A Dining Dilema

I thought I'd share a recent dining experience and solicit some advice from my fellow culinary friends.
Last Sunday, my wife and two friends had dinner at Think http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/search/42015,0,7442558.venue. We had dined there previously and enjoyed it very much - especially since it is BYOB. We arrived shortly after they had opened with no reservations, yet were cheerfully seated immediately. Our waiter was friendly and attentive. Overall, the food was excellent. We chose several dishes to share so we could sample a wide range of choices from the menu.
We really enjoyed the mussels in red sauce - a uniquely prepared dish with great flavor. Unfortunately, several of the mussels were unopened in the dish.
Additionally, the seasonal pumpkin ravioli was a bit undercooked - yet still edible and showing great flavor.
Standouts included a rack of lamb and crab cakes.
To make a short story long, we mentioned the above shortcomings to our waiter - who notified the chef. Keep in mind, the food overall was great and we were enjoying our dining experience. Our critique of the dishes was largely a result of my dining companions being employed in the culinary industry (my wife is a cook, my friend a sommolier). Therefore, we were more critical than the average diner might be.
At any rate, the chef visited our table for what he incorrectly thought was some major damage control. At his insistance, we mentioned the two dishes we were disappointed with while emphasizing that we enjoyed most of what we had eaten. To his credit, he apologized and comped us those dishes - along with the LARGEST dessert tray I have ever seen. Naturally, we felt obligated to eat this complimentary offering even though we were all approaching uncomfortably full territory.
As the evening winded down, our bill was delivered. One of my dining companions excused himself to the restroom and encountered the hostess en route. When asked how everything was, he reiterated the food was great overall with the exception of the above mentioned dishes. Perhaps this was poor judgement on his part since the matter had already been resolved to our satisfaction. I can only assume the hostess shared his comments with the chef - who was now hearing this for a third time. As my friend exited the restroom, he was confronted by a now angry chef who proceeded to curse him out, throw the bill at his feet and exclaim, "I don't care who you are. I don't need your money. Just get out!"
For what it's worth, none of us witnessed this exchange. Therefore, I can only explain the events as they were described to me. Back at the table, our waiter profusely apologized to us. We reiterated that we really enjoyed our meal and were confused why the chef misinterpreted our minor critique. Perhaps we simply caught him on a bad night? We insisted it was not our intention to get a free meal and insisted that we pay our bill. We quickly paid the amount due and left - passing the kitchen on the way where a very upset chef silently stewed.
For any that are still reading this long-winded post, my question is this:
Should I make an attempt to smoothe the situation over with the chef and his staff (and perhaps get his version of events) or simply accept the fact that we are no longer welcome at Think?
I really do like this restaurant. It's close to where we live and I would like to visit again. However, the chef's behavior (as it was explained to me) was unacceptable and part of me thinks (no pun intended) he no longer deserves my (or my friends) business. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt because a) I realize how stressful a job this can sometimes be and b) It is possible he has a different version of events.
Has anyone else had an unpleasant experience at a favorite restaurant? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

There are lot of variables here, and a few unknowns, but it's tough for me to accept a chef throwing the tantrum you describe. We all put up with a lot from clients, but I don't think it's ever okay to lose it like that, unless the provocation is extreme, and that, at any rate, does not seem to have been the case.

I, personally, wouldn't try to smooth things over, and I probably would not go to the place for a while, just to let things cool down.

There are other options in the area...like right next door to Think.

Hammond

Personally, I don't understand why your friend thought it was necessary to repeat the story for the third time.

The hostess' question was probably a rhetorical one. Kind of like when someone passes you on the street and say's "How are you doing?" The correct and polite answer is "Fine. And you?" as opposed to, "Pretty well except for this oozing open wound I have on my chest, the fact that my wife left me yesterday and I just finished an otherwise lovely meal in which three of my mussels didn't open."

The issues with regard to your meal had been raised and addressed in what appears to be a manner that met with your satisfaction.

The chef had been more than gracious in addressing your concerns considering that, overall, your meal was acceptable. I'm sure that he takes a great deal of pride in his work as we all do.

On a most forgiving basis, your friend sounds socially clueless. On a least forgiving basis he seems like a constant complainer who was trying to leverage as much free stuff as he could from this business owner.

The chef there is responsible for managing kitchen costs. After, the third complaint, he probably saw Mr. Clueless as being someone who wasn't going to be happy no matter what he did to try to rectify the situation. Thus, he invited him never to come back.

