2. Captain Tom's

disgusting in many ways
This restaurant should not be on the list. They have catered previously at my employment and I have friends who found flies in the cabbage and just recently they could not come back because there were maggots in there food. On top of that the food is not good. It does not taste like real soul food that I have grown to know and love. This food is not that good. But I know of a great place to eat called Sugga's. That is a real soul food restaurant. Captain Tom's is no where near it.

I Nearly Died at Captain Tom’s I was able to find two reviews for Captain Tom’s. The first, on 10best.com, stated that it was THE finest dining establishments in Columbus, Georgia (http://www.10best.com/Columbus,GA/Restaurants/). But the only other review I could find said, “Captain Tom's is the worst food in town and I'm quite serious; I am not sure how it's still open” (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g34859-d521138-Reviews-Captain_Tom_s-Columbus_Georgia.html). I felt obligated to eat at Captain Tom’s and settle the confusion surrounding Captain Tom’s. If you read the title, you could probably guess that I would side with the latter review. When I walked in to Captain Tom’s at the peak dinner hour and saw three other people in the restaurant that could probably sit 200, I was a bit skeptical at how this could be the best restaurant in a city of 300,000. I then walked by the buffet and knew that there was zero chance of this being the best eating establishment in town. I could identify most of the food on the buffet; however, there were several items that I could not identify. The ownership must be aware of the difficulty this causes the consumer because most of the items had labels, like “rice” and “real mashed taters” but some of the less recognizable dishes lacked labels, which I found troubling (but not so troubling that I refused to eat these items). One of the items in particular was either country fried chicken or country fried steak (I’m unsure which) smothered in gravy. This dish was edible, but only in the same sense that a country fried chicken Hungryman Dinner is edible. The more easily distinguishable staples of a hometown, country buffet were not a whole lot better. The Mac n Cheese was running and not overwhelmingly cheesy. The “Real Mashed Taters” tasted more like a runnier version of the “mashed taters” I got from my elementary school cafeteria. And finally, the dessert selection was lacking any of the southern delights I was expecting. I was hoping for either some Georgia Pecan Pie, or maybe, since its November, perhaps some homemade pumpkin pie, but I had to settle for a subpar brownie. The dining experience was not all negative. The boiled okra tasted about like I expected it would (even though I had never had boiled okra before). It was slimy and tasted like feet. The reading selection was robust. There were several recent Reader’s Digests, National Geographic Magazines, and People Magazines available to peruse while dining. I don’t know about you, but I can think of few things that trigger my appetite more than seeing some saggy, African, National Geographic boobies. And finally, even though I am not a drinker of sweet tea, my dining companion said that the sweet tea was delicious, If my review was based solely on the food, I would be generous in giving Captain Tom’s 1 star. Therefore, I would not really argue that it is “the worst food in town and you should avoid it like the plague.” However, a dining experience is never based upon the food alone. There are other elements, like service, ambiance, and variety of reading materials that can make up for low quality food. In this area, Captain Tom’s is second to none in Columbus, Georgia. Our server, was a very affable little, old lady. She checked on us several times when we were dining. And at the end of our meal, when I asked about purchasing a Captain Tom’s t-shirt, she was excited and eager to run back to the kitchen to see what colored shirts they had in my size. Thankfully, she was in such a hurry to find me a t-shirt, she had already left our table when we broke out in hysterical laughter, which quickly turned almost deadly as I started choking on my water. As my girlish giggles continued and my ability to breath decreased, I began shooting water out of my nose and coughing loudly. After about 30 seconds and no air entering my lungs, I began fearing for my life. However, with my dining companion continuing to laugh uncontrollably, I could not help but to laugh as well, which only made attempts to breath more difficult. Eventually, I was able to regain control of my respiratory system, and we decided it was time to leave. When we to pay our bills, I received a 10% discount (I am unsure if this is because I was buying a t-shirt or because I was still in my Army uniform) as well as a free t-shirt. Even though the shirt was supposed to be $10, for some reason (perhaps the waitress did witness my near death experience) I was only charged for my meal. Despite terrible food, I would say my dining experience at Captain Tom’s was one of the most enjoyable of my lifetime. I cannot recall ever laughing harder in my life, and the laughter occurred several times throughout the course of the meal. Therefore, if you are in Columbus and looking for barely edible food, exceptional service, and an overall superb dining experience, I would recommend Captain Tom’s. The three star rating is based on 1 star for food and 5 stars for the atmosphere, ambiance, and overall dining experience.

I Nearly Died at Captain Tom’s I was able to find two reviews for Captain Tom’s. The first, on 10best.com, stated that it was THE finest dining establishments in Columbus, Georgia (http://www.10best.com/Columbus,GA/Restaurants/). But the only other review I could find said, “Captain Tom's is the worst food in town and I'm quite serious; I am not sure how it's still open” (http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g34859-d521138-Reviews-Captain_Tom_s-Columbus_Georgia.html). I felt obligated to eat at Captain Tom’s and settle the confusion surrounding Captain Tom’s. If you read the title, you could probably guess that I would side with the latter review. Despite terrible food, I would say my dining experience at Captain Tom’s was one of the most enjoyable of my lifetime. I cannot recall ever laughing harder in my life, and the laughter occurred several times throughout the course of the meal. Therefore, if you are in Columbus and looking for barely edible food, exceptional service, and an overall superb dining experience, I would recommend Captain Tom’s. The three star rating is based on 1 star for food and 5 stars for the atmosphere, ambiance, and overall dining experience.