What do you hate about your favorite restaurant?

No restaurant is perfect. Even our favorite places have their faults. Sometimes the best food is made by people with bad attitudes. Maybe the cooks don’t wash their hands between the kitchen and the bathroom. Maybe you found a band-aid in your fries one time, but the fries were so good, you just ate around it. And that fly doing the back stroke in the soup? Must be the secret ingredient, cuz damn this is some good grub. In this installment, we’re going to highlight some places that seem to get a few things wrong while getting most everything else right.

Brawling Barista: The Forgetful Chef

I wish 8 1/2 delivered! i love their pizzas, pastas and all the interesting beverages. I love ed v’s places- the food is always phenomenal, but they all have one thing in common. With the exception of a few times, the service is always bad– if not worse. bad attitudes abound- and i could really do without that side during my dinner. I’m a notorious over tipper- but even i have a hard time tipping more than the minimum most times. It kills me that they don’t feel like this is an important aspect of any business- you just gotta make your customers want to come back! While the food is good, a bad experience can overpower the promise of good food for many people, and the minute you stop thinking of a place for a special occasion, a great date or just a last minute dinner- is the minute a restaurant has failed. I feel like i’m always recommending his places with a caveat, “the food is so good, the wait can be forever- but stay- really! the food is worth it, but…. don’t expect good service– in fact it can be downright terrible- but STAY- seriously– the food is worth it!” it will be a good night when i go in to one of his restaurants, and the whole show is great– from soup to service.

Janet Raymond: Richmond, Food for Thought

There are a few things I would change about Edo’s Squid. Number one is the parking (with the understanding they have virtually no control over the parking issue). I am tempted to include location because it’s such a far drive for us, but I believe the location is also part of it’s charm.

They would always have a vast assortment of gelato. It’s a sad thing when they are out.

I think they do a great job of changing up soups and appetizers, but wish they would tweak the menu in areas of meat, seafood and pasta more often. But this is a minor point, especially because if they did I’d probably order my usual suspects anyway.

I also wish the red wine wasn’t kept in the wall, especially in the summer when it’s served warmer than it should be. This is probably my biggest peeve with downtown and Fan restaurants. Hot summer day, inefficient AC and red wine stored outside of a wine cooler is not a great experience.

RVA Foodie: Caramelized OpiNIONS

My favorite pizza in Richmond is the eggplant parmesan pizza from Piccola’s. The last time I got one, it didn’t go well, and I haven’t been back. Despite the awful service and the bad attitude from the owner, I’m still carrying a torch. Luckily, Arriana’s (owned by the same family) offers the same pie, but somehow it’s just not as good without the risk of culinary consumer catastrophe. Meanwhile, sister restaurant, Mary Angela’s denies knowing how to make this specialty pizza, even though they list eggplant among their toppings. If any members of that pizza dynasty have their ears on: Can you all work that out at the next family reunion, please? And, tell you know who to get some therapy.

Michelle Catania: Future Blogger

If fantastic food were enough to make a restaurant successful, The Nile could easily call itself one of RVA’s best. They are currently the only outlet for Ethiopian cuisine in this town, and we’re definitely better off because of it. (Shhh!…let’s pretend Ellwood’s hot bar doesn’t count, ok? *wink*)

The Nile has almost everything you could ever want in a menu. It caters to meat lovers and vegetarians equally, and as long as you aren’t planning on drinking any cocktails – your wallet will enjoy the trip just as much as your taste buds. From the superbly seasoned doro wat (chicken) and lamb alicha, to the berbere and cumin spiced lentils and greens, you’re going to need lots of yummy injera bread to get through your meal.

I’d like to say that they hit the mark in every way…but sadly, once you get past the menu, you might feel a little like you’ve been “Mama Zued”. Two out of the last five times I’ve been there, the service was so bad that I never even made it to the table to order my meal. That said, it *IS* worth the trouble. Here’s what could help move The Nike to the top of my list: Front-of-the-house kindness and customer service, faster table service, Ethiopian Honey Wine (I’ve recently found out that this has to do with some bizarre ABC regulation, so this one technically isn’t their fault).

Matt Sadler: The House of Marinara

I truly am a sucker for Millie’s. I have been for years. Ever since the wife and I stumbled upon their failed experiment in Nagshead, we have craved their greasy, cheesy, spicy wonderful eggs. Little did I know that I would fall ever further in love with their rotating dinner menu. I love the place. It is fun, casual, relaxed and really tasty. So why do I only go there twice a year? It’s because they do not take reservations (less than 6). I understand that they may not be setup for reservations, but as a parent of a 3 year old, I cannot 1) wait in line for an hour to eat without him going nuts or 2) afford to pay a babysitter while we wait in line. Usually the line is a bigger deal at brunch when he is involved and so unless the perfect storm is in place that allows us to be there right at 10 when they open, then it just doesn’t happen.

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Monday, October 19th, 2009, by sadlermr and is filed under "Ask the Food Bloggers ". You can leave a response here. .