Having made the effort that the chef did to address your concerns (free dishes and a dessert tray), I don't think I would have reacted differently than the chef did if I were in his shoes.

Complaining incessantly when one's dinner only has minor flaws, will make you persona non-grata in any restaurant in any town. Personally, I'd stay away. You've burned your bridge in that place.

Being in the restaurant biz, I understand how it can be frustrating to do everything possible to remedy a situation to no avail (or so thought the chef), but its certainly nothing worth losing one's temper over. I would write the chef and management a note describing your side of the story. Keep it sincere but unapologetic, making it clear that it was not your intention to get a free meal. Include a phone number or email address. If the management/chef does not contact you personally to welcome you back to the restaurant, I'd take my business elsewhere.

Kimmie wrote: I would write the chef and management a note describing your side of the story. Keep it sincere but unapologetic, making it clear that it was not your intention to get a free meal. Include a phone number or email address. If the management/chef does not contact you personally to welcome you back to the restaurant, I'd take my business elsewhere.

This is a great suggestion - exactly the kind of advice I was looking for.
Thanks!

Coulda, woulda, shoulda...your friend apparently failed, when mentioning the meal's shortcomings to the hostess, to also mention that the chef and waiter had gone the extra mile and more than compensated you for the meal's flaws by comping some of the dishes and bringing a dessert platter to your table. While the chef may have over-reacted, if you want to continue to dine at Think, IMHO it's your friend who should be writing the note, not you.

Hi,

You do realize this post could have been written in the abstract without naming the restaurant. Now the Chef may have the distinct pleasure, yet again, to hear about this tempest in a teapot.

If you really liked this restaurant and want to return, then I would have poised this issue without naming names.

Regards,

This is clearly a volatile issue, and one that is very difficult to evaluate. It's hard to know what exactly passed between the other diner and the chef in the hall, so it feels like we're dividing ourselves into those who generally incline with the customer, and those who generally incline with the restaurant staff, independently of what actually may have happened.

C2, I don't have much of a problem mentioning the restaurant, as the kind of restaurant Think is has some bearing upon how kitchen staff and customers react to problems that arise.

Hammond

Cathy2 wrote:Hi,

You do realize this post could have been written in the abstract without naming the restaurant. Now the Chef may have the distinct pleasure, yet again, to hear about this tempest in a teapot.

If you really liked this restaurant and want to return, then I would have poised this issue without naming names.

Regards,

Point taken.
I labored over this while drafting the post. However, as I mentioned, I enjoy dining at this restaurant and have, this incident aside, always had a great experience there.
Also, I did feel the actual restaurant was relevant - since the quality of food was initially the issue. You may accept a certain level at say, Burrito King versus Alinea. Obviously, Think falls somewhere in between.

C2, I don't have much of a problem mentioning the restaurant, as the kind of restaurant Think is has some bearing upon how kitchen staff and customers react to problems that arise.

David,

Just offering an opinion like everyone else here.

Now I will admit there is something to be said about bold actions. I live two houses away from a church which has a nursery school. When they applied for permission, one of my neighbors was front and forward protesting the plan. Later after it was approved, she enrolled her child at the very same nursery school she protested against. The first few days there were odd looks and eventually everything smoothed out.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote:

C2, I don't have much of a problem mentioning the restaurant, as the kind of restaurant Think is has some bearing upon how kitchen staff and customers react to problems that arise.

David,

Just offering an opinion like everyone else here.

Of course; me too!

My point is that the type of restaurant has a bearing upon the acceptability of the response of staff to a customer concern. I think it's fair to assume that the better the restaurant, the more professional the anticipated response. A professional should be more able to handle a difficult situation without blowing up. Throwing a check at the customer's feet seems, under most circumstances, to be very unprofessional.

Hammond

David Hammond wrote:

My point is that the type of restaurant has a bearing upon the acceptability of the response of staff to a customer concern. I think it's fair to assume that the better the restaurant, the more professional the anticipated response. A professional should be more able to handle a difficult situation without blowing up. Throwing a check at the customer's feet seems, under most circumstances, to be very unprofessional.

Hammond

Exactly.
I mean, most of us expect to be cursed at by the staff if we "dine" at the Weiner Circle for chissakes.

YourPalWill wrote:
On a most forgiving basis, your friend sounds socially clueless. On a least forgiving basis he seems like a constant complainer who was trying to leverage as much free stuff as he could from this business owner.

