Lily Hodges/Village Voice

​ The other day, a Hot Dish reader was telling me about his night at Northeast Social. His meal was great, he said, and he loved the ambiance, but he had a major problem with "the world's worst door." The door? Really? And then he started to rant:

"If you happen to be seated anywhere within 15 feet of the door--which for NE Social is about a quarter of the place--your legs are going to freeze off and you can't enjoy yourself," he said. The restaurant had tried to remedy the problem by placing a small heater with a thermostat near the door." But," my friend explained, "as soon as the door opened, you could watch the temperature drop. It would go from 64 to 58. Suddenly you're outside for 2 minutes--that's why I came here, not to be outside!"

More >>

It's not that your server is trying to give you attitude--she could lose her job if she doesn't card you. A local server explains the legalities behind the "no i.d., no drink" policy.

More >>

A reader wrote to tell me about her negative experience at a downtown St. Paul restaurant last week before the NKOTB concert. She says her party of six dropped in on a nearly empty restaurant around 5:30 p.m. and at 7:15, were rudely told they had to give up the table for another party with a reservation.

More >>