Restaurant Signs

Photo by Myhsu.

I’ve got to learn to pick up on hints. But I was so anxious to relive the wonderful restaurant experience Andrew and I had five years ago while on vacation, I ignored the obvious clues that disappointment was just a fork load away. While the meal was far from a disaster, it wasn’t the palate-grabbing experience that sent us back a second night and kept the memory lodged in our brains for half a decade.

Sign #1: When a restaurant that used to turn people away on weekends is wide open at 7:00 p.m. on a Saturday night, this is not usually a lull in tourism, but a drop in quality.

Sign #2: When there’s a sign on the door stating they won’t take gift certificates issued before a certain date, that’s a sign that ownership has changed — and not for the better. For confirmation, see sign #1.

Sign #3: When the set menu for an “authentic” Middle Eastern meal includes shrimp cocktail, they might be playing fast and loose with the phrase “authentic.” Thousand Island salad dressing doesn’t help their case.

Although the meal was fine, it was more memorable for its disappointment than its delights. But to be fair, the restaurant’s predecessors set the bar high. If anyone has a killer recipe for a walnut-laced kisir*, I’m still Jonesing for a fix.

* Kisir is a bulgar wheat salad, but if you had to ask, you likely don’t have the recipe.