For our last Roulette in 2024 we went to MacGregor’s in Henrietta. Your croupier has been to this place many times and they are typically WAY better than this experience, but alas, that is the way of the Roulette – sometimes you catch the kitchen on a bad night (just like your typical diner when they walk in off the street). This is also the rare Roulette where it is difficult to find the Parisian Paradox because most dishes were enjoyed much more by some Rouletters than others. We had a big crew with 11 total Rouletters: 1 guest, 2 first time Rouletters, and 8 veteran Rouletters.
We kicked off the night with the Bavarian Soft Warm Pretzel Sticks: cheese sauce and whole grain mustard. Some Rouletters loved them! Those Rouletters loved that these delightfully unassuming dough logs came adorned with a buttery sheen that still allowed for a delicious crispy bite. They also had a nicely melted cheese: who doesn’t like pub pretzels? Three Rouletters had this noted as top dish of the night. Others found them to be quite basic and not much better than the ones you can get frozen at the grocery store. The presentation also left something to be desired: maybe get the pretzel holders with the sauce holders on the side? ⭐️ 3.6 ⭐️
We followed that up with the Loaded Potato Boat: potato boats, Wisconsin cheddar, applewood-smoked bacon, scallions and a side of sour cream. These were nicely fried with plenty of cheese and crispy bacon. For some they were a bit too greasy. The thing with fried food is that it doesn’t taste great if it’s sitting. The lack of coursing really put a lot of these dishes at a disadvantage. ⭐️ 3.1 ⭐️
Who doesn’t like a Deep Fried Pierogi: delicious whipped potatoes blended with cheddar, parmesan, romano and Swiss cheese, gently folded in a mini pasta shell then deep fried to a golden brown with sour cream? Well…Rouletters either found them to be nicely fried with a crisp exterior and soft interior or you had them after they sat for a bit. One Rouletter had this as the top dish of the night. Other Rouletters found them bland and boring. The croupier didn’t do these any favors as they ordered them without wing sauce on them. This one is on me. ⭐️ 3.1 ⭐️
Next was the Puff Battered Mozzarella Sticks: whole milk mozzarella battered and fried, served with our home made tomato sauce. These were your average Mozzarella stick: tasty, crispy, and the cheese was melted nicely. One Rouletter noted these as top dish of the night. Unfortunately, one stick had no cheese at all in it and there was no epic cheese pull when biting into these. ⭐️ 3.0 ⭐️
The official Parisian Paradox of the night was the Onion Rings: beer battered dipped onions fried to a golden brown served with chipotle mayo dipping sauce. Some Rouletters found them to be a tasty extra crispy delight with a flavorful batter and enjoyable onion to batter ratio. They found the accompanying sauce to be slightly spicy and enjoyed this scrumptious pairing. Others thought they were burnt and too oily. ⭐️ 3.2 ⭐️
The highest rated dish of the night was the MacGregors Wings: sweet and spicy chili. The sauce was the winner here with a lovely balance of sweetness and tang – three Rouletters had these down as top dish of the night. We ordered the wings extra crispy and some Rouletters would have liked a bit more of a crunch. If you’re expecting jumbo wings, these ain’t it: some of the wings were rather small. Overall though, it was a pleasant and enjoyable wing experience. ⭐️ 4.1 ⭐️
The MacGregors Wings: garlic parmwere definitely not extra crispy. Plus, the sauce was a bit on the bland side and needed more garlic. ⭐️ 3.3 ⭐️
The Tremendous Fries: golden steak fries topped with cheddar, bacon, scallions and mozzarella served with sour cream were tied for the second highest rated dish of the night. Rouletters appreciated the layers of cheese throughout the fries, and not just a pile of fries with cheese on top. The fries stayed rather crispy despite the greasy cheese and bacon. One Rouletter had these down as top dish of the night. Other Rouletters found these unsatisfying and a bit greasy. Again, the coursing likely contributed to these not being rated a bit higher. ⭐️ 3.8 ⭐️
We turn now to the Honey Mustard Grilled Chicken Avocado and Bacon Salad: refreshing, sweet and savory all at the same time. Honey mustard chicken, tomatoes, fresh avocado, croutons and our famous applewood-smoked bacon. A shoutout to the Rouletter who surreptitiously added this one to our order so we didn’t all get scurvy. Unfortunately, the salad was so unmemorable that your croupier forgot to add it to the review form. Now months later, when asked for comment, many Rouletters had no memory of this dish. Those who did found it to be unremarkable as just another bland salad with big chunks of iceberg lettuce. The other veggies were greasy from the mound of slightly over-cooked bacon tossed on top of them. One Rouletter summed up our thoughts on this salad perfectly: “meh, at least there was bacon.” ⭐️ 2.3 ⭐️
The Nacho Platter with Pulled Pork: huge platter of crispy nachos smothered with cheddar cheese, black olives, tomatoes, jalapeños and served with a side of salsa, guacamole and sour cream seemed more like a pulled pork platter sitting on some chips. There was way more pork than other toppings, so it was pretty unbalanced. As shown above, the back half has everything piled up and the front is just plain chips. The pulled pork was nicely flavored though! ⭐️ 3.3 ⭐️
