I was going to save this for my Restaurant Week Round Up that I’ll write next week, but another shockingly bad thing at this lunch was the coffee. It tasted like it was on the burner for about 6 days. Then the bill comes and I saw that it was $6.50 for a cup, I almost lost my mind!

and

B) It boggles my mind that a high end restaurant would think it’s even remotely okay to serve iced tea in a bottle!!! What the hell is happening to the Strip???

I just came across your posting about your experience at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant(Google alerts). Frankly I am mortified that one of our employees would conduct himself in such a manner.

Please give me a call when you have a moment. I would like to refund you for your lunch as well as invite you back.

Lyle Tolhurst
Supervisor
Eiffel Tower Restaurant
702 845 2664 Cell
http://twitter.com/eiffellyle

Geri – I don’t think it’s fair to say The Strip en total has declined. Yes there are specific places that have gone down the tubes along with the economy, but there are still many great restaurants on the Las Vegas Strip. Many restaurants also don’t short change customers by using cheaper products but pulling the wool over their eyes, but it’s up front on the menu that some of the more expensive products are no longer offered. Again, not everyone is innocent, but certainly not everyone is guilty either.

We were more in shock than anything. Most of the time we were dealing with the primary server who was fine. It didn’t happen directly to me, so I felt that it wasn’t my place to say anything, Mysty’s an adult and she could have dealt with it in anyway she wanted to. She chose to let it blow over.

Anonymity in restaurant reviewing is the biggest fallacy in the business. There’s no such thing as a credible anonymous restaurant reviewer, and to anyone who thinks the NY Times reviewers are not known in the top restaurants in NYC the minute they walk in the door, then I’ve got some land in Florida to sell you.

There is a difference between being anonymous and arriving unannounced. I won’t ever call a restaurant up ahead of time and schedule the ticker tape parade, but you also do readers a greater disservice by being so far off the map to try to keep any kind of anonymity. It’s a balance, not a perfect science, but anyone who has spent time and thought to the dedication of the integrity of the work will learn a few tricks to compensate for being recognized. Also, being recognized ain’t really all it’s cracked up to be. I’ve been recognized plenty of times and have received horrific service and/or food. Hell….I’ve been INVITED and food has still sucked.

Also, I have noticed that there are fewer well-trained restaurant professionals in the local talent pool. Probably training, along with the food quality, has fallen by the wayside due to cuts. And the professionals have either retired or moved where the customer base is larger and more appreciative.

Under this particular circumstance, how did you respond to the beverage server? I’m only asking because, in a prior post, you stated that you had a difficult time with anonymity (a real must for a restaurant reviewer).

The whole “everybody has a bad day” excuse carries little weight with me. Sure, everyone has a bad day, but when you are working at a place that projects itself to have the stature that the Eiffel Tower Restaurant has, then you suck it up on deal with your shit behind closed doors. Put on a happy face and don’t be such a pissy idiot on the floor.

Also I think I made it pretty clear that this focused on one incident on one visit. I would hope that this isn’t indicative of the service as a whole, although what every restaurant needs to keep at the forefront of their mind is that they often only get one chance to make an impression. No one is going to have three $100 lunches before they pass judgement on a place.

EXCEPT that, having worked my share of menial food-service jobs (& having worked in customer service my entire life), I know the myriad circumstances that can lead any server to have a bad moment. It can be anything from it being this guy’s first day to the fact that he’s covering for someone who didn’t show up and is fatigued beyond belief. Or it could be that he is just a douche.

Point is, I share with Anthony Bourdain the ironclad personal rule that I am NEVER short or rude with the wait-staff. If there’s a big enough problem, I take it up with the management. I’ve even been known to politely correct a server by pointing how I would have liked a situation to have been resolved. The few times I’ve done this, I’ve gotten great service for the rest of the meal (and once had the entire dinner comped by the manager).

The upshot: I usually give a restaurant a couple of tries before I say that the service is an issue.

Then again, I’m a pushover who lets people walk all over me.

I’m aware of another MD, he’s a math prof. at a Kentucky Univ. Not sure about the one in Canada. Hard to believe, but I found the Big Dobranski Burger while searching for my Aunt who passed away. Hmmmmmmmm.

Two things I wanna say: 1, we should meet and eat one of those #$%$@ things. How can I stay in touch? 2, You should know that I too have a reputation for making extremely inappropriate comments, often at the worst possible times.

Hated the weather. I could not be in a town where it is 50 degrees in August.

