I had the unfortunate experience of attending BB King for an afternoon of inedible food and a performance by the "world famous" Harlem Gospel "Choir."
We arrived 10 minutes early for the event, only to wait outdoors in the cold winter air for the next 35 minutes. Once inside, it seemed experience was carefully tailored to ruthlessly remove any possible enjoyment of the experience. We were seated in the most cramped fashion I have experienced at a restaurant (I do wish I were exaggerating). Upon rising from my seat, 7 others had to leave their own to allow me to pass. The gentleman next to me had to ask 9 people to get out of their seats when he desired to use the restroom.
Next, we went up to the buffet. The line flowed acceptably, but we had to wait several minutes for plates once we arrived at the front of the line. I took a small amount of each of the foods in front of us, then returned to my seat and my newfound role as a sardine. When I tried the food, I found that several items were inedible, the raw and bloody fried chicken among the most memorable.
After the audience chased down their food, the Harlem Gospel "Choir" came to the stage. I use quotation marks, as this group amounted to seven singers and three musicians. Therefore, their sound lacked the fullness of a real gospel choir, as they did not even amount to a double quartet. The show was mildly entertaining, but the experience felt contrived compared to a true gospel choir.
Every moment of the lunch led me to believe the experience was carefully engineered to charge as many people as possible, while providing the least in quality imaginable. Whoever manages this establishment should be utterly ashamed of themselves.
I would also like to note that while Citysearch bestows this club with 4.5 stars, the user reviews currently average 3.2. Upon reading them, I suspect they could be even lower if users were allowed to give a zero rating.
Pros: None.
Cons: All.
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