"I had the burger, my wife had the chicken sandwich. She loved it. I thought the burger had some issues. The meat was overcooked. It didn 't taste like high quality grass fed beef. The BBQ sauce was very good. The bun was not brioche as advertised on the menu, it was a cheap mass produced burger bun. The bottom (thin) bun was soggy when I got the burger from sitting for the waiter to carry it out. It was disintegrated due to the BBQ sauce saturating it. As a result, the burger fell apart in my hands and I had to eat it with a fork. I also would have liked a few paper napkins. The cloth napkin has material that does not absorb things well. The material feels plasticky and repels liquids. It feels harsh against one 's lips, and the napkin is too large and unwieldy. The burger came with potato chips that seemed homemade. The chips were old and had been made earlier in the day and then reheated. I didn 't like them. I ordered some local beer brand that claimed to be Mexican style. It was just okay. It didn 't have the sharp crisp flavor of a Mexican beer. Rather, it was muted and almost soap sudsy. It was served with lemon. The buzz from two of these beers in close suscession over one hour was not as pleasant as a high quality real Mexican beer. I prefer REAL German beers. It 's amazing to me that a top notch place like the Grand Hotel doesn 't get Wiehenstephaner which is available to buy in Fairhope. It is Miles Above what I drank last night, and is very sophisticated. Well-healed booze hounds would surely appreciate it at one of the best hotels in all of AL, even if the price was astronomical. I love the Weihenstephaner Kristallweissbier the most. Or Einstock Icelandic White Ale, which would appeal to both men and women since it is brewed with refreshing hints of oats, coriander, and orange peel. I have no affiliation with any company. My wife and I sat by the bay at a front fire pit. The view was fabulous, and among the best in Fairhope by far. It certainly made paying for overpriced food and beer in order to enjoy that view totally worth the price. The outdoor lights with a lot of LED circular bulbs arranged like UFOs on each post were unpleasant. I miss old lights that go with the 1800 's flavor of this locale. The new LED lights detract from the atmosphere and take away from the view of the bay at dusk. They are bright white light and so blinding. Yellow colored warm LED lights would be so much better. I had to consciously look away from the cold bright white lights to enjoy the view. I would suggest some gas imitation lights. Yes, I know the fire pits have natural lighting, but even one prominently placed imitation gas lantern on a pole would add so much atmosphere. They would go so well with the old lodge in this fantastic venue. We arrived at dusk. It got dark one third of the way through our meal. Most other people outside in front by the bay fire pits left and went inside. Eventually, I was bitten by a few mosquitoes. My wife was not bitten. We went inside to escape any more bites by the bugs. Our waiter was very nice and professional. His rustic personality and kind observations added to the dining experience. He kept my card too long however and didn 't give it back very fast. This made me nervous. I 'm sure it 's fine, but I will be watching my credit card bill online very carefully. Some great live music was being performed. It was piped outside in speakers. This was a nice touch. The music was old skool and seemed kind of 1940 's-ish. I would have liked to hear some Cab Calloway or Cole Porter. Nobody plays that piano music any more. Love his song Let 's Do It. I miss drummers playing live. Technology has gotten rid of drummers. Live drums make the performance, IMO. Yes, the drums need to be well muffled and even have a plexiglass cage, but still. It 's so nice to have real drums. There were some great cigar smells outside. I can 't smoke any more, but it 's so nice to smell high quality cigars being smoked. I miss the old Rothschild Punches from the early 2000 's. So yummy."
