Two Damned Ferries. Just Two.

 

Nice Squid

 

Nice Eggplant

So, the question of the morning is: How important is ambience in a restaurant? How much more do you want to spend than the food is worth, to get a view of the harbor or candles on the tables or an accordionist who knows 'Volare?'

OK, scratch the part about the accordionist, because Plotnik would spend anything extra to have that. What we're really talking about here is the harbor view.

He keeps saying he's not going back to the Slanted Door, but he goes back anyway because it's indisputable that out of town guests love the Slanted Door, crave the Slanted Door, want to have the Slanted Door's babies. Everyone else does too, apparently -- it's jam-packed, even on a cold and rainy Friday night and as noisy with diners happily shrieking to be heard across the table as any restaurant in the city. If Plot were Tony Soprano he'd come eat here and talk freely about the next hit, because neither the FBI nor even Christopher would be able to hear him.

And last night Plotnik wasn't even paying -- the Crow picked up the hefty tab.

The dinner for four, in order of arrival:

Slanted Door Spring Rolls: very average. No better than the $1.50 specials on the counter at Saigon Sandwich Shop. C.

Rice Cakes with tiny shrimp: Good. Not Great. C.

Fish Soup: Terribly bland. Tasteless. Honestly, Plot would give it an F, but the Crow liked it, so make it a D.

Shaking Beef: The house specialty. Fabulous. A. Well worth the $26.

Spicy Squid: Average. C. Tough, rubbery squid.

Eggplant in coconut sauce: Delicious B.

Stir fried Tuscan Kale: Very Good B.

Cellophane Noodles with Crab: Good. Plot liked these more than anyone else, because he could flavor his rice with them. C.

Vietnamese Coffee: You have to like your coffee sweet and rich. Plot does. Very good. B.

Add it all up: Fabulous (A): 1. Very Good to Delicious (B): 3. Good to Average (C): 4. Mediocre (D): 1.

If Plot were reviewing the Slanted Door, he'd look at these numbers and give it two stars plus, or three stars minus, not three stars, certainly not four stars. But the public's response has been overflowing in its praise for the Slanted Door since the day it opened.

So we return to the original question: How much extra are you willing to pay to receive excellent service, have the table ready for you when you arrive, even though the restaurant is filled up (Big Plus), and watch a total of two ferry boats steaming out of the harbor? If the food is basically Good Plus at best?

How much? 10%? 25%? 50%?

This much we can say for sure. The Slanted Door will not have Plottie to kick around anymore -- he's got family arriving this week and they'll go someplace else. And when they get home their friends will ask them excitedly if they got to go to the Slanted Door?