…is getting free stuff.

On Friday night John and I ate dinner at Magleby’s Grill in Provo. We’ve eaten there once before and weren’t impressed with the food. But we opted to eat here on Friday because we had a two-for-one coupon and because the restaurant is near enough to John’s office that it was convenient for him to break from work to eat and see me before returning (he had to work late that night).

[SIDE NOTE: I’m going to reveal a little secret of Magleby’s Grill. If you visit the link above to Magleby’s Web site, you’ll notice that it lists Hazelnut Chicken (“Hazelnut encrusted and topped with an orange rosemary sauce”). This Hazelnut Chicken dish is only served on Wednesdays. Do not be deceived as I was, who visited Magleby’s Web site first and then went expecting to get Hazelnut encrusted chicken breast with savory orange rosemary sauce on a Friday night, because you’ll be sorely disappointed and end up reading and re-reading the menu trying to find anything that sounds as remotely tasty as hazelnut encrusted chicken breast with orange rosemary sauce. Remember, it’s a Wednesday-only special.]

Okay. Now you know.

I ended up ordering macadamia nut-encrusted orange roughy with a coconut sauce, which was pretty good overall, even if the mashed potatoes on the side were cold. John ordered steak, cooked “medium.” Instead, it came well done. It was dry and tough, and I could see that John’s night was looking bleaker by the second–overcooked steak and a full night of work still ahead.

I suggested he mention the problem to the waiter, and he did. Our waiter responded immediately by saying he was sorry and that he’d take care of it. John didn’t want a new steak, so the waiter offered to give us the steak free. We told him that we had a two-for-one coupon, so he offered us free dessert instead. Not one, but two free desserts.

We couldn’t turn that down.

John ordered quadruple-layer chocolate cake and I got buttermilk pie. The pie was bland, but the cake was fabulous. It’s the only menu item I officially recommend so far from Magleby’s.

When our waiter came with our final bill, he handed us a $20 gift certificate to compensate our disappointment and encourage us to come back.

Two free desserts ($10 value) and a $20 certificate. Basically, we made off like bandits.

So with twenty dollars burning in our pockets, I guess we’ll be going back to Magleby’s sometime. I wonder how much chocolate cake $20 will buy us….