Hated the hills. Can’t walk anywhere. What direction am I going in? Turn left, no turn right.

Loved Alcatraz. But you have to book it in advance as we did.

One big tourist trap. Are there any businesses in this town other than restaurants and hotel?

Yes, the food was great.

Did the wrong things. Fisherman’s Wharf, cable cars (fun ride but crazy wait).

Maybe next time.

Dan

Betty – I just realized, I only know you as Average Betty….but I don’t think you’re actually a Betty, right? Anywho, thanks! And yes, the rest of the world needs to learn from our fabulous free parking.

The Wife – Yay! It was fun, indeed. A December return? Hmmm….

Kellee – It would be AMAZING to have something like the Ferry Building here. There is so much dead space here, I wish someone would have the balls to do something. Neonopolis downtown or that disaster near Sunset and Mountain Vista where Barley’s is would be perfect if they could actually finally get people to go there.

Mike Ch – The Ike’s location I went to was on 16th near Market which is about as Castro as Castro gets. I believe the Mission neighborhood is located a bit southeast of there. I think Ike’s was served an eviction notice, but the date of eviction isn’t until the 26th. There can still be a deal struck, I think. Maybe not.

Joy – Yes, you must go to Incanto! They know what they’re doing with those nasty parts.

I also liked Min Sok Chon. I tried to drag my Korean friend over there, whose mother-in-law is a rather prominent Korean chef in Houston, for the “Korean Stamp of Approval” only to find out the place is not open for dinner.

And also big thanks to you, Kelly! Truth be told though, there isn’t going to be much changed in the grammar department once I start earning off this pig. Because after all…the pay check is what makes the professional, right? Three cheers for dick and fart jokes!

I also read this blog because I like dick and fart jokes.

Chemical food factories like Sysco, Monsanto and Tyson have ruined our food culture. They are really a black mark on this country….so sad. I hope more documentaries like Food, Inc. keep coming out until the lesson is learned.

I went to Kathy’s a few years ago, I don’t remember much about it. I’ve yet to have soul food in Vegas that has made a significant impression on me. I was really spoiled when I lived in New York and had a friend that was a ridiculous cook. I’ll definitely give it a second look.

I think the one thing that kills the DDD’s is Sysco, or whatever supplier they use. Thanks to them don’t have to make their stuffed jalapeños from scratch. They can just order one of the 20 varieties Sysco offers that come frozen in boxes of a 100 and just toss them in the frier. You don’t have to cut your own fries or press your own patties. That picture you posted of the burger looks like those fries were probably frozen ten minutes before they appeared on the plate. That patty probably arrived in a box frozen along with 50 other patties. I hate frozen hamburger patties…

But again, most people don’t care. They get to cut costs, cut staff, people still come in. They order the frozen, pre-battered, chicken fried steak with powdered gravy and frozen fries and it’s their treat for the week.

Try Kathy’s Southern Cooking sometime. http://www.tasteofvegas.com/html/kathys.html

I think there are a lot of contributors to the less than stellar food in the Three Rivers area. First and foremost, it must be a ridiculous pain in the ass to get quality, fresh ingredients to the area. A lot of twisting and turning, narrow roads and some steep elevations.

I also think that a really low bar for quality tends to snowball on itself. If there is no one there pushing the envelope, the restaurant community in a whole will be in a lull.

Thirdly, the main attraction of the area is not really a dining out crowd. There’s a lot of people camping out, grilling their own food. I didn’t want to hit the restaurants here too hard because of these factors. The overview of the quality and my impressions with only one visit to each were only to illustrate my point on why I’m thankful for the things we have in Vegas because of where my twisted set of values lie.

Yes, with a little care and some elbow grease, the food didn’t have to be as bad as it was….but I’d be willing to bet that I’m one of the few people out of the thousands that visit Sequoia National Park that actually even notice.

Last month I wrote a review of Ping Pang Pong on my blog Vegas Mavens, the link to the review is below:

http://vegasmavens.com/?p=581

BTW, as a non-smoker and one who abhors cigarette smoke, I find Gold Coast to be slightly below average on the toxic fume scale…perhaps I’ve had the good fortune of visiting on clean air days. Have you been inside Harrahs, enough smoke to choke a horse.

Thanks for writing this thorough review of Ping Pang Pong, I look forward to reading your future posts.

Josh
http://vegasmavens.com/

ps Mike’s review link seems to be broken.