Bloomington, MN 55420
www.mandarin-kitchen.com
Ever heard of the paradox of choice? Basically, this concept states that there is an inverse relationship between choice and satisfaction—as choices become more plentiful, people’s satisfaction with their ultimate choice goes down. At first glance, this doesn’t seem to make much sense. We’re taught that choices are a good thing, and the more choices we get, the better. That’s why it’s a paradox.
As we’ve been visiting restaurants and writing reviews, I’ve been thinking about the paradox of choice, and the more I think about it, the more it makes sense to me. Take Chipotle, for example. Chipotle offers its customers relatively few options. At each step in the assembly line, there are maybe an average of four choices. Burrito, taco, or bowl? Chicken, steak, or black beans? What kind of salsa? You want cheese on that? When you really think about it, Chipotle really doesn’t have a menu, as such—all it really offers is variations on a theme.
But in spite of all that, I don’t think that I’ve ever heard anyone complain that Chipotle’s menu is too small. And that’s where the paradox comes in. Because customers can use different combinations of choices, they don’t feel too limited—but because Chipotle hasn’t loaded up their menu with new offerings, people don’t feel paralyzed, either.
For a negative example of the paradox of choice (finally, a review!), I give you Mandarin Kitchen in Bloomington. The menu’s like an encyclopedia. Choices galore. And as we all know, as the number of choices go up, satisfaction goes down. Given approximately five minutes to peruse a ten-page menu with at least 200 dishes, we were paralyzed by our choices. Were there some truly amazing dishes on that menu? Possibly. But there were also probably a lot of really mediocre options as well, along with a few downright dismal ones. How to tell the difference?
Ultimately, we picked pretty much at random—Sarah got pork ribs, and I got beefsteak Chinese style. I can’t speak for Sarah, but I still had no idea what to get when the waiter asked me what I wanted, and I just blurted something out, regretting it even as I said it. I know, I know: we should have asked for a recommendation. But I’ve had bad experiences with that, too: blank stares, “It’s all good.” Give me a break. Note to restaurant owners: we’re not impressed by how many different dishes you know how to make! All we want is a medium-sized list of the best stuff you’ve got.
The food was mediocre at best. The sauce on my beef tasted like a version of sweet and sour sauce, and the ribs had some kind of a honey glaze. We got take-home boxes, but to be honest we ended up throwing almost everything away.
Given my extended riff on the paradox of choice, you might think that the size of the menu is our only gripe. It’s not. The setup of the dining room is also pretty poor. Too bright, for one. The arrangement of the tables is also odd. They’ve got these long skinny tables, and rather than seating you on the long ends so that you’re sitting close to your party, they seat you on the short ends so that you’re far away. They also push the tables close together. The result is that you end up sitting closer to the complete stranger next to you than to your wife (in my case), who’s sitting across the table and asking you to speak up every time you say something. Last but not least was the wait staff. Very polite and prompt—but during about half of our meal, there was a waiter lurking literally two feet away from our table! The whole thing was very uncomfortable, and we were happy to get out of there and back into a place where we could have a private conversation in peace.
Sarah and Andrew’s Verdict: D. I was actually getting mad as I was writing this review. Mandarin Kitchen has its partisans, and I’m sure that there are some hidden gems on that huge menu—but we don’t really have the time or the patience to go hunting for them. Life’s too short to go back to the same Chinese restaurant over and over again in search of what they do well. It’s sad but true: if you can’t impress customers on their very first visit, they’ll probably never be back.
November 15, 2008 at 1:14 am |
Living in Bloomington, passing by the Mandarin Kitchen frequently, I’m quite surprised that they have more customers than their restaurant should. I’ve eaten there several times. I try not to but friends, when coming in my direction, want to eat there. I find the food to be horrible. And you are so right about the weird seating. Next time a friend insists on eating there – I’m going to have to insist just as strongly that go a couple blocks over to Kimson instead.
November 15, 2008 at 5:18 pm |
You are both out of your minds. Mandarin Kitchen is one of the best Chinese restaurants in town. Maybe it’s just a little too authentic for some people. If you want Americanized fake Chinese food go somewhere else. Kimson might as well be Leann Chin’s. There is no comparison. If you want the real deal go to Mandarin Kitchen. Some of the options would be a bit exotic and too authentic for some people but you are acting like you’ve never eaten at a chinese restaurant before. You can’t find something that you know you like? That’s just stupid. Ever heard of Chow Mein, lo Mein, Chicken Fried Rice, egg rolls, for crying out loud? You don’t have to get something exotic just because they have it. My biggest gripe is that it is expensize and the food is different on the Takeout menu than the sit down menu. It’s too expensive for me except on special occasions, but you can’t be serious about the quality of the food because it’s excellent. I find the complaints in this review to be petty and short sighted. You are complaining because you don’t know what you like? That sounds like a personal problem. Here’s a clue for ya, don’t go to a Chinese restaraunt and order ribs, order chinese food. I’m not crazy about Mandarin Kitchen or anything, mostly because of the prices, but I just have to say that this review is totally biased and completely inaccurate. Don’t avoid the place just because these yahoos don’t know what to order.
October 7, 2009 at 11:13 pm |
I agree with Justin- Mandarin Kitchen is excellent Chinese food- My wife (Chinese) says they are one of the few authentic in the TC, also verified by the packed house for dimsum on Sat & Sun. We eat there at least once a month for a dinner meal & usually twice a month for dimsum.
Of course a lot of minnesotans prefer the Amercan-Chinese stuff, but I hope MK never changes- I dont want to drive all the way to St.P, & I cant go back to eating that stuff.