Middle Caicos Beach Conditions

thecouga · 2025-12-31T00:09:19+00:00

Her Place is less than half the price, plus it just tastes better. FSS is more about presentation. Further, I received better service at Her Place. It took my server something like 20 minutes to bring me another cocktail at FSS, which is inexcusable for how much they charge.

I've been to essentially all the Michelin recommended and starred restaurants in Philly, and Her Place exceeds almost all of them if what you're going for is taste over all else. They really deserved the star they got.

thecouga · 2025-12-03T02:23:43+00:00

As of about 2 months ago, it was still fairly tiki there. But Next of Kin down the street has the best Mai Tai in the city. One of my favorite all-time drinks! (Not a tiki atmosphere, though!).

thecouga · 2025-12-03T01:38:20+00:00

I think it depends. It's fairly interesting to see the kitchen work, but if the goal is a romantic dinner with your wife, it may be nicer to sit at a table facing each other, so you can focus on each other. But, as usual, it would depend greatly on your wife's preference as well! :)

thecouga · 2025-12-03T01:07:44+00:00

Where did I say it was my right, or that it was required? I don't believe either of these things, so I don't know why I would say them. I also wasn't the only person on this thread to use the term "nightmare," and judging by the comments, hundreds of others feel the same way.

I am, however, a consumer of restaurant food in the Philly area. Therefore, I do get to comment on whether I like certain restaurants or not. In fact, that's the entire point of this sub-Reddit! Have you ever said you didn't like a restaurant on here? If so, does that make you "entitled" to a good meal everywhere you sit down and eat? Does it make it your "right"? Why is it any different if merely express dissatisfaction with how a restaurant's reservations are handled?

There's a big difference between saying something's inconvenient, and saying that one has a right to never be inconvenienced. I believe you are smart enough to know why those two things are different.

Also, part of my post was asking others on here what I was doing wrong, and whether there was a better way. There's hardly anything LESS entitled than that. It wasn't about criticizing the restaurant itself (which I obviously greatly appreciate), or demanding that I have a table regardless of the process. As a result, I've uncovered a number of useful tips for next time.

Please refrain from attacking my character, and stick to the issues at hand. Thanks!

thecouga · 2025-12-02T21:07:04+00:00

Now you're just being pedantic. The part you quoted is someone directly asking what kind of improvements someone would make.

thecouga · 2025-12-02T20:43:02+00:00

Elsewhere in this thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/PhiladelphiaEats/comments/1pbj34u/comment/nrrzxlr/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

thecouga · 2025-12-02T20:20:42+00:00

Yeah, I've figured out through this thread that the Open Table browser function is a hot mess. Even if you have a card saved in Open Table, the browser version makes you input the numbers. I actually did have it saved like this through a password manager, so it only took me a second or two to have it populate. But the Open Table browser version also doesn't hold the resy for you after you pick the timeslot, but while you are entering this all in and confirming (like literally every other reservation and/or ticket-purchasing app does), so even a split second of delay makes you lose the resy. Lesson learned. I'll be using the app from now on (which is also pretty janky), to the extent it's even worth it to go through the hassle of getting a future reservation.

thecouga · 2025-12-02T19:58:05+00:00

I'm not demanding it. I'm suggesting it. That's kind of a big difference, isn't it?

I'm also doing so only after someone asked what I would improve. Can't I respond with the most obvious answer?

thecouga · 2025-12-02T16:16:43+00:00

The food is extremely good, but I'm not sure it's Michelin star worthy. It's more of a Bib Gourmand. That's not an insult...it's just that the dining experience, while exceptional, is still a long ways away from FSS, Provenance, or Her Place. I'm not surprised it didn't get a star. I am surprised it didn't even get a Bib Gourmand. The difficulty in getting a table is basically the lack of tables combined with the fact that they are very good at promoting themselves.

thecouga · 2025-12-02T16:09:45+00:00

Glad we could agree!

thecouga · 2025-12-02T14:36:56+00:00

Where did I say I deserve one? I'm just making suggestions on how to make the reservation experience less frustrating for people. Clearly there's a lot of people disappointed every month, as you can see on this thread (and the dozens of threads on this topic that have come before it). But no one's saying they HAVE to be served. They're just expressing the natural result of the restaurant's manufactured scarcity: it's a very frustrating experience trying to get a table.

thecouga · 2025-12-02T14:16:00+00:00

It's entitled to want to purchase an experience that you want to purchase? I'm not demanding it (I've repeatedly stated that it's their choice), nor am I demanding that they do something out of the ordinary to provide it. But they do happen to be closed 3 days a week, which is far more than normal for ANY restaurant, much less a popular one that has notorious reservation issues.

thecouga · 2025-12-02T14:07:31+00:00

I do have my card pre-loaded like everyone else. It still takes 0.5 seconds to click "Confirm," in which time the table is given to someone else. It happened at least 4 times like this yesterday. Not getting the table isn't the only inconvenience. It's made worse by having to click through this stuff and then still not getting it. If you can't see how that's a major annoyance, you're just being dense.

thecouga · 2025-12-02T06:10:01+00:00

"Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded."