The Nacho Platter with Chicken: huge platter of crispy nachos smothered with cheddar cheese, black olives, tomatoes, jalapeños and served with a side of salsa, guacamole and sour cream was disappointing – particularly because some Rouletters have had this before and it was really good. The chicken was dried out and there were barely any toppings other than cheese. In fact much of the platter was just tortilla chips with nothing on them other than the seasoning. The seasoning was nice, but it didn’t make up for the poor topping distribution. The menu touts these as award-winning nachos, but this experience would leave you wondering how that’s possible. ⭐️ 3.4 ⭐️
We followed this up with the Quesadilla with Cajun Chicken: cheddar cheese, black olives, tomatoes, jalapeños and scallions served with a side of sour cream and salsa, which was tied for second highest rated dish of the night. The tortilla was nicely browned and loaded with meat, peppers, and cheese. Who doesn’t like a chicken quesadilla? ⭐️ 3.8 ⭐️
Staying on theme, we moved on to the Quesadilla with Pulled Pork: cheddar cheese, black olives, tomatoes, jalapeños and scallions served with a side of sour cream and salsa. As noted earlier, the pulled pork is very good here, but maybe we ordered a bit too much. One of the notes on this one was that the veggies in the quesadilla were a bit chunky leading to some unbalance. That being said, two Rouletters had the pulled pork itself down as top dish of the night with one specifically mentioning the quesadilla as the best showcase of it. ⭐️ 3.6 ⭐️
We got a bit confused and forgot to take a picture of the Quesadilla with Angus Beef: cheddar cheese, black olives, tomatoes, jalapeños and scallions served with a side of sour cream and salsa. Of the quesadillas we tried, this was the one we liked least. The beef was over-cooked and sparse. The filling seemed to be thrown together – and like the other quesadillas, the toppings were too chunky to create a pleasant and consistent taste experience. ⭐️ 2.7 ⭐️
The lowest rated dish of the night was the White Pizza: three cheeses – asiago, mozzarella, and parmesan – with fresh basil on our house-made garlic and olive oil base. When you looked at the picture, you were probably completely unsurprised that this dish got the infamous Bibimbust Designation. Rouletters were appalled that this was even served. It looked and tasted like burnt cardboard. If your kitchen can’t hack pizza, just take it off the menu. What even happened here? ⭐️ 1.2 ⭐️
We ended the night with the second lowest rated dish of the night, the Porky’s Pie: our signature slow roasted pork and applewood smoked bacon covered with rocky top smoked cheddar cheese and our in house bbq sauce. Okay, look. How did you serve basically the same terrible burnt cardboard and just cover it with a ton of pulled pork? It was bad. The pulled pork tasty gloopy on this abomination of a base. Friends, we have the first ever Roulette with TWO Bibimbust Designations. Oof. ⭐️ 1.7 ⭐️
If we’re getting technical, the drinks were the top rated…dish of the night. MacGregor’s is known for beer and they didn’t disappoint! Rouletters LOVED the beer flights and they even had seasonal ones and Christmas ones which allowed us to try a wide variety of some of the more unusual offerings without committing to a full pint. Rouletters particularly enjoyed the ones that tasted like cookies. The top beer of the night was the Sam’s Winter Lager (naturally). With a draft list this long and a willingness to create unique tasting experiences, MacGregor’s really shines for the beer lovers in Roc. ⭐️ 4.6 ⭐️
Turning to the service, our server was very accommodating and attentive to such a large party. Unfortunately, service scores are not broken up by person and the bar was very slow at getting drinks out even though they weren’t busy. We’re not talking craft cocktails here with fresh shaved lemon peel or a live burned thyme to add just the right amount of smokey flavor to a high-end bourbon. They were literally pouring draft beer. Also, those pizzas should not have been served – the kitchen lowered the score by even sending those out. Finally, either the kitchen or the server hurt the score by having everything ready in rapid succession so that food was constantly getting cold. We always ask for things to be coursed out, but bar and grills have a hard time with this. ⭐️ 4.1 ⭐️
At the end of the day, the kitchen had an off night, and it impacted every element of this experience. MacGregor’s is usually on their pub grub game, but when it’s bad, it’s BAD. The presentation was terrible on multiple dishes and those pizzas were a nightmare. Plus, all of the scores would have gone up had they brought out food in a way that made more sense. If you’re looking for a place with a great draft list that can handle a bunch of people last minute, this is still a very solid option. There is ample parking and some bar games. Also, the point of this place is for folks to come together and have a good time. As you can see from this very happy birthday croupier, this was a joyful experience. At the end of the day, we can only score it based on the night we Rouletted: the beer selection, friends, and server really helped here. ⭐️ 3.1 ⭐️