Thoughts on 2nd chances for bad experience in restaurant?

I was wondering what your thoughts were on giving a favorite restaurant a 2nd chance after having a bad meal. I consider one of the benefits of LTH (et al.) to avoid bad experiences, and to be put on notice of a restaurant in decline.

My specific instance may not be too troubling to some in the forum. I've been enjoying eating at Joy Yee Noodle in Evanston for over a year. The food was tasty, the presentation fantastic (I would love to get those boat-shaped dishes) and the bread and circuses (circi?) aspect fun. I know it ain't LTH, but frankly, LTH ain't LTH either, if you know what I mean.

Last night the food was bad, the service off, and the bill didn't even come in one of those faux-leather folders. I guess they were sharing staff and supplies with the other locations?

p.s. It's been a while since I've posted. Hello.

HotDillPickle wrote: I know it ain't LTH, but frankly, LTH ain't LTH either, if you know what I mean.

I don't. What do you mean?

Last night the food was bad, the service off, and the bill didn't even come in one of those faux-leather folders. I guess they were sharing staff and supplies with the other locations?

p.s. It's been a while since I've posted. Hello.

I'd give them a second chance. It's possible that they're going downhill, but it's more likely that the entire place was having a bad day. Maybe they were shortstaffed in the kitchen. Who knows.

Of course, if the second try also is miserable, I'd say "fool me once [or twice, I guess], shame on, shame on you... fool me... you can't get fooled again".

I've been known to get in a serious restaurant rut in which I keep going back to the same place well after I've started noticing a decline. Eventually, I am forced to smack myself in the forehead and say 'omygod, that meal really sucked!' and after that I won't go back.

Is this one past visit the first time you've had a bad experience or can you recall a general decline?

In the same neighborhood as Joy Yee is an excellent alternative: LuLu's Dim Sum and Then Sum on Davis Street, across from the under-construction condo tower. They have a wide variety of well-prepared pan-asian dishes, a nice atmosphere and good service.

Lulu's Dim Sum & Then Sum
804 Davis St
Evanston, IL 60201
(847) 869-4343

Well, I have only been to Joy Yee once, and that was the one in Chinatown. The Bubble Tea was okay. The rest of the meal was uninspiring, and it seemed to be working a young, cool riff, more than a serious, interesting food riff. There is a Joy Yee out here, but I have never been inspired to even try it.

As to giving a place a second chance, it very much depends on the place, how many times you have had good experiences and what alternatives are available. For example, in three visits I found the N'ville Heaven on Seven to be more than a little out of control, inclduing ill-conceived dishes, improperly cooked food, missing condiments and sides, and more. Yet, I have and will go back. Why? Because there is no alternative out here, and if one sticks with some simple dishes like a cup of gumbo, and an oyster Po Boy, it is quite acceptable. But heaven help anyone who decides to spend the money to try their Pasta Jambalaya, an overpriced, ill-conceived and generally lousy amalgam of Cajun and Italian flavors that should never have seen the light of day.

So, do go back and determine for yourself and us whether Joy Yee had an off day, and or is declining.

Now that I'm no longer mesmerized by the zen concept that LTH is not LTH (but if a peppercorn falls in Sichuan and no one is there to hear it, did it make a sound?), I would say:

I'll keep trying places that have an off day. But I also recognize that there is no permanence in this world; and that mediocrity can sneak in next to success (the overstretched kitchen) as often as next to failure. Sometimes I too have to make a mental note, hey, stop going there, dummy.

Places that have a crappy attitude or try to rip me off, etc., however, wind up on the maleficarium mikegium, the black list of all black lists, and may feel the chill wind of my Druidic hexes whenever I drive by. Just ask this guy.

First, as to enumeration: It appears that this was not your first visit to this restaurant but that you had been many times. If I went to a restaurant for an actual first visit, and was disappointed, I would not return unless I had testimony to it being an off day. Potential visitors to Lagniappe, please note. They apparently had an off day, but I have enjoyed it, and Mary the cook is knowledgeable and very accommodating.

Second, if I had visited a restaurant many times, I would ask the same critical questions that have been posted up thread. Is it a general decline, or just an off day?

Mike G wrote:
Places that have a crappy attitude or try to rip me off, etc., however, wind up on the maleficarium mikegium, the black list of all black lists, and may feel the chill wind of my Druidic hexes whenever I drive by. Just ask this guy.

And, yet again, I have to point out that the place in question was actually not Hot Dog Island, which is a perfectally fine hot dog/polish place which is part of the triumverate of great hog dog stands on Dempster.

