Asian Thai

5:45 PM on Friday, December 21, 2012

Asian Thai, Appleton, WI

Mathurin, Ellen Martinson (Mom), Chris Martinson(Dad)

We decided last minute on this restaurant, nestled in a strip mall between a Mexican and a Korean restaurant.  As we walk through the door, there is a short wall and divider to the left for about ten feet, cash register counter in front, separated by a walkway from the kitchen and the bar to the left.  Greeted promptly and seated at a table with white tablecloth, red linen napkin folded around visible silverware, table tent of non-alcoholic drinks, soy sauce, and the standard salt and pepper.  One server silently dropped off water which was followed by a longer than normal wait for an initial greeting.  By then, my already grumbling father had already decided what he wanted to eat and, for that matter, what time we should be getting home.  I explored the rather large and somewhat ticky-tack, somewhat-like-a-Chinese-takeout menu.  It featured the choices of both Thai and Chinese foods, including Pad Thai, Curry, Egg Foo Young, fried rice, General Tso, wonton soup, etc.  The server greeted us by asking for drinks (Miller Lite for Dad, hot sake for me).  She assumed we were ready to order entrées because of the long wait, but I asked for more time.  After deciding on Pad See Yu, my eyes wandered the décor of the establishment.  I noticed Miller Lite and Budweiser lit signs in the window and inconsistent table settings.  There were a few tables and booths without linen, one with paper napkins on the glass table and some covered tables without silverware.  I was very confused from this point.  My guess was that they do not use linens for tabletops and napkins for lunch service.  They could be attempting to save money on linen cleaning by not covering tables that they did not expect to use.  That begs the question, why not eliminate table linens, since the glass tabletops looked great?  Regardless, inconsistent tabletops existed throughout the restaurant (-).  The décor throughout the restaurant was just fine for me in an Asian establishment.  I noticed two servers using team service rather well, the other server filling our waters and clearing our plates (+).  On the other hand, it seemed like they needed assistance greeting guests, cashing out tables, and delivering takeout items.  Later I noticed a front-of-house gentleman cash out some takeout guests, so I was not sure of his role as he was not assisting the servers in the dining room.  I also noticed a gentleman in a hoodie and visor beanie bring a takeout item to guests (-).  A major awkward moment occurred when one of the servers was seating two guests who wanted a booth.  There was one remaining and without linen, so she took the linen off of an unset table and threw it over the desired table (-).  Every dinner entrée came with a choice of soup or Asian salad with a delightful choice of dressings.  After we ordered, we also received tostadas and sugary peanuts before the starter soups and salads arrived.  As our server delivered our entrées via a large tray and a tray jack, she questionably raised the Tofu Curry as if she did not recall or look who ordered what. After my mom raised her hand, the server awkwardly reached across the table to place the food.  She, also with question, reached across for me and from the right to my dad (-).  Although not her fault, she had obviously not been thoroughly taught in service, because there was more than enough room to move around the table.  Based on the atmosphere and menu, service should be a larger priority.  Everyone enjoyed all the food, which will receive no complaints.  The server did a quality check, although rather late.  She cleared all of our plates at once to save time, without a tray, overly stacking and consequently dropped a fork on Mom.  At that time she asked if we needed anything else without mentioning dessert.

Service: 2/5

Forgivable timeliness, no formal introduction (-), water pouring without asking (+), uniformed servers, tables left not set (-),team service (+), servers not adequately trained in service (-) and appeared too busy for adequate all-around service to all guests (-).

Menu: 2/3

Long (-) yet detailed (+) menu, laminated Chinese takeout book (-) with a unique bamboo-like cover (+).

Atmosphere: 2/3

Great simple Asian décor inside (+), American wine bottles displayed, full bar setup (+), inconsistent tabletops (-), lit beer signs (-), NA beverage table tents.

Food: 3/3

Keep Calm and Eat On,

Mathurin

Cena

7:30 PM on Friday, December 7, 2012

Cena, Appleton, WI

Mathurin, Ellen Martinson (Mom), Chris Martinson (Dad)

