19261 Mon Apr 01 13:52:28 -0800 2002 14 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 63763 Well I was all set up to like this place, since it's cute and in my area and many, many of my friends go there incessantly -- but I ask, what is the attraction? We went there on a Saturday night, eating practically at the crack of dawn for dinner (6:15pm), and I thought I could expect at least good service at that time of day. Noooo. We had a very sweet, nice, but very spacey French-accented waitress, who walked about in an ethereal trance that did not include we diners in its visions. We both had the chopped salad with gorgonzola -- 8$. Chopped up romaine, which was lightly coated with a gorgonzola-emulsion-vinaigrette. Okay, but not worth 8$. Not really worth 4.50, actually. Mr. Smith had, (of course) a steak, which was tiny and overdone. Potatoes were okay. I think it cost something like 24$ -- too much, of course. I had the clams with spaghetti -- which was way too hot hot hot for my tastes! I know I am spice wimpy but I should have been at least a little more forwarned that my mouth was going to burn for the next 15 minutes. The Viognier I ordered was not worth 10$ a glass I paid for it. Besides, it was lost on me since I was trying to cool my palate. For these prices, the servers could at least have warned me that the Viognier wouldn't go with it -- that I needed extra water and maybe a cold beer if I was going to eat the clams. Who decided to put red pepper flakes in such a nice, winey, easy to cook dish? Some chowhounds may like things this fiery, but since this dish is usually a fishy extravaganza, I was surprised. The small clams were numerous and a little chewy, but not bad. Maybe other chowhounds can weigh in with better experiences to share with the group, but I won't go back. I don't mind paying higher prices for good food, but this was not it. Mr. Smith was not pleased, either. Alas! Mon Apr 01 13:52:28 -0800 2002 0 Mrs. Smith 1 63767 Did you try to send the spaghetti back? Mon Apr 01 14:15:31 -0800 2002 63763 0 Melanie Wong 2 63771 No alas, but I should have! I'm a recovering Midwesterner who is still shy about such things. Mr. Smith tried to with his steak, but was informed that that was what medium rare was to the kitchen. He decided that he didn't want to kick up any more of a fuss. I am trying to get over my shyness about such things -- thanks for the encouragement. Mon Apr 01 14:21:06 -0800 2002 63767 0 Mrs. Smith 3 63774 If it helps you get over your shyness, keep in mind that restaurant management would much rather have the opportunity to please you on the spot than have complaints after the fact. This is also much fairer to the restaurant too, giving them a chance to correct a problem and salvage your evening, rather than reading about it afterwards without any warning. Mon Apr 01 14:27:24 -0800 2002 63771 0 Melanie Wong 4 63776 I'm sure you're right. I agree, they should have had a shot at fixing my dish. After the frosty reception to my husband's attempt to fix his steak, however, any resolve I had wilted. It said red pepper flakes on the menu for my dish, and I thought that the waitress would point that out and refuse to help, just as she did with my husband's gray-in-the-middle "medium rare". I will keep your observation in mind, however -- especially at places that I want to support. Mon Apr 01 14:32:25 -0800 2002 63774 0 Mrs. Smith 5 63780 It does sound like the staff wasn't open to remedying the problems with your meal. Fortunately, there are lots of fish in the sea of San Francisco restaurants. Maybe chowhound can help you find something more to your taste next time! And thanks for the heads up on your bad experience -- at best it sounds a little overpriced. Mon Apr 01 14:38:02 -0800 2002 63776 0 Ruth Lafler 5 63781 Here's a link to an older discussion on communicating steak "doneness" to your server and sending food back that you may find helpful. Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/16601#46370 Mon Apr 01 14:40:36 -0800 2002 63776 0 Melanie Wong 6 63783 Great and helpful post! Thanks. Hey Melanie -- did you ever get any details on those Venetian bordellos? Mon Apr 01 14:53:11 -0800 2002 63781 0 Mrs. Smith 7 63788 Here's as much of an explanation as we were able to squeeze out of Jim H. (g) Link: http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/17264#50755 Mon Apr 01 15:31:08 -0800 2002 63783 0 Melanie Wong 8 63836 Melanie will not rest until she knows the secrets of Venetian bordellos. When the time comes. We are off to Paris in two weeks, and if my wife does not object, I may peek into a French bordello. Will give you a full report. Mon Apr 01 22:42:46 -0800 2002 63788 0 jIM h. 9 63874 I won't rest either! Ooooh I hope you have a wonderful dining and bordello-viewing experience. Bon apetit! Tue Apr 02 13:30:03 -0800 2002 63836 0 Mrs. Smith 1 63789 I live in the neighborhood and have been to Rose's Cafe 3 times, wanting desperately to like the place but I have been disappointed each and every time and I won't go back. Not only is the service lackadaisical but it is way-overpriced for what you get. Mon Apr 01 15:36:19 -0800 2002 63763 0 Lisa T 1 63795 I've been to Rose's Cafe a few times, and although I agree with you that the service is pretty bad and the prices too high, they are pretty good on things that come out of the wood-fired oven--thin-crust pizzas, foccacias, any other bread-based items. The pastas I've had have always been really lame and greasy. Stick to the baked/bread stuff. Mon Apr 01 15:46:10 -0800 2002 63763 0 dixieday 1 63916 As one who rarely finds anything HOT enough, let me advise that water and alcohol exacerbate hot pepper burns; one needs bland items such as bread, rice, etc., or dairy such as milk, yogurt. As for service at Rose's, we haven't been there for a couple of years but almost every time our server has been spaced out--once so badly that the whole meal ended up comped! Hmmm Tue Apr 02 21:14:27 -0800 2002 63763 0 Fine 1 1805667 We went to Rose's Cafe last nigt for dinner. I was looking for something in a fun part of town as I had guests from NYC and a 2 year old. As mentioned above, the service wasn't great BUT they had crayons for my daughter and seemed very welcoming to childen in general. I have been on the South Beach Diet and was starving when I went in but I thought the food was delicious. I too had the chopped salad and thought the flavors were delicious. We had the mussels and they were soo tasty too. I got the chicken for dinner and it was moist and SO delicious I literally cleaned my plate. Others at the table got the salmon and liked it very much (very picky new yorkers) one thought her salmon was a tad overcooked but bot rated their meal very high. My husband got the steak and enjoyed that too. Peach cobbler was a huge hit the pot de cream was not worth ordering. Anyway, I just wanted to post my experience...yes, service was pretty lame-- not terrible...but the food was excellent. Sun Aug 13 23:48:01 -0700 2006 63763 15949 abe1329