Kirk M.
Yelp
My daughter & I were hanging at Woodfield Mall. Hungry, we googled "ramen" and decided to give Chicago Ramen Annex a shot. (Kura Sushi is our go to but we'd been there recently). Open till 10pm, 5 min drive--perfect! We arrived about 8:45pm.
Customers sat at tables--a young lady served them. An elderly lady sat us down, gave menus & water. The menu has pics of the bowls--labels, pricing, etc, along w/ extras. I ordered the Jiro Ramen w/ Pork Chir-Shu. Picture had no egg so I asked to add an egg. My kid ordered the Spicy Chicken Ramen. Picture shows an egg, therefore no need to request one. We eggs!
First off, the food at CRA was really good! Looked appetizing & their flavors were decent but the experience after our food came, declined.
A young man brought over my kid's ramen. He walked away & we noticed the egg missing. When he brought my ramen, I pointed the missing egg out. Stunned, he replied that he'll let "them" know. After talking to the kitchen, he said he was told the egg is not included in that dish. I said, "Really? It's in the picture." I grabbed a menu from a stack nearby. The young man did not like conflict. "Sorry, " he said, "I just started working here."
Sure enough, the menu shows an egg in the Spicy Chicken Ramen. The young man brought the opened menu to the back where the elderly lady seemed to be already talking to people around the corner. He returned & confirmed, "Egg is not included with that bowl."
"That's not cool to show an egg in the picture if it's not included. Could we please order an egg for her anyway? Thank you." I said.
He walked away, happy confrontation was over. Time passes by and the egg still hasn't been served. The young man is sitting in a staff chair as if waiting for the restaurant to close. I ask him, "Can we get that egg?" to which he replied "The egg does not come with that bowl." Still politely, I said "I asked you if we could order an egg anyway." A light switch clicks with him and I hear him ask the kitchen for an egg.
As my kid and I continued with our meals, customers left and take out orders were picked up. We are about 4 feet away from the register. One customer of note was obviously a regular. He said to the young lady with a positive attitude, "Hey, you gave me the wrong food last night. I came back at 10 and you guys were already closed..." The young lady confirmed that she had realized her mistake after that customer had left and was very sorry. "It's fine," he said, "it was nice to try something different." That customer left still with a positive attitude. I got the sense she rolled her eyes afterwards.
Time passes & I picked up my water for a drink. Unfortunately it slipped from my grasp & spilled onto our table; my fingers got oily from my ramen and I didn't realize the danger.
The young lady gasps at the spill and rushes over to help. I'm already using disposable napkins to catch what I can. Simultaneously, the young man comes over with my kid's egg in a small dish covered in a napkin. I can see his conflict on where to place the egg. It becomes a team effort to dry my spill. At one point, the young lady's rag pushes water onto my kid's lap. "I'm so sorry" she said genuinely to my kid.
As we continued to get things under control I asked her, "Would it be okay to move to another table since this is wet?" The young lady replied, "No, it would not be okay." She & the young man continued drying the table and then he finally places the egg next to me. So far, this dinner experience hasn't been going well.
We continue eating and eventually I see rolling eyes from another older lady in the back. I can feel the pressure of the staff wanting their shifts to be over. The young lady starts stacking all the chairs while the young man starts mopping the floors. He goes on to test his skills at sliding over the newly mopped floors. It's the same sensation as wearing new fluffy socks on a wooden floor. I get the feeling the young man might actually be a teen.
I saw new people starting to open the entry door. The young lady rushes over and talks to them. I can't hear what is said but they turned around and walked away. The two young staffers began giggling and seemed to mock them behind their backs in a their native tongue. I couldn't understand what they were saying but their body language and facial expressions said plenty. It wasn't even 9:30 yet.
I dunno. I think this place has good intentions but the executions were rough. The staff could use a bit of etiquette training. I understand it's a small restaurant but, that's even more reason to give your best to the customers that keep your business going. CRA is an hour away from us but I visit the Schaumburg area quite often. If I'm going to buy dinner, there are PLENTY of other places in the area that I'd rather spend my money where I leave full, happy & with positive vibes--who also care about my experience. Unfortunately, I don't plan on returning to Chicago Ramen Annex anytime soon.