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Interesting piece over at The Boston Phoenix. The writer asks several chefs what dish they order in a restaurant to see if the kitchen knows what it's doing. That one meal that you would judge the entire restaurant by.
Rialto chef Jody Adams orders a simple pasta dish, because she says that if a restaurant can screw that up, then they'll probably screw up a more complex meal. Michael Schlow (who is chef at two Boston restaurants, Radius and Via Matta), has a different dish for each type of restaurant. At Japanese restaurants, it's the rice. At steak houses, he goes by the side dishes and the wedge salad (what the heck is a wedge salad?). Michael Leviton over at Lumiere goes by the simple dishes at Asian restaurants: Shrimp and broccoli, drunken pasta, and for Italian restaurants it's the risotto.
I'll have to agree with the author of the article and say I often go by the chicken dishes, since they're a pretty basic dish, and I also go by the salads. But then again, I've had some awful meals at some restaurants where everything else I've had is first-rate, so I go back. Readers, how do you judge restaurants overall?
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11-13-2006 @4:00PM neil said... A "wedge salad" is normally a wedge (1/4 or 1/8) of a head of lettuce topped with crumbled blue cheese & bacon, or some variant thereof. Sometimes beefsteak tomatoes are used in lieu of lettuce.
Wow. I just wrote myself into a hunger.
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11-13-2006 @4:15PM ben said... if the restaurant is at all a larger restaurant, this method is useless. see, larger places' kitchens have what is called by us cooks a 'line.' The guy running the pasta line in, say, an italian joint is mostly responsible for those pasta dishes whereas the guy running the meat line would be responsible for most of the meats coming out of the kitchen. if the pasta guy happens to slightly overcook the pasta in that ONE test dish then the critic would think the whole restaurant is no good??? this doesnt seem fair or even accurate at all, does it? then again, i kind of see the point since presumably the guy working the 'pass line' would be the exec chef, chef di cuisine, etc. who would be entirely responsibly for the allowed serving of said dish to the customer...tough call.
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11-13-2006 @4:17PM SteveC said... A Chinese friend told me he judges Chinese restaurants by the wonton soup, more specifically, by the broth in the wonton soup. I asked about the hot and sour soup, and he said there's too much variation from place to place for it to be a useful indicator, but good wonton soup tends to be very similar from place to place.
I think the idea of judging by the broth may have something in common with how Vietnamese places are judged by the broth in the pho.
But, I'm no expert.
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11-13-2006 @4:19PM Kate said... Wait..wait...what is a Wedge Salad?! Are you kidding me?!
http://www.slashfood.com/2006/06/21/food-porn-wedge-salad/
Only my favorite salad. And I don't care if that makes me a yahoo who eats Iceberg.
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11-13-2006 @5:43PM Sophie said... Judging a restaurant by one meal only doesn't seem relevant to me. There is a great restaurant where I live called City Oyster, and the food is wonderful but their taco fish which is just average. what if I had judged it on this dish only?
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11-13-2006 @8:13PM Allison said... I judge it by the desserts.
If your desserts are bleh, I
will not think so highly of
your restaurant ; )
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11-13-2006 @9:49PM judith okey said... I often judge my restaurants by the salads. If they make their own dressings and the originality of those dressings, the mixtures of ingredients and the freshness. I also judge main courses by what I feel is the chef's ability to use ingredients that blend and enhance one another rather than just the lasest fad in ingredients.
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11-14-2006 @2:52AM ErosLane said... A wedge salad is the only way I'll eat blah-old iceberg lettuce.
In fact, I went with some friends over the weekend to celebrate a birthday at Dave & Buster's (obviously not my choice) and there I had the best wedge salad I have ever had.
Color me surprised.
A huge wedge of iceberg lettuce filled one side of the plate. On the other side were delicious slices of tomatoes, slices of what certainly had to have been almost an entire avacado with a sprinkling of bacon.
Mmmmmm, so good.
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11-14-2006 @9:03AM foodielicious said... Michael Schlow is also the chef at Great Bay restaurant...a fabulous spot in the heart of Kenmore Square with the most amazing ceviche tacos!
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11-14-2006 @9:39AM Miss Tenacity said... It is definitely tricky to evaluate a restaurant on one dish, but I would venture to say that you can learn a LOT by chosing certain dishes to see how the kitchen has prepared them:
1. Breakfast joint: the oatmeal.
2. Lunch/dinner joint: the house soup.
3. Lunch/dinner joint: the house salad.
All are kind of "throwaway" items made repeatedly, and their qualities can range from horrific to spectacular.
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11-14-2006 @10:24AM Alex said... I judge diners by their tuna melts, it seems fair.
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11-14-2006 @12:32PM Bradley said... I have had two fantastic meals at one of Michael Schlow's restaurants, Great Bay in Boston right next door to Fenway. In seafood restaurants the halibut is usually a benchmark for me. In Italian it would have to be the spaghetti and meatballs. If the service is poor I at least want to know the take out options if I the food is good.
Usually eating the signature dish is a good indication. If they screw up the signature dish the rest of the meal can't be to far behind.
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11-14-2006 @1:47PM killerwhale said... When I go to a Chinese restaurant for the first time, I try a soup and an egg roll. I pay carefull attention, and for thirty years it's been a very reliable indicator of what's to come. If the egg roll is plump and full of lip smackin' goodness, GREAT!!!!
As for the soup, if they don't get that basic down, then I know that they aren't going to be able to cook to my desires, and other problems will show up.
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11-14-2006 @4:37PM Gina said... At a sushi place, it's definitely the rice. If it's Italian, I go by their lasagne.
Chinese - usually the gyoza, must have thin wonton skin, not that doughy
store bought junk. Steak/Ribs - well, that's obvious! ;) But I NEVER order
chicken at a restaurant unless I have heard from a reputable friend that the chicken is good. It's usually dry, tasteless, and overcooked at 95% of the "fine" restaurants I've been to continent-wide. For desserts, it's usually creme brulee.
If they screw that up, it's no good... IMO.
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11-14-2006 @4:38PM Gina said... Oops!! I forgot!! Seafood restaurants - if you can't see the water or the boats, I'd be wary of the fish/oysters/etc. It's only best if you can see it loaded off the boat and into the restaurant! ;)
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11-16-2006 @1:36PM Jim said... A "food person" that's never heard of a wedge salad??? What's this world coming to?
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