Critic-Turned-Cook Finds Critical Eating Habit Hard to Break
[Photograph: Robyn Lee]
Since my dining budget has gone from $30,000-plus a year to zero, I don't go out often. That's why it really grinds my corn when meals go terribly wrong.
As much fun as I'm having in the kitchen at Alpha Sigma Phi at the University of Washington, I occasionally wish I still had my print platform to write about restaurants that are like that emperor who had no clothes. I may not be a restaurant critic anymore, but that doesn't mean I stopped being a critical eater. The time spent in the kitchen on my quest to try and become a cook have given me new insight about the millions of little details that go into turning raw ingredients into something critics rave about. And it also means I can more easily spot when cooks are being careless or cutting corners.
I recently went to a new place that was getting good word of mouth with a couple of friends in the restaurant industry. Unfortunately, it was an absolute bomb. While the room was beautiful, the mussels were off and the chicken liver pate tasted old and rank. My French 75 was drowning in lemon juice. Frites were lukewarm. It wasn't just my opinion—my friends couldn't believe what they tasted. We decided not to venture beyond those appetizers.
But here's what was so disappointing: Our server took the nearly full plates away without asking why we barely touched the food. That's unforgivable.
I'm not trying to be coy, but I'm not going to name the restaurant. It wouldn't be fair. As a critic, I would visit a restaurant at least three times before writing a review. Maybe it was an off night. The place seems to be a crowd pleaser.
Still, don't most diners give a place just one shot? If you have a bad meal, do you go back for seconds or do you tell everybody you know that it was suck-y and then trash the chef on Yelp?
Fortunately, that experience was not the norm. For every bad meal I suffered through, there are hundreds of memorable bites. Pretty good odds, right?
About the author: Former Seattle Post-Intelligencer restaurant critic Leslie Kelly has been working in professional kitchens since the newspaper folded in March and chronicling her culinary journey from pen to pan for Serious Eats. She also blogs at LeslieKellyWhiningandDining.blogspot.com and recently launched a story-telling project for Northstar Winery following one wine from the vine to the table.
Add a comment:
Previewing your comment:
HTML Hints
Some HTML is OK: <a href="URL">link</a>, <strong>strong</strong>, <em>em</em>
Comment Guidelines
Post whatever you want, just keep it seriously about eats, seriously. We reserve the right to delete off-topic or inflammatory comments. Learn more at our Comment Policy page.
If you see something not so nice, please, report an inappropriate comment.
19 Comments:
I'll give a restaurant more than one shot if, for instance, it's new, or if the food was so-so but the service was excellent, or vice versa. One of my favorite places was not great the first time, but has gotten through it's "hot new place" growing pains because the crew and the chef really care about the food and the experience. If it's obviously a "we're the bomb and if you don't agree, don't let the door hit you" joint, it's a one shot deal for me.
arjava at 2:40PM on 10/29/09
It depends on the cost. We used to go to the Inn at Little Washington every year for our anniversary, and we loved it--and the recipes I made at home from the cookbook were glorious. It was worth the $500 we dropped each time we went. That went on for more than a decade, but in 1999, at the height of the internet bubble, we had a bad experience and have never been back. I'm still bitter about that evening! The fish was overcooked, and the place was packed with young, dot-commers who were very drunk and very loud. We overheard one being fired at a large "company" table, and his reaction was as angry as it was ear-piercing. Our courses were not brought out simultaneously, either. The waitstaff was watching the shenanigans of the particular table, and pretty much ignored us. It was not worth anything close to $500.
I carry a grudge, and I've never been back--nor will I ever return in the future. I don't care if it is ranked #1 restaurant in America, it wasn't #1 that night, and that's when I needed them to be really wonderful.
Teachertalk at 2:51PM on 10/29/09
I suspect it is a little fake french place in ballard. If a place sucks, I never go back. end of story. life is too short to eat poorly prepared food served by ignorant wait staff.
SeattleCB at 2:57PM on 10/29/09
Two bad experiences will put me off a restaurant forever. In some cases it only takes one. Generally those that get one shot lose because what they tout as one of their signature dishes is a complete bomb. I figure if they can't at least rise to mediocre on what they do best then the rest must be truly abysmal.
tankwatkins at 3:01PM on 10/29/09
In most cases I will give a place two tries, just to make sure it wasn't an off night. Especially if it was good reviews or feedback from friends that led me there in the first place. In the rare instance where it is totally horrific; I will not bother a second time.
FWIW - I don't usually accept "we are new" as an excuse for poor service or poor food. I understand timing issues are part of the kinks that need to be worked out but then the service staff should go above and beyond to make up for it. However, in my opinion, food preparation and quality should be fine-tuned and service staff should be well trained before opening day.
arwenb at 3:21PM on 10/29/09
Bad food and bad service means I will never go back. Either bad food or bad service that the manager brushes off means I will never go back. If I bother to write to a restaurant about anything negative, and I get no response, I never go back. The take out-section of Whole Foods put the store in that category.
