We've never been impressed with the RWC Max's -- preferring the Burlingame one, which has a more extensive menu and non-stupefied staff -- but we keep hoping RWC will get better. I finally realized this is a vain hope. We went in Saturday night around 9 pm for dessert. Believe it or not, I hadn't had pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving and they had it on the dessert menu: pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream. My companion had his usual apple-cranberry cobbler. The pie was brought to me on a huge charger plate, probably 12 inches across, a ludicrous presentation that made the slice look even smaller than it was. It had a -- I kid you not -- quarter-size dab of whipped cream, obviously out of a can. I noted uneasily to my companion that the pie looked like something they'd run over to Safeway to get. On forking it, the crust was dry, hard and crunchy. Yes, I ate it anyway. I was hungry. I realize that opens me up for criticism, since Dennis Berkowitz* himself warns you on the menu: "If you ate it all, it couldn't have been that bad, now could it?" No, it wasn't bad. It simply wasn't good. For a chain that made its reputation on its desserts, it's inexcusable. On a previous visit I'd had a slice of pumpkin bundt cake that was dry and crumbly. This isn't dessert rocket science; it's not difficult to make a proper moist and tender bundt cake. I don't know where they get the wait staff for RWC; my companion claims it's the candidates who failed the singing interview for the Burlingame restaurant. Whatever... They're not being trained properly; apparently no one has told them to check back periodically to see if beverages need replenishing and to make sure the diners have all the condiments and incidentals they need. I mean, this is basic stuff: Table-waiting 101. I left a filled-out comment card; I fully expect to see it hanging on the wall of a Max's some day complete with sarcastic comments from the owner or manager or whoever does that. The Burlingame restaurant has a number of these annotated letters hung near the restrooms. Charleen *Founder of the Max's chain
San Francisco Bay Area, CA