The chef there is responsible for managing kitchen costs. After, the third complaint, he probably saw Mr. Clueless as being someone who wasn't going to be happy no matter what he did to try to rectify the situation. Thus, he invited him never to come back.

Having made the effort that the chef did to address your concerns (free dishes and a dessert tray), I don't think I would have reacted differently than the chef did if I were in his shoes.

Complaining incessantly when one's dinner only has minor flaws, will make you persona non-grata in any restaurant in any town. Personally, I'd stay away. You've burned your bridge in that place.

I don't interpret it that way. Frankly I'm more surprised that the hostess wouldn't have known about the situation - that doesn't speak well to the coordination between the kitchen, waitstaff, and frontroom. I would have expected for the hostess to know and to phrase the question to be focused on if the restaurant had made the diner happy - rather than some generic question (how was everything?) that would force the issues to be revisited. Since NOBODY here was part of that conversation we don't know how the hostess asked the question or what the exact response was and we are all speculating.

Standing on the outside looking in it sounds like there were a few minor gaffes which the restaurant went out of their way to rectify. It also sounds like some sort of monumental miscommunication may have occurred between the diners and the kitchen.

BTW - I don't know about the rest of you but checking shellfish before serving them is something I'm almost religious about. If they aren't alive they don't go into the pot and if they aren't open after cooking they don't go onto the plate. Granted I'm not cooking at the volume levels of a restaurant but if I'm paying somebody for a meal I'd expect them, at a minimum, to show the same care for my meal as I show my guests at home. Bad shellfish is not good food (sorry, Alton - so sue me).

Not commenting on the situation at hand, but rather generally, complaining seems to be taken more often for the act of complaining than what you're actually complaining about. Which is a shame, I think. We should be able to talk openly and frankly about the food without worrying about it being a personal insult to the chef. The chef should be thankful that he/she is getting someone in his restaurant who is willing to tell it like it is, rather than just slink out of there never to return and bad-mouth the place to his/her friends.

I think it's too bad that the issue becomes the character of the person complaining rather than the quality of the food itself. I think we should encourage more people to complain about food and complain often, because there's certainly no shortage of food to complain about, and hey, restauranteurs might actually get the idea that patrons are more concerned about the quality of the food rather than the esoteric things they spend so much money on thinking it will please people.

As something of a side note, I'd like to mention to those not aware that Omar Rodriguez, chef at Think, is also the owner. The most frequent hostess is his wife, Rivkah. It's a very family-run place, and in the pre-check please era you would see their kids sitting at the bar sipping cokes every now and then.

If the hostess was, in fact, Rivkah, and now the Chef was hearing it for the third time from his wife, it may put his explosion in a different light.

Of course, the fact that he's the owner may also make his behavior even less acceptable.

Not to be mealy-mouthed about this situation but I can see something to be said for various of the above comments on both sides of the dispute (customer / restaurant). YPWill's note on the inappropriateness (insofar as we know of the exchange) of the third mention of the problem seems right, and so too the comments about the loss of professional dignity on the part of the chef. I'd add that the hostess who went back and told the chef about the third mention of the problem is the crucial link in a chain of questionale judgement, so to speak.

Be that as it may, the chef must have been having a very bad day. No way should unopened mussels appear on a plate, and their presence in the pot is a risk for (if not actual ruination of) the flavour of the dish as a whole (bad mussels make bad broth), though in this case the flavourful sauce seemed to carry the day.

And how does one undercook a fresh raviolo? I have found (with more than a little experience) that with fresh stuffed pasta, the problem is typically the opposite, unless the dough has been rolled out (too) thickly. It makes me wonder whether they really were fresh or rather frozen, either that or had been rolled thick and left out to dry for a rather long time.

Anyway, I thought the suggestion by Kimmie a good one, since you like the restaurant and wish to return in comfort. If the place has a good track-record with you, then it seems the conclusion must be that something more or less extraordinary was going on that affected the chef's work and mood (illness, sciatic pain, death in family... seriously, who knows?)... Hopefully nothing too grave...

Me, I just want to visit the 15 Minute parking space around the corner.

Antonius

Just a side note on mussels. Just because they don't open, does not necessarily make them bad. If this were the case, how would you ever feel comfortable about eating raw mussels, clams and oysters? When you get a bad mussel, usually the indicator is the smell, which, to me, is pretty obvious when cooking them. I discard open ones before cooking, but closed ones during cooking, I'll usually open and take a whiff.

