The restaurant business is difficult. Long hours, slim profit margins, physically demanding work…you really have to love it, because it requires dedication and toil. It’s also really easy to screw up.
I am not a food snob. I’m willing to overlook a lot when I go to a restaurant. If service is slow, maybe it’s because they’re understaffed that evening. If I ordered brown rice and got white rice, I’m not going to send it back. If the cup of tea I requested never arrives, I’ll be okay. It’s all in how you set your expectations; I try to be realistic with mine and it saves me useless frustration.
Thus, when my friends raved about Pasta Freska, a small Italian ristorante down on Westlake in Seattle–the food is crazy good, they told me, and the way Chef Mike runs the place is so unusual; they were all sure I’d love the place–I took their reviews with a dash of salt.
In my experience, small “unusual” restaurants run by “Chef” so-and-so are a gamble, so in order to avoid disappointment I consciously did two things: opened my wallet, and dropped my expectations to the floor.
Good thing.
Kurt R.A. Giambastiani 