the owner, I’ll call him for you..." So off we go. We walk into an un-pretentious but still stylish place, nice long bar, two dining areas. You can see the kitchen, wait staff walks right up to counter. Cooks & waiters are...

of fries.... When we asked for the bill, we told the waiter, discreetly and kindly, that we were disappointed and asked if he could have the waiter come over to our table. The waiter brought us the bill, ran our credit card...

with green onions and ginger. They will also cook things that are not on the menu if you ask — the woman at the register (I think she’s an owner) is extremely friendly and helpful and loves it when folks are open to...

Nope. But I have actually suffered from the opposite syndrome: a spoon too many. In “nicest” places, beware of the dreadful “sauce spoon”, the one with a notch on the side. Product of an incestuous...

. Don’t suffer from " Rosemary Room syndrome". Make your restaurant appealing to walk into or you’ll be closed by Christmas. I already know your chow is good but I wouldn’t walk into your place on Smith even if...

You may not necessarily fall into the "Parkhill Syndrome" victims category (“Dirty Joanne” or “Jew Couple” printed on your check), but you may have been marked as malcontent customers after constant...

of the original owners of Casa Bom Vento, one of Singapore’s most popular Eurasian restaurants in the early 1990s. The dishes at Quentin’s are pretty much hit-and-miss. My 3 favorite dishes there (perhaps the ONLY 3...

too-many-ingredients syndrome. Service very professional and friendly. City Cafe, owned by the same people, was similar, if not quite as interesting. We actually had a good piece of fish there, but the cider pork loin was as...

be decanting it for you. It is definitely extra work for them and they deserve to be paid. Then there is the syndrome of people bringing bottles of nondescript wines simply to save money. Restaurant owners would be perfectly...

. I don’t even think the coffee there is so great. The last bag I got was pretty stale and sort of overcooked. They also suffer from massive-menu syndrome.

with more regional American choices on the menu. Bar Italia has been around for a long time and I like the food a lot. It’s Italian (duh) but not American-Italian like so much here is. I like the owners and the patio is...

. Loved it. We placed our orders and requested a bottle of Lacky shiraz; server came back in a moment to tell us they are out of it; we ordered a similarly priced Grenache in its place. (The owner came over around that time to...

asking at Asian restaurants in the US, “Do you use MSG?” and the servers/owners say “no”. Then they’re satisfied and happily eat there pouring lots of soy sauce over their food! Peception is...

of you, read the Los Angeles Times, I thought you’d be interested in this article describing how The Kitchen is actually a concept Chinese restaurant designed by its owner to bring high quality and higher priced Chinese...

I think you’re suffering from battered customer syndrome, captain! The sandwiches still taste great to me. As always, get the dressing.