newly enhanced Refresh Station officially opened back on Memorial Day weekend.
And for those curious, some pictures of the much improved station can be found here in the Old Virginia thread.
Worth noting: With two separate lines - soft drinks on one side, and ICEE's on the other - the park has been staffing each line with a separate attendant, which makes the lines go quicker than most of the drink stands at the park; so if you're anywhere on that side of the park and want a drink, is definitely worth checking out. [Though I do wonder how the long the staffing of both sides will last.]