Bistro AIX Pizza Jacksonville, Fl
Slice Rating
I am not sure if I should discuss the taste of the pizza, or the taste of the glass that was floating around in my soda at Bistro AIX, in Jacksonville Florida.
One of the organizers of Less Conference, the event I was attending in Jacksonville, suggested Bistro AIX to me, claiming it was some of the best pizza in Jacksonville. Seeing the size of this organizer, I was left with no other choice but to think he has had MORE than his share of pizza throughout the years. We arrived at this chic downtown restaurant (bistro) during the dinner rush. Since I hadn't been there before, I didn't realize it was such a trendy location to be seen at, and that there would be a 45 minute wait.
We were eventually seated, and placed our orders. I ordered the plain pie...of course. The food came, and it looked pretty uncommon. It had an ultra-thin crust, like a sugar wafer. The sauce was put on lightly and the blend of cheeses were amazing. I had no real issues with the pizza, except that I was still quite hungry after one. This pizza is far from being filling. The thin crust, and lack of sauce and cheese do not make for a full dinner portion. A couple of inches more would have done the trick.
It is hard for me to focus on the review, after what happened when I was done eating. As I was drinking my soda, I felt something go down my throat and scratch it. It was almost like the feeling you get if you swallow a nacho down the wrong way, except this truly hurt. My initial reaction, was that it must be a piece of the pizza crust that I had just eaten......but wait, the pizza was long gone by this point. That is when I glanced into my soda cup to realize I had drank a glass shard. Apparently a nice chunk of the glass had cracked and fallen into my glass, and shattered a bit leaving little pieces floating around. YES I SWALLOWED GLASS at this semi-trendy establishment. We informed the management of what happened, and they almost doubted me saying it wasn't glass and tried to remove the glass. One of my acquaintances held onto it and told them to get the general manager. When the GM came over, it was almost as if he thought I placed the glass into the cup, to try to get a free meal, and asked in a rather condescending way if I want an ambulance. He naturally said they would comp my meal. WOW WHAT A GUY! I am sure when my inner body parts start bleeding, they will remember how nice he was not to charge me extra for the glass.
I explained to him I just wanted to leave and did not want an ambulance, figuring if I was spitting up blood later on, I would go to the hospital myself. What I found most remarkable, is that they only offered my meal for free and not the others who dined there with me this evening. Should have I made a huge scene yelling and screaming to draw attention to what had just happened, in order to have the right thing done? No, I did it very low key, so as not to disturb the others around me. Eventually he refunded their money on their cards as well, but not without some coaxing.
Bistro AIX is not a place I would personally ever go back to. My throat is still hurting where the glass went down, and I am furious at how cynical the management was when discussing it with me. At one point they said none of their glasses are broken so they couldn't imagine how it got in there.
Their pizza was pretty good, so I cannot judge the pizza by my outside experience there.
Bistro AIX gets 5 out of 8 slices for the taste of their pie, and not the pieces of glass in their soda.