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Myself and 2 ladies I work with went out to dinner last night.. One is a 'foodie' and the other is in culinary school presently.
We went to Saskatoon, which is a local restaurant here with a "Northwestern" theme, and serves Steak, Seafood and Wild Game.. Their motto is..
"There's room for all God's creatures.. Right next to the mashed potatoes"
Now, this is my favorite restaurant.. It's locally owned and operated.. The owners are the manager and bartender.. I think the food is excellent. Is it the best you've ever eaten? well, they certainly have the best Kangaroo i've ever had. But, objectively looking at it.. The food is a very high 3 or right at 4 out of 5. Good.. Not falling over yourself about how great it is. Just.. very well done.
Anyway.. This was their first time at the place.. We had started talking about going just before Christmas.. They had never been and wanted to go.. I hadn't been in a while and had a hankering for something interesting.. All thought the food was good.. And one of them remarked on the service by saying..
"Mediocre food and exceptional service will keep a restaurant open for a long time"
I chewed on that most of the night.. And I guess it's true.. But where does that line come down? Obviously, Dick's Last Resort is known for horrible service.. Intentionally.. And they do great business. I'd call the food there, decent-to-good.. Nothing exceptional. So.. Where is that line? Bad food, bad service, noone will come back. Great food, bad service.. Keeps the doors open, at least. Bad food, Great service.. Don't think that place stays open too long..
This place, BTW.. Server is checking on you quite often, but not annoyingly often.. And when you come in, the server introduces him or herself, gets your name.. Addresses you by your name all night. Recites the 'off menu' specials, of which there are many.. Recommends wines.. They have tried all the foods, so they can describe them to you, which, when someone is looking at Emu, Elk or other wild game is quite important. And most of the servers at this place have been there 6 or 7 years at least. very, very little turnover. I've actually talked to servers at other places that have tried getting on there, and they say there's just never an opening because people don't leave.
And while I don't agree that the maxim is an absolute, I do think a restaurant offering average food/great service will generally outlast one with great food/average service because most diners want to feel special when they're dropping a chunk of change on a nice night out. A customer can always rationalize mediocre food as "an off night for the kitchen", but you can't rationalize away poor or rude service.
And, fairly or not, many places with truly "great" food get knocked on for being "pretentious" if they try for superlative service (IMO, the most incorrectly overused word in food reviews).
Consistent good food and good service is a place I'll go back to. Knowing that I can get the meal I expect with a smile means a lot. I've eaten at some fluffy restaurants and your expectations are higher for food and service, when a component isn't delivered upon the meal can be a disappointment.
I'm actually with you on that. I get what they're trying to do.. But it's over the top for me. I took my brother to the same place a few years ago and he just blurted out "Ralph" as his name.. So we were laughing our butts off every time the server came by and asked if "Ralph" needed anything.
A similar situation.. Moe's Southwest Grill.. When you enter the door, everyone in the restaurant is supposed to shout out "Welcome to Moe's!".. That annoys me to no end as well.
I don't want to be on a first name basis with my server....politically incorrect? Maybe....but that's the way it is. I want decent service, good to great food, and I don't want to pay through the nose for it....and I do NOT want a kangaroo kabob. Ever!
And.. Rejecting anything without even seeing it.. Kangaroo is actually quite good. It's red meat.. Similar to ostrich.. Not gamey at all.
The ladies I went with.. One had a Buffalo steak, which I really can't distinguish from beef.. The other had the Rainbow Trout.. Which.. We all thought was quite good, but they didn't crispy the skin on it, which we all thought would have made it better.
Last edited by Labonte18; 01-16-2015 at 10:04 AM..
And.. Rejecting anything without even seeing it.. Kangaroo is actually quite good. It's red meat.. Similar to ostrich.. Not gamey at all.
The ladies I went with.. One had a Buffalo steak, which I really can't distinguish from beef.. The other had the Rainbow Trout.. Which.. We all thought was quite good, but they didn't crispy the skin on it, which we all thought would have made it better.
Yeah. Kangaroo is good eatin'. When the wife and I went to Australia we had kangaroo and ostrich. At first she was horrified I was going to eat kangaroo because we'd just been to a wildlife preserve and were interacting with the animals. It wasn't until I reminded her that the little guys we were petting were wallabys, not kangaroos, and the 'roos were the big, nasty ones that could knock you unconscious that she relented. I did not eat a wallaby on that trip though.
I don't think they serve koala anywhere... I'd have been divorced on the spot if I tried that.
I have a policy. Any waitress that calls me Hon gets an immediate hug.
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