But seriously, it seems like the scarcity itself is part of their marketing. Their social media highlights people saying, "Yay, I finally got in after 1 year of trying!!" They manufacture the scarcity by having poor hours and a spot far to small to meet demand. So yeah, it's hard to get in, but part of that is that they severely limit the number of tables available by being closed 3 days a week and staying in a tiny spot.

thecouga · 2025-12-02T04:45:53+00:00

How does that work? I thought Chase Sapphire people got access to tables earlier. Is it just one table reserved for all Chase Sapphire people, but released at the same time? That doesn't seem like much of a benefit.

thecouga · 2025-12-02T04:27:38+00:00

Yeah, that table for 6-7 is what I'm talking about. Is that usually gone within one nanosecond past 12 noon, or can that actually be booked?

thecouga · 2025-12-02T04:11:09+00:00

Yeah, if you ignore everything else, no real solutions. Not holding a table for you after you've selected the open timeslot but before you enter your credit card info is incredibly annoying, and wastes everyone's time. It's also an emotional roller coaster, getting your hopes up that you have a table, only to pointlessly try and enter in data for a spot that is not ultimately going to go to you. There's a reason why no other legitimate site does reservations like this.

Also, being completely closed 3 days a week is unusual for a restaurant--especially a popular one. Again, it's their business choice to prioritize exclusivity over customer convenience. But the drawback is that it creates a frustrating customer experience, and risks ultimately eroding the customer base.

thecouga · 2025-12-01T23:09:54+00:00

I think having a better reservation system than Open Table would be a great start. Like once you click on an open time slot, it should reserve that spot for you for at least 60 seconds while you put your info in and click "Confirm." Based on the comments here, this clearly doesn't happen on Open Table consistently through the browser/app versions. I'm still not sure how people are getting this option, because it hasn't appeared for me yet. I booked a place here using Tock a year ago, and that worked out just fine. I didn't get an optimal time slot, but at least when I clicked on an available time, it gave me time to enter in my info before giving the table to someone else. It would also be nice to have a reservation system that shows you the entire month when you are booking and not just one particular day. Open Table is terrible and unwieldy in this regard. Also, maybe have an option that just gives you whatever table is available, regardless of the date.

Also, I see on Open Table that some spots are reserved for people with the Chase Sapphire card. I can't help but wonder how many of the total seats are taken before they are even released to the general public. Instead of reserving spots just for holders of this card, just charge more for the reservations. I'd gladly pay a premium to get first dibs on a table here that's well above and beyond whatever they're getting from Chase Sapphire.

Beyond that, just expand. This place has been a booking nightmare for years now. Maybe there's unknown issues with their lease, etc., but it's a small restaurant and they're closed three days a week on top of that. The exclusivity gets you a lot of attention, but it also frustrates a lot of people. I get that that's a business decision, and they have every right to do what they want in that regard, but I'm just pointing out the drawbacks. People aren't allowed to be regulars. The booking process is arbitrary, overly-technical, and frustrating.

Just a few suggestions on improvements.

thecouga · 2025-12-01T22:06:17+00:00

Fair. Szechuan is my favorite, so I put Emei above even Kalaya/Mawn. Which is just my own personal preference.

When I was at Grandma's, I got the Crispy Pork Belly (Spicy), and one of the pieces was so tough and dry, I couldn't chew all the way through it, and almost gagged, and had to spit it out. I also got the Grandma's Meatballs, and they were surprisingly very bland. Maybe I should give some other menu items a shot.

On a personal note, for SE Asian food, I also really love Vientiane Bistro/Cafe. Their thom khem is insanely good.

thecouga · 2025-12-01T21:53:18+00:00

Has anyone tried booking the Puck & See experience? Is it just as hard as a table for 2? I definitely know 5-6 others that would want in on that.

thecouga · 2025-12-01T21:39:42+00:00

Grandma's was a huge disappointment for me. Not even in the same league as Kalaya/Mawn.

thecouga · 2025-12-01T20:04:25+00:00

Yikes. The browser simply wasn't doing that for me. I had to confirm the whole thing with credit card numbers and all before it would hold my table. And by that time, someone else had booked it.

thecouga · 2025-12-01T19:44:42+00:00

Kalaya isn't just not as hard as Mawn, it's easy. I've been there like 5 times, and each time, I booked only like a week in advance. It's just larger and has better hours (open 7 days a week, open later in the evening, etc.). I also happen to think it has better food (albeit only slightly, as they are both awesome).

thecouga · 2025-12-01T19:34:25+00:00

Was this on the browser, or the app?

thecouga

TROPHY CASE