$37.00 (Ichiban vs. Chili’s)

Here’s a tale about two nights, two people, two restaurants, two checks for almost exactly $37.00 … and two very different local dining experiences.

Last month, a MadeByMark.com reader was kind enough to suggest that Clyde and I should try the new Ichiban restaurant in Flowood. Last Friday night, we made the drive out to the chain’s location (near the Dogwood Festival Mall). Upon arrival, we discovered that Ichiban was a bustling upscale sushi and Chinese food buffet.

Start by putting the Peking, Ding How, and Sun Koon Chinese buffets out of your head! The food served at Ichiban has nothing in common with the dried-out, over-breaded fare served up in other metro-area Chinese eateries. Ichiban’s buffet includes the items you would expect — like fried shrimp, crab claws, General Tso’s chicken, sesame chicken, Singapore noodles, and the other familiar entrees. In addition, you’ll find tasty new options, from the coconut shrimp (too sweet for me, personally) and roasted pork loin to bacon-wrapped chicken and tender beef with broccoli.

Other Jackson-area buffets serve dubious trays of pre-fab, factory-made sushi. At Ichiban, though, the sushi at Ichiban is made while you watch. The sushi chefs serve up fifteen different kinds of rolls, and they’re careful not to make too much of any one roll at any given time. As a result, the sushi is always fresh and tasty. (PS: Pop a dollar in the tip jar, and you’ll find yourself on the receiving end of as much of your favorite roll as you can carry.)

All this is served in a gleaming neo-industrial food hall tempered with pleasant sherbet shades of green, orange, and yellow. Dirty plates are whisked away and drinks are kept full to the brim by the pleasant, efficient wait staff.

Sunday night, tired and hungry, we elected to break our promise never to return to our neighborhood Chili’s restaurant. I know, I know. It’s a Chili’s. But we often enjoy ourselves at the one in the Detroit airport, and the Jackson-area Chili’s parking lot is always packed … so, in a moment of weakness, we hoped against hope that the experience would be a good one.

The first bad sign: after a fifteen minute wait for a non-smoking table, we were ushered past a long line of dirty tables piled high with empty glasses, scraped plates, and soggy napkins to a booth in the very back of the restaurant. (Has this place ever heard of a bus boy? )

Our table, as it turns out, was located about six feet from the Chili’s To Go entrance. Each time someone came in to pick up a To Go order, we were bathed in a blast of freezing cold air … and as the the night went on (and as the To Go line got longer, eventually extending out of the door and into the parking lot), this became more and more of a problem.

Our clueless waiter was hopelessly overtasked, as he was desperately trying to work the To Go counter and take care of us. Drinks appeared quickly, but were never refilled. When our appetizer appeared, our waiter dropped off a handful of napkins — but no silverware. About forty minutes later, he delivered our fajitas to the table … but by the time we flagged down a manager to ask for forks, our sizzling plates had devolved into a soggy mess.

Meanwhile, the situation back in Chili’s To Go was getting out of hand. A large, loud customer was apparently upset with his order, and the staff was responding by running in circles and screaming for managers. When a manager finally appeared, the customer made a scene … and, finally, stormed out of the restaurant, followed by at least one whimpering employee.

Eventually, the To Go lobby was packed with unhappy people waiting too long for mediocre food — some of them, in fact, stood waiting for their orders for as long as we were there.

It took another half-hour for our waiter to smack our bill down on our tabletop (“I’m sorry,” he said, flouncing away without listening for a reply). We took that opportunity to leave cash and get the heck out of Dodge.

Ironically, our delightful evening for two at Ichiban and our agonizing experience at Chili’s both cost us almost exactly $37.00. But while Ichiban wins our “any time we can” award … Chili’s, as you might guess, is back on our list of “never agains.”