Diana Ross Lunches at Watershed
June 19, 2008The AJC’s Peach Buzz reports…
Who was that enjoying Southern cuisine at Watershed in Decatur? None other than The Boss herself, Diana Ross, sharing butter bean hummus, salmon croquettes and a hot veggie plate with two lunch companions. First V-103’s Ryan Cameron rang us about this, as he and Atlanta Grammy winner Ciara were there. “The Boss shut it down!” he reported. But Buzz confirmed it with sous chef Robbie Kornacki, who gave the Motown legend’s table a complimentary pimento cheese and celery appetizer. “We do have a lot of celebrities here,” Kornacki said. “but I think people were kind of shocked to see her. I was. But yes, she was here —- hair and all.”
What other celebrities have done Watershed in the past?
Not confirmed, but word from a decatur insider is that one of the Indigo Girls has eaten there before too.
Har Har…maybe cause she kinda owns it.
I have it on good authority that celebrity chef Scott Peacock has also been sighted there…
Jane Fonda is friends with Peacock and dines there semi-regularly as well. It’s a frequent destination for visiting foodies.
I am in the minority…as I am not a big fan of Watershed. Too many bad experiences there.
Most recently was there for a Sunday brunch when fellow dinner asked for something to be left off the omelet and was told Chef won’t do that. God forbid the customer get what they request vs. offending the kitchen prima donna! I ordered their wonderful pimiento cheese , which came on bread that was so French bread tough that the cheese filling squished out before you could tear through the bread…yuck! I ended up having to use my fork to just eat the pimiento cheese and avoid the bread. My “side” was a huge pile of microgreens served dry, so I asked for some kind of dressing. The waitress informed me that it was not a salad it was a garnish. I replied, while grabbing a handful of the “garnish” and removing it from plate so that a little remained and said” No, THAT is garnish and THIS (replacing the heaping pile of greens) is a salad.”
SHe very begrudgingly brought me a vinaigrette, but by then the meal experience was not pleasant. Two others in our party of six also had problems with their orders, and they are not picky people.
Overall, I think the food is over-rated, and consequently overpriced. It does landslide business, however, with most guests coming from other parts of the city. To me, it is one of those places folks go to “be seen”…
And the fried chicken is just OK. Can think of a dozen places where it is as good or better and not so high priced.
Meh!
jim,
i am sure that watershed will be happy if you never return. having been a waiter, you sound like a really unpleasant customer. possibly any questioanble tatse were the result of waiter-spit.
g.b.
Gurn speaks for waiters with low ethics, apparently. As a former waiter myself, to do something like that is unfathomable.
I’ve also had a bad experience at Watershed. My last time there was fried chicken night. I too started with the pimento cheese. But I am on a health kick, and felt that I should probably order something healthier for the main course. I asked to have the fried chicken prepared skinless, and without any salt and fat. The young Indian waiter told me that it may not be possible to prepare fried chicken that way and suggested some alternatives to accommodate my request. One of the things he mentioned was some kind of vegetable plate. Well, that sent me through the roof! I came here for fried chicken night, and they can’t handle a simple request to make it healthy? I slammed my fists down on the table, took what was left of my pimento cheese, and hurled it at the kitchen door while yelling the chef’s last name as two words. Then, the young Indian water had the nerve to tell me that they would not be replacing my pimento cheese, and that I was “cut off” from ordering any more drinks from the bar. Everyone else in the restaurant was visibly upset. I can’t imagine that anyone was enjoying their dinner, if this is how they treat their customers. Peacock must have been scared, because he never came out to ask me how my meal was. We left and got a bucket from KFC (which is now trans-fat free). We may give Watershed another chance , but we are done with fried chicken night there.
Gurn:
I have the right to an opinion about Watershed, so where do you get off judging me as a pain in the ass customer? I too worked as a “white tablecloth” waiter through college so I know what it is like on the other side of the “menu”. In fact, because of that awareness, I tend to be OVERLY considerate of my server and always tip 20%, as I did at Watershed when this incident occurred..