I walked into the slim downtown restaurant alone, meeting my parents for a 7:30 reservation.  I was greeted by what appeared to be a manager and directed past a bar to the right and tables on the left, kitchen just past that, followed by the greater part of the dining room to our table at the very back by a window.  I was immediately impressed with the atmosphere and décor in a very impressionable downtown, contemporary, almost fine dining, bistro-style restaurant.  There were hardwood floors, brick walls, tin ceiling, wood tables and chairs.  I immediately directed my attention to the wine list, having a red and white in mind before veering to the menu.  The feature for the evening, bronzini (sea bass), was described on a small card separate from the menu, something I had not seen before.  The menu showed a lot of trendy entrées and appetizers, including a Wisconsin cheese plate, osso bucco, paella, sea scallops, a unique house salad and two others, steak and pork.  I decided on the paella, so I went with the Marlborough (NZ) sauvignon blanc for my wine.  Salads and soups were not included with entrées, but my dad ordered the house salad, substituting the house dressing for Caesar, and my mom and I shared the pear and gorgonzola salad.  My dad, cautious of all menu prices everywhere, ordered the cheapest entrée Pork and Beans and Mom chose the featured bronzini, which I was eager to taste.  Our server was pleasant for the most part but apologized for a slow start to service that I guess only he noticed (-).  The server already introduced himself and described the feature before I got there.  This is somewhat forgivable because it was at my parents’ request.  Three different types of bread rolls with vinegar and oil were brought to the table after we ordered, followed closely by salads.  I had high hopes for my wine since it was from Marlborough, but I did not care it.  I couldn’t be too picky as it was $7 and the only sauv blanc on the menu.  The staff all looked professional and busy at a calming pace.  There appeared to be two or three servers, a bartender and manager on staff at that time, although the bar was not within view of our table.  Although we did not experience any team service, our server was very attentive and knowledgeable.  Presentation of the salads and entrées was excellent without question.  We all enjoyed the food as well.  Our server did try to entice us verbally with dessert, but we had after dinner drink plans elsewhere.  He quickly took care of cashing out our check and thanked us for dining.

Service: 4/5

Attentive (+) and knowledgeable (+) server, no team service, uniformed servers, water for every table, guests all seated and greeted promptly (+), tables cleared and reset promptly (+).

Menu: 3/3

Very trendy (+) and concise (+) menu, decent selection of wines but nothing high end by the glass.

Atmosphere: 3/3
            Wonderful downtown bistro décor (+), nothing negative about setting.

Food: 3/3

Keep Calm and Eat On,

Mathurin

Intro to Restaurants by Mathurin

Restaurants by Mathurin presents a very detailed view of visited restaurants from a young restaurant manager and self-proclaimed restaurant critic.  Each review will be based on service, atmosphere, menu, and food.  My specialty is service, so each review will be technically focused on service from the customer perspective.  Service will be given a rating out of 5, menu and atmosphere out of 3, and food out of how many guests enjoyed their food.  Not only will the reviews be from our table’s perspective, but I also keep a vigilant eye on what is happening at other tables and with the staff throughout the restaurant.  I will only note if I and joining guests enjoyed the food.  I don’t weight food as high for two reasons: 1) I have virtually no expertise in cooking or quality of food other than that it sometimes looks good and usually tastes fine to me and 2) food is very subjective in that the things I like others may not.  This may sound odd at first, but something that looks and tastes good to me might be of low quality or cooked poorly if you ask an expert.  The same goes for something that doesn’t suit my taste, for it might be of high quality.  We, as restaurant-goers, do not see what goes on in a kitchen and to assume what we don’t know would be irresponsible.

Moving on, I will attempt to include every relevant detail about my experience and the restaurant.  There are certain things I am willing to forgive from a service standpoint and other actions for which there is no excuse.  I am willing to forgive waiting for service for one main reason: we go out to eat to enjoy time socially and have a full “restaurant experience”; if you wish to eat quickly, do it at home or McDonald’s.  Waiting an extra minute for a server is not a big deal.  Waiting 15 minutes for an entrée is not a big deal.  There is a lot going on in a restaurant and certain things that require immediate attention, such as greeting guests and expediting hot food.  So again, do not come to a sit-down restaurant if you expect a server to take your full order within a few minutes.  On the flip side, there are some unforgivable actions for which management is ultimately responsible to ensure does not happen.  For example, there is no excuse for not greeting guests as they arrive in a timely manner.  There are some points of service that will be given positive points.  For example, I will note team service in every restaurant.  Simply filling water or clearing plates by someone other than my server will grant a restaurant a bonus point.  Other service points that will be noted are uniforms, water, and the all-important server introduction.

All of the restaurants I review will generally be locally-owned, service-focused restaurants where one would expect above average food at the very least.  This allows for the personality of the restaurant and staff to be exposed.  This is in contradiction to corporate restaurants, which are dictated by dull service scripts, strict cookie-cutter layouts, and mostly frozen food.

Keep Calm and Eat On,

Mathurin