R:

I guess you're right there, so that's a good point, but still, when serving -- and from what you say, it sounds like you always do this -- won't you give special attention to them that do not open in cooking? I'd be leary of putting them on a plate for company or my family, much less for a customer in a restaurant. There is a reasonable chance they were dead before cooking.

But yes, it can be that one is alive, gets cooked and doesn't open, whatever the physiology of all that is.

Antonius

Ryanj wrote:Just a side note on mussels. Just because they don't open, does not necessarily make them bad. If this were the case, how would you ever feel comfortable about eating raw mussels, clams and oysters? When you get a bad mussel, usually the indicator is the smell, which, to me, is pretty obvious when cooking them. I discard open ones before cooking, but closed ones during cooking, I'll usually open and take a whiff.

You are a far far braver man than I. A shellfish that doesn't open when cooked shall never pass my lips.

stevez wrote:

Ryanj wrote:Just a side note on mussels. Just because they don't open, does not necessarily make them bad. If this were the case, how would you ever feel comfortable about eating raw mussels, clams and oysters? When you get a bad mussel, usually the indicator is the smell, which, to me, is pretty obvious when cooking them. I discard open ones before cooking, but closed ones during cooking, I'll usually open and take a whiff.

You are a far far braver man than I. A shellfish that doesn't open when cooked shall never pass my lips.

All things considered, I think this was the one thing my companion really took issue with. Aside from the health concerns, you don't want to pay money (which, granted, we ultimately didn't) for a dish you can not eat all of.

I think it would awkward at best returning to a place where the owner/chef stated you were unwanted. There are to many alternatives out there. Why spend your money at a place where you will likely be uncomfortable?

gleam wrote:As something of a side note, I'd like to mention to those not aware that Omar Rodriguez, chef at Think, is also the owner. The most frequent hostess is his wife, Rivkah. It's a very family-run place, and in the pre-check please era you would see their kids sitting at the bar sipping cokes every now and then.

If the hostess was, in fact, Rivkah, and now the Chef was hearing it for the third time from his wife, it may put his explosion in a different light.

Of course, the fact that he's the owner may also make his behavior even less acceptable.

I think (again, no pun intended) you are correct in your assessment. For what it's worth, Chef Rodriquez did introduce himself as the owner. As I mentioned in my original post, he seemed genuinely interested in our evulation of the dishes and only upon his insistance did we share our disappointment with a couple of the offerings. This original tableside chat was actually quite pleasant.

stevez wrote:

Ryanj wrote:closed ones during cooking, I'll usually open and take a whiff.

You are a far far braver man than I. A shellfish that doesn't open when cooked shall never pass my lips.

Ryanj, with all due respect to your expertise, I have to agree with Stevez here. Thanks for including the name of your restaurant, and letting me know where personally NOT to go for mussels.

On another note, no one has ever cursed me out at the Wiener Circle. In fact, the woman at the counter couldn't be sweeter when she takes my order and calls me "baby" with utmost hospitality.

Negativity just has a way of spiraling out of control.

Johnny, it sounds like the chef's outburst was directed more at your friend than at you. I'd think twice before bringing this particular friend to any more favorite places-- he sounds too high-maintenance. Yes, constructive criticism has its place, but as chgoeditor mentioned, he didn't show much gratitude for the chef's overwhelming remedy of the situation.

My advice is to go back to the restaurant the next time you feel like it, and just be on your best behavior. My impression is that tempers flare in this industry, but rarely does anyone hold grudges.

Greasy Spoon wrote:On another note, no one has ever cursed me out at the Wiener Circle. In fact, the woman at the counter couldn't be sweeter when she takes my order and calls me "baby" with utmost hospitality.

Then you're not getting your money's worth.

Greasy Spoon wrote: Johnny, it sounds like the chef's outburst was directed more at your friend than at you. I'd think twice before bringing this particular friend to any more favorite places-- he sounds too high-maintenance. Yes, constructive criticism has its place, but as chgoeditor mentioned, he didn't show much gratitude for the chef's overwhelming remedy of the situation.

We don't really know what happened between friend and chef, do we? This is a Rorschach situation where we all read into it based on our perceptions. These perceptions are based on the very partial information we have. There's the cook, his wife, their waiter, his customer (sorry Greenaway) -- in other words, a lot going on.

Hammond