If a server or manager is responsive to an issue, of course, I go back. They remember me because I bring things to their attention in a respectful but firm way. Having been both a server and cook, I am well aware how difficult it is to provide anything close to perfection in a restaurant. I want to give a restaurant the benefit of the doubt, but I require being taken seriously.
dksbook at 3:27PM on 10/29/09
No. I do not give a restaurant a second chance. I live the the SF Bay Area - a place awash in great restaurants at every price point. And I have a very limited budget for eating out - so if I have a bad experience I do not go there again, unless it is solely a service issue. If I love the food but the service is bad I might try again. But for bad food? Never.
Dcarl1 at 3:31PM on 10/29/09
i don't give second chances either.
it's like former boyfriends-once an ex, always an ex.
gastronomeg at 3:58PM on 10/29/09
I won't give a restaurant a second chance unless my husband or one of my friends begs me to give it another shot. And I mean BEG.
There is very little that pisses me off more than paying good money for a crappy meal. The whole time I'm thinking "for the price of this meal I could have purchased an entire week's worth of groceries."
jlmcnamara at 4:01PM on 10/29/09
I only give them one chance, I never go back. I pretty much never think of the place again once I'm out the door.
redfish at 4:24PM on 10/29/09
I don't usually give a second chance. I live in NYC; I don't have enough time to give all the places that I want to eat a FIRST chance! (I'll make an exception if it's a veg*n friendly place, though ... )
If I have a bad experience, I do post it on Yelp. I'm not malicious; I just state what my problem was with the meal. I figure my one review won't stop someone from going there, but it might steer them in the direction of a different entree ... one that might be better.
katieb82981 at 4:36PM on 10/29/09
I'm a softie, because I will give a second chance (and sometimes, depending on how it falls on the 'meh to traumatic' scale, a third): There's a dim sum place locally that I love, but once had an experience where after we'd said how we wanted the cheque handled, the waiter tried to take the $60 my friends forked over as tip and charge the entire check to my card -- but, I think if I hadn't already been to the place several times over the previous two years, that could have been a deal-breaker.
(As it was, I sent him back to undo the charge, made sure to tip the cart ladies and the busboys individually, and reported the experience to the manager. ...I haven't seen that waiter since.)
bansidhe at 5:04PM on 10/29/09
I'm willing to give a restaurant more than one shot usually. But my partner, if he has a bad meal, the place is dead to him. He's sometimes willing to admit that he ordered the wrong choice due to his super health conscious ways, but when there are other more desirable restaurant choices, he's not willing to go back to where he wasn't pleased the first time around.
Otabenga at 5:59PM on 10/29/09
@SeattleCB is probably right about the place in question... in this particular instance, I would actually suggest giving it a second chance at off hours. I went there for an early dinner with friends, and it was yummy: fresh frites, crispy-melty pork belly, and nicely dressed salads. Lunchbox Laboratory can have the same problem where otherwise-delicious food really suffers during busy service.
GirlFromJetCity at 6:19PM on 10/29/09
It kind of depends on the place, but usually two tries tops before we write a restaurant off in this household. The high end martini bar wannabe place that served me rack of lamb that was still bleating and an over oxidized house wine (and a white pizza made disgusting with truffle oil that wasn't mentioned on the menu) got one shot. The tapas place that was really awesome for a while but then went down in food quality, service and overall practices (started letting families with kids sit in the bar and run around unchecked) we took a break from for six months. When we gave them a return shot, the problems seemed to have disappeared and have remained so.
Amandarama at 8:55AM on 10/30/09
here's another vote for going back if the service was bad, but not giving another chance to a bad meal. "Front of the house" is really hard work, and anyone can have a bad day. But if a whole meal was bad, not one dish that worked (and if that's true across the table, not just my own choices) then I figure there's something really wrong in the kitchen, and won't go back unless everyone I talk to says "but it was great when I was there..." or as is more likely, the management changes.
elisabeth58 at 11:42AM on 10/30/09
Like many others, I rarely go back to places where I've had bad food or bad service. And, I never go back if I get both. I work too hard for my meager dining out allowance to chance wasting it again on a bad experience.
Rottenmom at 11:56AM on 10/30/09
If it's a more expensive place, we have too many other places we rarely get to try, so even meh food or service means we don't go back. More casual/midprice places will get a second chance if the service is mediocre or some of the food isn't good. But if both are way off, we won't go back for a second try.
Charise at 1:18PM on 10/30/09
okay, this particular chef has put TWO other restaurants out of business. he has no idea what the hell he is doing, and i will never eat at another one of his restaurants again. they suck!
dmarina at 12:30PM on 11/01/09