We had Gentle Giant pack most of our 2000 SF Wilmington home, then load and unload everything in our West Newbury home. They also unloaded a PackRat storage container that we had previously packed. Over the space of 3 days we had 11 different "Giants" in our old and new homes. They were all very hard-working, respectful, careful and pleasant. We haven't unpacked a majority of our furniture and belongings yet because we are having our floors redone, but what we have unpacked has been in great shape with no damage. They did break a knob on our new home's stove, but they pointed it out immediately, and the stove already had some other damage that we knew about so it was not an issue. We had estimates from 3 companies, with Gentle Giant right in the middle, and their final price came in right between the low and high estimates they provided. They will come back to pick up empty boxes at no charge when we're ready, and they left a lot of furniture fully wrapped in their blankets to protect it in the garage until our floors are refinished. At that time we will hire them again to bring the rest of our furniture and boxes into the house from the garage. We had a great experience with both our estimator (Jon) and move coordinator (Andrea) and our primary crew chief Pedro was fantastic. Will definitely use Gentle Giant for future moves, well worth the money!

Stopped in at the Reading Chili's for a "quick" dinner after a Home Depot run. We have visited the Wilmington location several times and always have a good experience. Not so at Reading and we will NOT be going back to this one. We only ordered entrees and water but it took nearly 90 minutes to get in and out of there. The server finally showed up after about 25 minutes after we ordered to explain that "the kitchen screwed up" by making one of our meals with chicken rather than the requested steak, so they were starting that meal over again. Then another 15 minutes later he came by to say he had talked with his manager and they were going to take that meal off the bill because it was taking so long. Fine. But when the food finally came, both meals were room temperature, not even warm, and the entree that was topped with steak (a very meager portion) also had 2 chunks of chicken. Clearly they had just stripped off the chicken .... most of it anyway ... and let it sit while waiting for the steak to cook. The other meal wasn't even under a heat lamp, which is not ideal anyway. We then had trouble flagging down the waiter for drink refills, although the place was nearly empty so no idea what he was doing. The floor throughout the dining room was filthy. They did comp the meal as they said, but between the bad service, disappointing food and lack of cleanliness we will take our business elsewhere in the future.

Horseshoe is declining.

For 16 years Horseshoe has been our "go-to" place for dinner on the fly as it's only a 5-minute drive from our home. We liked the barbecue offerings better when it was still Horseshoe Cafe, but when they closed down, rebuilt from the ground up and reopened as Horseshoe Grille we were enthused and, for several years, impressed. Of course with the new place the menu became much more upscale, as did the interior, and consequently the pricing. We're happy to pay more if it's worth it, and it used to be, but we're not so sure anymore.

In the interest of full disclosure, our visit today was our first in about six months as we have been away. We arrived around 6:15 on a Friday night and the parking lot wasn't entirely full but getting close. (They should repaint the lines in the parking lot so people might park more evenly.) We walked in to find FOUR young ladies at the hostess station, but not one of them said anything to us. They all smiled, but there was no "good evening" or "welcome" or anything, so after a minute we announced there were two of us for dinner. If we'd wanted to sit in the bar we could've just walked in there without stopping at the hostess station, so not sure why they need four people to not greet us. Anyway, we were escorted to a table in the dining room.

Our waitress came by for drink orders. The drink delivery was quick which was expected since we didn't order any booze. She asked if we'd decided on dinner yet. We hadn't been advised of any specials, which there always are, so we asked and were told a couple things. In the past we've always been told the specials without having to ask. Later in the evening we heard another waitress telling diners at a neighboring table about the specials, and she recited 2 more than we'd heard.

We often look for seating in the bar first (although we did not today) but it's usually standing room only which doesn't work for a meal. There were a lot of families seated in the dining room, not surprising given the early hour. One guy was standing in the middle of a group of nearby tables, talking loudly into his cell phone for about 3 minutes while ordering his kid to sit down. We were seated in a booth. On the opposite side of the booth from hubby was a family with 2 kids, probably 5 and 7 or so. The boy spent nearly the entire time standing on his bench, stuffing fries in his mouth and staring at me. Later in the meal his sister wandered out of their booth and stood at ours, scratching her crotch. I kid you not!! I know it's not a 5-star restaurant but we'd like to enjoy our meal in peace. While this is not the restaurant's fault, frankly we don't want to pay $25 per entree to feel like we're in Chuck E. Cheese.

We both had a cup of chowder to start. It was a hot and generous portion, but it truly tasted like it was just plopped out of a can. For dinner I had the sirloin salad, which I order frequently because it's filling and reliable. The salad itself was fine; the homemade Italian dressing was much thinner than usual but the flavor was OK. However the steak tips, which were ordered medium rare, were closer to medium well and not remotely warm. They weren't exactly cold, but usually you can tell they've just come off a hot grill. These tasted like they were grilled an hour ago and left to sit, which might explain the overdoneness. The hubby ordered a BBQ platter. We used to love their smoked sausage but they took it off the menu years ago and then further reduced the mix & match BBQ offerings. Now the options are just St. Louis ribs, pulled pork and chicken. He ordered the ribs and pork, beans and slaw on the side. As soon as the plate came he asked for extra BBQ sauce and when it arrived, which took quite some time, it was literally about 2 teaspoons in a tiny cup and barely made a difference for the pulled pork, which looked more like shredded kindling. He left about half of the meal on his plate which is very unusual for him, and he didn't bring home the leftovers. His assessment was "dry and not impressive."

Once the food was delivered we didn't see our waitress in the dining room at all until she finally stopped by after about 15 minutes, so hubby finally got to request a drink refill although he was basically done eating by then. Meanwhile, another waitress was chatting with folks at a neighboring table so we got to hear about a C-section and somebody's graduation for 10 minutes. The service used to be a lot more professional and reliable. We used to see the owner making rounds at tables but haven't seen him in ages - maybe it's changed hands or something. The tables are worn and the menus, which are currently in a state of transition, are pretty grimy; they used to be in nice binders but are now just laminated sheets of paper that are sort of sticky in your hands.

Not sure we'll be going back to Horseshoe Grille. We're missing the old days of Horseshoe Cafe.

First impression - what IS that odor? As soon as we opened the outer set of doors we caught it: Sort of a damp/mildewy smell. It permeated the entire restaurant, reminiscent of a vinyl tablecloth wiped with a damp, dirty rag. What a turnoff, not really sure why we didn't turn around and leave immediately except that we were pretty hungry. We'd just been on a mission to Ikea and had an hour's drive home so we wanted lunch. Anyway, once we got used to the idea of dining with this pervasive odor, we actually had a decent meal. We both ordered a BBQ trio platter and all told had baby backs, St. Louis ribs, smoked sausage, BBQ chicken breast, smoked turkey and 4 different sides. Amazingly the poultry options were actually more moist than the ribs which is pretty unusual. The ribs had decent flavor but were by no means falling off the bone tender. They weren't actually dry, but a little longer on the heat and they might've been. We both really enjoyed the smoked sausage; it tasted very similar to when we smoke our own at home. Hubby enjoyed the mac & cheese and I the coleslaw. We also had the fries and apples. We shared the ridiculously large chocolate cake and didn't finish it. Service was fine which is good since each member of the waitstaff only had one table to cover while we were there. The ladies' room was tidy but the bench in our booth had completely come away from its base and I almost had a mishap. I'd go back again for the food if I were in the neighborhood, but if upon opening the door I caught that odor again I'd hightail it out of there.