Rouxbe

Recently I went out for lunch and dinner all in the same day. It was one of the more depressing "food" days I have in a long time.
First off lunch...made a reservation for 13 (well in advance), we showed up and they looked surprised, oh great! They quickly pull together some tables, of all shapes and sizes. Then when I ask for another table they say, "oh, that's for customers"...ah hellloooo! what am I.
Anyways the food was not that great and when I walked through the kitchen to go the bathroom (yes that's right when I walked through the kitchen), I was horrified to see how dirty it was. I actually looked away and just kept walking, unfortunately we had already ordered.

Wow sorry I am rambling...sorry, let's just say lunch was disappointing.

Now on to dinner. Went to a restaurant that we have been to several times.
Let me keep this part short by saying, WE WILL NOT GO BACK!!!!!!

So my question is this...when you go out for dinner are you generally more happy or more disappointed in your meal?

Oh I agree. I've experienced the same thing you describe. But I have to say, there is one restaurant here where i live that I adore. I have no idea how they pass the health inspectors. It's run by Jamaicans and is Jamaican cuisine. The whole establishment is tacky in the extreme and if you can get a glimpse of the kitchen, well you do because this is also a situation where you have to walk through the kitchen to get to the washroom. After this experience, you are so grossed out that you wonder how you can actually order and eat food prepared there.

BUT, you do because the food is fantastic. The staff and the general atmosphere just makes you so happy that you forget about the other stuff.

tara

I agree with you Tara, somehow it seems a bit more acceptable if the food is really good. At least if you don't look around around that much that is.

These types of restaurants must thank god for the lack of food inspectors!

For sure. We actually approached the cook/owner once and asked him about the condition of the kitchen. He said, "this is the way we do it in Jamaica, don't worry, be happy".

Generally though, when I go out to eat, I want (and deserve) excellent, congenial service, wonderful food prepared with care and skill, and a Clean environment. If I don't get that, I don't return. Word gets around.

tara

a good resturant in our city. We frequent a very small Mexican place at least once a week and are always happy. Other than that we eat at home. It's sad but other than lunch every now and then we've given up on resturants, hence my membership here.

It is sometimes a shot in the dark when it comes to picking a new restaurant but the fact that some people still "take that chance" is encouraging. I currently live in Alberta, Canada and far too often I hear of people frequenting the same old places. Either fast food (McDonalds, Wendy's, A&W) or what I like to call "slow fast food" franchised establishments (Boston Pizza, East Side Mario's, The Olive Garden - I would argue that places like these do little actual cooking and more defrosting and assembling) take the business and smaller, privately run places lose out because some people are too afraid to go try something new. So take the chance and see what your city or town has to offer.

Sometimes there will be places that are just terrible, feel free to walk away and/or call the health inspector. Any chef worth his (or her) salt keeps a clean kitchen and there are plenty who do so and I'm sure they'd appreciate your business.

Apparently Louisiana is more cuisine-minded, as there are tons of good restaurants down here. We live and breathe by our going out to eat, or having a big meal with friends and family at home. Word of mouth will indeed kill a restaurant down here, much quicker than a critic or health inspector. The problem with going out to eat down here is getting people to agree on which restaurant you'd like to frequent...everyone has their favorites depending on which dish each establishment specializes. I can't imagine going to a restaurant and having the food or service so horrible that I'd never want to go back.

I can cook pretty darned well, so when I go out, I want to experience not just good (or exceptional) food, but also great service. And I'm more disappointed than not. However there are always exceptions, and when I find those restaurants, I'll keep going back. Recently I went to the same restaurant for dinner three nights in a row.

I tend to benchmark service on the times the 'water glass' gets topped up. Water is free. And if the water is well topped up, then you can be pretty sure the rest of the stuff is well-serviced. The food can be harder to judge as you're walking into a bit of an unknown zone, but meats, fish etc, and the texture (let alone the taste) are good giveaways.

I'm sick of fancy restaurants with big price tags and no service/good food. When I find a good one, I recommend it to everyone.