"PENMART01" > wrote in message
...
> >JimLane writes:
> >
> >Cindy Fuller wrote:
> >>(PENMART01) wrote:
> >>
> >>>Shortcut to: Identifying a Bad Restaurant
> >>>Just because you're a tourist doesn't mean you should eat like one. How
do
> >>>you
> >>>know if a place isn't worth your patronage? William Grimes, a former
> >>>restaurant
> >>>critic for the New York Times, serves up 10 warning signs.
> >>>
> >>>1. The name of the restaurant is followed by an exclamation point.
> >>>2. It's called Bubba's Down-Home Barbecue -- and it's in Boston.
> >>>3. Out front, there's a big plastic chef holding a menu.
> >>>4. The wine list is bound in tooled leather and has tassels.
> >>>5. The cuisine is Chinese, Japanese, and Italian.
> >>>6. The review in the window has yellowed and started to curl at the
> >corners.
> >>>7. The restaurant revolves.
> >>>8. The words "buffet," "all you can eat," or "salad bar" appear in the
> >>>window.
> >>>9. The waiters are carrying pepper mills the size of shoulder-fired
> >rockets.
> >>>10. The word "decadent" is used to describe any dessert.
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >> A few others to add to Grimes's list:
> >>
> >> Any restaurant that advertises itself as "world famous" is best
referred
> >> to as infamous.
> >> A Chinese restaurant (for example) that is devoid of Chinese patrons or
> >> waitstaff.
> >> "Celebrity chef" restaurants with multiple locations across the
country.
> >>
> >> Cindy
> >>
> >
> >For that matter, any ethnic restaurant not patronized by members of that
> >group.
>
> Not really... I've patronized many excellent NYC Chinese Restaurants and
never
> once saw a Chinese patron being served. Of course there are many
excellent
> Chinese restaurants in NYC's Chinatown where you'll see only Chinese
patrons.

The rule is a good one in general, but there are exceptions -- there are a
handful of good French restaurants in the US, for example, despite a
shortage of French people.