Evaluation Being a brand new parent how I choose a restaurant has changed dramatically. Before I was a parent I would look for restaurants with a wild atmosphere and a young crowd. The main menu criteria would be that they had $1 dollar domestic beers or $2 you call it, and well food wise to be honest the cheaper and greasier the better. Nowadays my restaurant check list has become a lot different from just a year ago. Being that the times me and my girlfriend will be able to go out alone are few and far between we would like to go to a place that we can really enjoy yet is still affordable. With our first night out alone as new parents we decided to go to Houlihans. The criteria used to pick Houlihans and see if we wanted to return in the future was the price of the food/drinks, the service of the restaurant staff, and the variety of the food selection. The first piece of criteria used when picking Houlihans was the price of food and drink. With their daily food and drink specials it makes it easy for people with a budget to enjoy themselves right around $50(including tip). Everything on the menu is under $20, and many of the entrees are even under $15. Drink wise they have 23 ounce draft beers for $4daily, but if you are really looking for a steal during the week they have half off long-islands making one liter of long-island just under $4. The best deal Houlihans offers is a $5 resturant.com coupon that will take $20 off a bill of $40 or more during the week. On the other hand the coupon does not include alcohol so it is tough to rack up $40 on food alone. Also, if you do not stick to the drink specials or if you go during the weekend it can get a little pricey. The second piece of criteria used to evaluate Houlihans was the service of the restaurant staff. When it came to the customer service Houlihans passed with flying colors from the moment you walk into the door. When you walk in you are immediately greeted by a hostess who directs you to what part of the restaurant you would like to sit either the bar, dining room, or the outside patio. The serving staff did a very nice job, you are greeted within 5 min of being sat and introduced to the specials of the day. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. Whenever you need something your server is always there to assist you, you never have to search around the restaurant for your server. The kitchen staff does a great job as well. The food only took 25 min to receive after placing the order. Some would say that the serving staff can be a little abrasive, by trying to upsell certain items on the menu. Also, the staff can be a little smothering making sure the meal is ok several times. The Final piece of criteria used was the variety of food options. In this portion of the evaluation Houlihans did the best. They offer seven different salad options twelve different pastas and even eighteen different sandwich and burger
