Goin' To Bindi, Gettin' Some Vindaloo...
Read Bindi's reviews on MenuPages and one thing will stand out: Philly diners hate the $18-per-person minimum.
Samples:
aes97: "The $18 minimum is particularly insulting, as it seems to stem from the assumption that most diners are cheapskates and thus have to be forced to order enough to justify taking up a table."Monkeyboy: "When I come out to eat I don't want to do the math to make sure I meet a minimum purchase. When you go out you want to eat a meal and enjoy yourself."
Anonymous: "My husband wanted to order appetizers first, but he was not "allowed to." The waitress said he had to order everything at once. I guess she was afraid we wouldn't meet the $18-per-person rule. The pickle plate & chutney samplers came without bread. We asked what we were supposed to do with them. The waitress cleverly answered that you can use them to "enhance the taste of your food" or put them on bread. We asked, "We have to order bread, it doesn't come with it?" She confirmed that was correct."
Munchies: "Having spent over $70 at our table of 4, we were informed (after we had finished) that there was a $20 minimum per person and if we didn't order $18 worth of dessert we would be charged an additional $18. When we asked the manager if they should have told us that before we ordered she curtly replied "It's on the menu." and then turned to me and said "People come here for dinner, you shouldn't come here for snacks."
So what did Craig LaBan think of Bindi? Well, he didn't get to the minimums... but he did dig the pork vindaloo:
Turney’s pork vindaloo, though, may be Bindi’s best example of a refined classic. The typical slow-stewed meat is upgraded with yieldingly soft seared tenderloin. And the meat’s aromatic crust of black cardamom, clove, cumin and nigella seeds sparks against the hot and sour gravy, a vinegar- and wine-tinged brew that unfurls with sweet spice on the tongue before a final whip-crack of chile heat. A comforting puree of creamy cauliflower and a sweet mango-date chutney cushions the vindaloo’s bold flavors.
An update of Indian cuisine, faithful to authentic flavors [Inquirer]
Bindi [MenuPages]
Bindi [Official Site]
[Image via Ron Tarver/Inquier]
Comments
Great Post. The $18 minimum is, indeed, obnoxious as f*ck.
Its origins can be traced back to a response Chef Marcie Turney gave to the question, “Name something you love about Philly diners … and something you hate”, in an interview on Taste Daily back in February that we actually first read about right here.
“What I don’t like. Hmm. We get a lot of younger kids that come in, and because we’re BYOB, they bring tequila or wine or rum, and will order guacamole and one entrée to split between them, and think that’s okay. And the Mexican cuisine sort of lends itself to that. But we’re a restaurant—not a bar. And the servers need to get paid.”
"kids"? really?? Referring to 20-year-olds as kids now, are we? sounds to us like a case of a chef/owner getting old and less cool and thereby losing touch with what/who helped get them there. i.e. selling out.
Seriously, this response/interview was off-putting when we first read it back in February, but it annoyed us even more when we heard about the minimum at bindi.
So we have no problem taking exception with the owner’s grievance and the resulting policy at bindi.
While we certainly like to indulge when eating out, we totally empathize with younger diners who don’t have limitless cash to drop and therefore have to resort to being a little more frugal than most. And to exclude them from the experience is what really seems childish.
But if a restaurant wants to be exclusive, that’s their prerogative. We just find it pretty hypocritical since a lot of these younger diners are exactly the customers that made Lolita cool in the first place.
That said, we’re over bindi.
Posted by: team illadelph | April 7, 2008 12:02 PM
ooooohhhhhhh.....$18 minimum, really... really, if you need a calculator to make sure you meet this, you should be eating a 99 cent burger at Wendy's at the corner of 12th and Walnut...you don't have to tip there 'ya know...so you can take 17 of your closest friends.
Posted by: cindy mindy | September 4, 2008 09:55 PM