Sunset Negril

Anyone heard of Sunset Negril? Jamaican restaurant in The Continent on Busch Blvd? Don't go there.

Here's the scenario:

Local radio station is promoting this great deal: 1/2-priced (or less) restaurant gift certificates. Spend $15 or $25 on a gift certificate that's worth $50 at the restaurant.

Group of work friends decides to get a gang together for some cheap eats. Buys 3 gift certificates. Oh, one catch: they expire at the end of the month, so better plan immediately. Date is set: Monday, 8/28.

Monday comes...Whoops! Guess what? Sunset Negril is closed on Monday. Weird? Yes. Inconvenient? Yes. Catastrophe? No. Reschedule for Tuesday. Still have about 10 people on board.

Tuesday comes...We get to the restaurant and guess what? Sunset Negril has a sign taped to the door: Open Thursday thru Saturday.

Gift certificates expire Thursday. Guess we're rescheduling for Thursday--the next and last possible opportunity to use the gift certificates that we paid money for. Seeming less and less like a "great deal" every second.

Thursday comes...people have other plans (of course they do--it's the last minute AND the 2nd time we've rescheduled). Three of us are on board. One brings her roommate. How we're going to spend $150, we don't know, but darnit, we're going to have fun.

Oh, but it gets better.

We get to the restaurant...and guess what? They're only serving two items tonight: Jerk chicken and wings. Can we please have an extension on the expiration date? Sorry, the owner isn't here. You'll have to come back tomorrow and ask him. Okay, fine. We're going to use one of the gift certificates tonight. Load us up with jerk chicken and wings.

Waitress comes back...Sorry, wings won't be ready for another hour.

Are you joking? This must be a joke, right?

Long story short (I know, too late): The four of us stay, have jerk chicken, salad, and a couple drinks (which were NOT covered by the gift certificate, by the way). The owner (who suddenly "showed up") granted us a week extension on the remaining two gift certificates. Which still means we can only use them tomorrow, Saturday, or next Thursday (since, if you'll recall, they're not open Sunday through Thursday).

Sorry, but I'm not falling for any more "great deals" for awhile. Janky, non-helpful, and more-hassle-than-it's-worth. That's how I feel about Sunset Negril.

"I blow my nose at you...I fart in your general direction..."