Sad face. Very sad face.\n\nI *love* Liliana's - or should I say, \"loved.\" Based on my previous visits, I couldn't have recommended this place any more than I did. But this most recent visit, on Monday, June 9, 2014 left a seriously bad taste with me.\n\n- Arrived and requested seats at the bar, where the service has typically been outstanding. Was told the bar \"is pretty much closed because of some Chef thing we're doing, I guess.\" (read that in a disinterested hostess voice)\n\n+ Was seated outside on the front patio. \n-When I inquired as to whether or not it was non-smoking, the hostess said, \"Um, I don't really know. I don't see anyone smoking right now, so my guess is not?\" \n+ She later confirmed that it was indeed, non-smoking\n\n+ Server, Jeff, arrived quickly, introduced himself, and asked about drinks. I was just in the process of checking in via the Yelp app; I set it down, inquired about the Abita taps, and ordered a Jockamo IPA. Friend ordered a Liliana's Hurricane.\n\n- Jeff disappeared for 15 minutes, only reappearing to refill the waters and to tell us that the drinks \"were almost ready.\" I asked if we could order cheese curds, as it had been 15 minutes since we sat down. He took the order and disappeared. \n\n- A few minutes later, he arrived; my beer had obviously been sitting at the bar for quite some time, as had the Hurricane - both were extremely sweaty. The ice in the hurricane was nearly completely melted. I suspect Jeff had forgotten about our drinks...\n\n- Jeff reappeared and took our food order; a catfish po boy and a burger. I asked for a side of the \"cheddar grits\" as they sounded excellent and were included with a few of the entrees. He assured me assured this was not a problem.\n\n- Cheese curds arrived and they were a mess of exploded, over-cooked, overly salty shells of vapid batter, sans any hint of cheese. We opened every single curd with a fork and knife and found zero cheese - it had all been cooked-out while in the fryer. The tempura-style batter was no match for spending too much time in the fryer. \n\n- We couldn't find Jeff to flag him down to alert him to the problem. When he did reappear, I asked him to swing by and explained to him the problem with the curds. He said he'd get a new order. My beer was empty at this point, as was my water, but he was gone so quickly, I didn't have a chance to order a refill.\n\n- I also feared that the new curds would arrive at exactly the same time as the entrees... and, my fear was confirmed. Out came the curds, followed by the entrees. Before Jeff could turn around to bolt away, I asked for another beer, and also asked for the wifi password. This seemed to confuse Jeff; he wasn't sure if they had wifi. When I showed him the \"Liliana's Guest\" wifi network, he said he'd be back with the password...\n\n+ Burger was superb. Perfectly cooked, nicely seasoned, fresh greens, tasty bleu cheese, and a great bun.\n\n- The cheddar grits were anything but grits. They came out in a fried and formed cake-like shape, resembling more of a crab cake than creamy cheddary grits. I cut into the grits and found no semblance of anything grit - it was like a cheesy hash brown. I'm fairly certain grits don't contain chunks of onion and potato.\n\n+ Catfish Po Boy was excellent - perfectly cooked catfish, nicely seasoned, tasty slaw, and a hearty, yet not-overwhleming bun. The accompanying side of white bean salad consisted primarily of couscous, pesto, and garlic. Only a few white beans were found.\n\n- The second attempt of curds were slightly less blown-out, but they were completely devoid of any \"cajun\" seasoning (they're sold as Cajun Cheese Curds). Instead, they were terribly salty, greasy, and just not good at all. My friend observed that they tasted like \"carnival fair batter\" - sweet, and overly salty. \n\n- Never saw Jeff again. He didn't bring the password, he didn't follow-up on the meal, and he didn't drop off the check. After sitting for 20 minutes or so, staring helplessly at the restaurant, we got up and went to the bar to grab our check. The table next to us did the same thing; they had a similar service nightmare...\n\n$60 for a truly unmemorable meal and an even more forgetful experience (literally). \n\nThe maddening part was that I saw Chef Dave sitting in the bar, at a long table, surrounded by other chef-types. They were talking about the service industry... as I walked out, the hostess didn't bother to lift her head from her phone - she was busy tapping away on the screen.\n\nUgh. What a polarizing experience... Lovely night at a restaurant that I previously enjoyed beyond compare, with subpar food and truly horrid service. Wow.