I don't know where you're getting that.

It was this place, which even has a picture of the offender:

http://www.ronnierice.com/hot_dog_island1.htm

Used to be on Golf east of Milwaukee, closed for a Walgreen's, is now on Dempster.

Let me assure you, my curses are always accurately placed.

I was known (at least in my own family) to patronize the Hot Dog Island before it moved, since that location is a very short distance from my house. The place was ok, not great, and I haven't been to its Evanston or Skokie stores. In the same strip mall as the old Hot Dog Island location, though, is a joint called The Works, which I've decided is better than HDI was, and I especially like their gyros.

I think Joy Yee has on and off days, and some chefs are better than others (go when it's not too busy on a week night, and all those sauteed noodle dishes suddenly are really tasty - they DO have soft bits and crunchy bits!)

There really isn't a good alternative for this sort of thing. I like Lulu's for what it is, but it seems a lot more like a Noodle shop than a place to go for sauteed meat and whatnot.

I'm a big believer in second chances, mostly because I can think of at least one bad meal I've had at every single one of my favorite restaurants. For the vast majority of restaurants, there are just too many variables to control to be able to produce perfection day in and day out. Perhaps I'm naive, but I rarely think that one bad meal signals an overall decline in the restaurant.

Although this anecdote isn't perfectly applicable to the thread above (being concerned with a general decline in a restaurant), I'll share anyway:
A few years ago, when my boyfriend (now husband) and I were dating, and were largely unaware of the food options in Chicago, we frequently dined at a restaurant serving "southern" food. It wasn't that bad, although I was never blown away. One night, we went and within a few hours, I was dying - one of the worst cases of food poisoning I had ever had. A few months passed, and Unbeknowneth convinces me to try it again. We go back, have a nice meal, and the exact same thing happens - I'm in agony for the better part of 24 hours. I finally say to him, "That's it, I'm never, ever going back there. Period."
After a few more months, and a few more odd occurences of similar GI distress, I start thinking a little harder about it. I realize that the one common element that's linking these experiences is not, as I had previously thought, this restaurant, but rather oysters.
And that is how I discovered I had developed "adverse reactions" to oysters, and in the course of doing so, trashed this restaurant to everyone I knew.

For me, it really depends how bad my first experience is. I ate at Lagniappe kind of on a whim last Saturday. The worst of the comments that you read here reflect my experience there. For me, Lagniappe is a pretty substantial drive. The combination of a really bad food experience and driving distance, I wouldn't be inclined to give it another chance.

On the other hand, the notably inconsistent Silver Seafood is relatively close to home for me. The fact that I have had some pretty good meals there and that it is a short distance from home would cause me to try it again even after one of its frequent lapses.

I've eaten good creole and cajun before. I love good creole and cajun. What i ate on saturday was not good creole or cajun.

There are so many restaurants out there... I barely have enough time to try any place more than once. Of course, there are the places that are less than 3 or 4 blocks away which are the most convenient for pickup and are worth a second shot if the service or food ends up bad on the first try.

I guess my synopsis ends up like this...

Farther than walking distance: not worth a 2nd shot, too many others to try
Within walking distance: worth another try based on laziness and proximity

Wouldn't you agree that what you order your first time is a big factor? I tend to believe that most restaurants have their "specialties" and whether you happen to order those items is pure chance. Of course, it never hurts to get a recommendation from someone (hence LTHforum) but even that has its limitations. I find that very few restaurants are able to sustain a level of consistency across all dishes. And often times a restaurant can be a one hit wonder, doing only one thing very well.

To try a restaurant once, choose a few random selections, and make a judgment on that limited sampling seems to me like you’re putting a lot of worth in one plate of food. Of course I’m just talking about the food right now. Service is a different story. Is it a horrible thing to give a bad, first meal a second chance? Hell no. I’d say that you owe it to yourself to try again. If it weren’t for people who subscribe to the “give ‘em a second chance philosophy” I’d have no friends and no prospects.

Wouldn't you agree that what you order your first time is a big factor?

Of course! I need to get into the habit of going to new places and telling them it's my first time there. It seems that they would treat a brand new customer especially well and be ready to make suggestions per what is good and what is not.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't specials typically a way for the chef to say "this is what's good"? I hadn't really thought about it until just now.

I think more often specials are a way for the chef to experiment with new flavors, techniques, dishes, etc. That's why the specials are usually a relatively good deal, compared to the rest of the menu. Some restaurants have a list of house specialties, though, which is a different story.

Specials are also a way for the chef to get rid of left over food (Especially early in the week). It could go either way, depending on the restaurant.