Simply stated, it is not a favorite of mine. The truth of my experience as stated in my first post is just that…the truth. Many folks LOVE Watershed and that is fine.
I sure hope you are not STILL working as a waiter, cause you have some issues.
To mc303, I have never been to Watershed, but have to comment. Why on Earth would you go to a restaurant and order fried chicken, and then request it to be prepared differenly? You cannot have fried chicken with no fat. And then having the gall to act in such a manner. They were right to deny you more drinks, as you were obviously a trouble-making, drunk moron. I’m sure the other patrons were upset, not with the food, but from having to listen to a fool like you. You threw you cheese against the door? Absurd!
Cliffy…totally agree with you. Why in hell would you go on Fried Chicken Night expecting something healthy!? I’m sure the other customers were upset by the childish antics and not by the fact that he couldn’t have his chicken the Burger King way. Scott Peacock is a class act…as is his food. I’m sure he was pleased to cut mc303 off and have him/her leave!
Are you guys kidding me? Ever heard of tongue-in-cheek?
Yeah guys…I’m pretty sure it was pure satire.
I had thought it was satire as well. I’m surprised by how quickly posts turn from general comment/opinion to insults and anger (not just on this blog but on all the ones I’ve started reading). Is it the nature of blogs or written communication?
For a good while most of the comments on this site have been thoughtful and on topic. However in the last few weeks, as traffic has picked up, conversations have on a couple of occasions gone off topic.
It can be a little annoying at times, but in general pretty inevitable. And occasionally it brings new issues to light. So hopefully, for the most part, we can stay on topic and not to insult each other. But if it starts to get too out of hand, I’ll be forced to start deleting comments again, but I really try to keep that to a minimum.
It seems to me that, perhaps more than anytime in recent history, folks are just itchin’ to be offended. I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t witness — in person or online — at least one incident where something is ambiguous, with no clear indication either way whether it was offered with good or ill intent, and people’s default position is that they’re being messed with and need to become immediately offended.
Shouldn’t we hold out for just a tad more evidence, maybe give folks the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise? Maybe I’m just feeling charitable because it’s Sunday…
Just for the record Watershed is one of my favorite restaurants, and my comment was of course just for laughs. I’ve not had one bad experience at Watershed in the 5 years I’ve been going … it’s always been fantastic. And no pimento cheese sandwiches were harmed (other than being eaten).
Jim has a right to an opinion. He also has a right to embarass a waiter who was apparently trying to give him a simple explanation. He has a right to be a nice guy about such a simple disagreement, but apparently doesn’t want to exercise that right. And he also wants you to refrain from exercising your rights to comment on his posts. If you insist on doing so, Jim has a right to get offended and declare that you have “ISSUES.” I think that about covers it.
Thanks for the “support”, Dem. I did not make a scene or embarrass the waiter, as that would have been uncomfortable for the guests at my table…and not get me the salad dressing, which was my simple request. If I serve a dinner guest in my home rack of lamb, and they ask for ketchup, I would never be rude enough to argue whether their request was reasonable. I would simply give them ketchup…the point being to provide my guest what they desire. In my example, if the waiter had simply said “Certainly sir…”, that would have been the end of it and I would not have shared this story at all.
So if making a request at a “fine” restaurant is considered being “unpleasant”, then so be it. Gurn proves my point about the attitude of many (not all) waiters with the “waiter spit” comment. I have no problem with a comment on my comment, but to characterize me and my request as unpleasant is a judgement…not an opinion.
I don’t think that Watershed employs those types of servers anyway. And I agree with posters re: how any comment can be fodder for flaming, character assassination and the like.
Comments for this post have been closed after a seriously inappropriate comment was posted. Plus I’m sick of this pointless back and forth.
Is a little common courtesy too much to ask?