48244 Fri Aug 17 03:59:45 -0700 2001 6 2 Los Angeles Area 0 240408 Ok questions for this board. Would you give a restaurant a second chance if: (my answers follow) the food was good but the service was terrible? Yes anybody can have a bad night even servers. Though if service is really bad I'll talk to the manager and either move to another table or get another server. the food was good but the prices were too high? No I wouldn't. I like valve when I dine out. I'm sure I could find another place that has comparable food with better prices. Most famous person to you saw at a restaurant while you were there. Magic Johnson at the Black Whale this must have been in 88 or 89. Yeah I know that question isn't on topic for this board but come on have some fun. Right? :) Fri Aug 17 03:59:45 -0700 2001 0 Schudog 1 240410 The first time I went to Patina the food was great but the service was terrible. I tried it again ( a year later) and it became my favorite restaurant. At Capo and Melisse the food was very good and so was the service but the prices were an insult. Not going back to either place. At Schatzi on Main I saw Arnold Schwarzenegger, Maria Schriver and Bobby Schriver having Easter Brunch. At Spago I saw Michael Kane the day after he won the Academy Award. I recall one night that I commented to my wife at a restaurant, "We never see any celebrities when we come here"...she is rolling her eyes to my left. I looked to the left and saw Jimmy Smitts sitting right next to me listening to what I had just said. Oh well............ Fri Aug 17 08:47:31 -0700 2001 240408 0 Larry 1 240414 Service people can be having a bad day, just like anyone else. Unless the situation is totally out of hand I will let it ride, but the tip usually speaks volumes about what I thought about the service. I am tougher and much less forgiving at high end places over bad service or a lousy attitude. Price is very important. If my wife and I don't feel we have gotten a fair trade we will go just that once. We sat next to Kevin Spacy, Winona Ryder and Bono of U2 upstairs at Taylor's Steakhouse on 8th. Fri Aug 17 11:59:37 -0700 2001 240408 0 Mike Kilgore 1 240417 Just for the third part of the post, sat next to Marilyn Manson at Chianti. He was with Rose McGowan and some other girl. He's very polite, by the way. Then again, if you can believe it, sat next to him at Wolfgang Puck's at the Virgin Complex, and it was during the day, which surprised me that he comes out during the day. That time, I saw him walk in and jokingly asked the hostess to seat us next to him, and she did. She must have been new. Fri Aug 17 12:30:50 -0700 2001 240408 0 Vanessa On The Town 1 240424 "the food was good but the service was terrible"? Probably. If the restaurant was crowded an the staff was push to it's outer limits, I'd give them another chance, but just one. Bad service can ruin the entire evening. "the food was good but the prices were too high"? I'll chalk it up to a great dining experience(providing the service was seemless) and maybe only go back for very special occasions. "Most famous person to you saw at a restaurant while you were there". Paul Castellano at Sparks Steakhouse........just kidding! Fri Aug 17 13:31:04 -0700 2001 240408 0 D.Mortet 1 240458 Good food/bad service: If the food is so good and worth revisiting, but the service is not - I call in and order for pick up. Why miss out on the good eats just because of some bad service? Bring Mohammad to the mountain.... Good food/overpriced: If the meal was totally amazing, and I can't recreate it in my own kitchen, I'll go back until I can figure it out. Celeb sightings: Leo Dicaprio and Morgan Fairchild at the Newsroom (not together). They were both in line for the black cherry smoothie (which rocks). Lara Flyn Boyle eating a pack of cigs at the Crepe place at the Farmer's market, and Charleton Heston at a cafe on Melrose (I wanted to sing him a song from the Simpsons "I hate every ape I see...from chimpan-A to chimpan-Z"...but I lost my nerve). Fri Aug 17 20:28:10 -0700 2001 240408 0 critical 1 240554 Good food bad service: if it's an inexpensive place, it doesn't matter to me. If it's pricy, the food had better be exquisite for me to come back and then with a large party so we can have fun while we wait. As well, if I know the service is going to be inattentive, I will unfortunately flag down waiters for water or to send busboys even if they're not my server. If the food is overpriced but good - well, how good could it have been if I felt it was overpriced? If the ambience is extraordinary, then I'd go back for special occasions but then the high price would include the ambience, wouldn't it? If I really felt ripped off, I would avoid the place. Celebrity sightings of note - Cary Grant at Le Chardonnay in 1984 (now Le Carafe), Bruce Springsteen in a Cajun restaurant in the West Village, and Tom Posten (a personal fave) at a now-defunct pizza place in Studio City. Tue Aug 21 15:30:34 -0700 2001 240408 0 Jerome