Personal Review :
Al's used to be a favorite of ours. Great food (seafood, steaks, chicken),
reasonable prices and
good, personable service...people with whom you can be on a first name basis.
However, we had to quit going there, and that was a real shame. Smoking was
permitted in the restaurant. They had one non-smoking table in the back
corner of the restaurant, which didn't help a bit. Besides being allergic to
smoke, I detest having to `taste' somebody else's smoke while I'm trying to
savour my dinner. They couldn't avoid smoking for an hour?
Recently we gave Al's another try. The non-smoking area is now larger, but the ventilation is poor, so, our clothes reeked of smoke for hours after the meal. We couldn't even stay for desert since the smoke got so bad. Additionally, our favorite standby servers are gone, the chef (Mel) has left for greener pastures, and, as a result, the quality, while still good, is not quite what it was. Well, it was worth a try, but it was our last.
Personal Opinion:
Interestingly, with regards to non-smoking restaurants, I have yet to see
one suffering for business. Potential loss of business is always a popular
argument in favor of permitting smoking. But it doesn't wash, especially when
one has to wait for upwards of an hour at places like the Olive Garden...
another suffering(?) non-smoking restaurant.