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    Maybe I’m Just Getting Cranky

    By PDX Food Dude Last Update March 10, 2016 10 Comments

    Is it just me that is getting annoyed more often when I go out to dinner?

    When I go to a restaurant and every table is full but no one is waiting, I expect to have prompt, efficient service. I would expect that it would take less than 45 minutes from the time I order to the time I get my food. I would expect to get my water glass refilled without having to practically trip the server to get their attention.

    When I pay $10.00 for a glass of red wine, I don’t expect it to show up as a white wine in a half-filled water glass. When I pay $42.00 for a bottle of wine, I don’t expect it to come with two regular tumblers.

    When I order a green salad, and it comes with three slices of desiccated pear that has no real flavor, I should know to pay and leave.

    When I sit and watch as a nearby table of six is served five entrees, and then all have to wait almost fifteen minutes for the final dish, I should know to cancel my order and leave.

    When i am keeping an eye on the flow of food from the kitchen, I would expect the restaurant to get all the plates for my table on the service counter at about the same time. I wouldn’t expect to have one dish sit for 8 minutes, while waiting for the others, before being brought cold to my table.

    When I order a pork chop, and the server asks how I want it cooked, I expect it to be somewhere in the general ballpark, and that I wouldn’t get something that is so dry my fork (literally) bends when I push it into the meat. I would also expect it to have more than a tablespoon of sauce, so I can at least get something on each bite to help moisten the shoe leather I’ve just been served. I wouldn’t expect it to be presented with a side that is almost as dry as the pork chop.

    When I order a meat dish on mashed potatoes in a marsala sauce, I wouldn’t expect the potatoes to be room temperature, and I would expect to be able to find some Marsala flavor somewhere in the dish.

    When I order a dish with succotash, I wouldn’t expect the succotash to be a completely one-dimensional sauce with no real redeeming value. Furthermore, I wouldn’t expect accompanying gnocchi to have the taste and texture of a simply cut piece of potato.

    I won’t even go into the scallops.

    I would not expect to pay an average price of $18.00 for each dish, all fairly small portions.

    Fortunately, I was not stupid enough to order dessert. Unfortunately, to do a fair review, I need to go back two more times… but then perhaps I’m just being unreasonable.

    Full review coming up, and no… I won’t say where this happened. Not yet anyway.

    Related

    Category: Portland Food and Restaurant News and Discussion.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Restaurateur says

      December 31, 2005 at 1:53 am

      Yes, you must be just getting crankier!

      Just joking.

      Considering that it has to be so painful for you to eat there, and if it’s likely to be a thrashing review… have you considered just not doing this review? Sure, you don’t only want to review places you liked, but ultimately you don’t owe anyone anything, since you set your agenda. Perhaps you should just move on to your next goal and save those alka-seltzers for later?

      -Rest

      Reply
    2. Food Dude says

      December 31, 2005 at 1:59 am

      Rest – on the other hand if I get that much commentary out of one meal, can you imagine what I’ll have with another one?

      Besides, I haven’t tried the desserts, and they ‘sound’ interesting ;)

      Reply
    3. Restaurateur says

      December 31, 2005 at 2:04 am

      Sorry, forgot… Marsala is easy to mess up if you use crappy quality American stuff, that completely misses the target of sweet/salty/nutty/tart flavors, or you dilute the heck out of it. Or both!

      At home like in a restaurant, good Marsala pays off.

      -Rest

      Reply
    4. Betsy says

      December 31, 2005 at 8:36 am

      Innnnteresting – I recently sat at the bar section of a local restaurant, watching the manager painstakingly remove empty not-yet-filled wine glasses from one table, then instructing both the server *and* bartender about the glasses that should have been used instead.

      He glossed it over nicely with the table (he’d been the one to spot the mistake), but made his point rather emphatically with his employees.

      (Obviously, neither one – or that manager, for that matter – must have been working the night you were there…!)

      Reply
    5. Carolyn Manning says

      December 31, 2005 at 1:42 pm

      Are you sure it wasn’t just you? :-)

      Reply
    6. Mr. Potatoes Head says

      December 31, 2005 at 2:44 pm

      only 2 more trips back to spend your hard earned dough. You are a glutton!

      Reply
    7. pdxdiner says

      December 31, 2005 at 10:40 pm

      Betsy,

      I think you’re confused, the dude hasn’t said where it was yet…..unless you know something we don’t.

      ~pdxdiner.

      Reply
    8. Betsy says

      January 1, 2006 at 8:59 pm

      Taking a shot in the dark, is all…

      Reply
    9. Ellie says

      January 4, 2006 at 8:38 pm

      I’ll warrant a guess based on the glassware and pear comment. Was this particular restaurant located on Mississippi Ave? I never made it past the salad course.

      Reply
    10. pr says

      January 5, 2006 at 2:29 pm

      Sounds like what I’ve experienced at a lot of restaurants. The food and service in this town are usually overrated.

      Reply

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