Hair In Food - A Ventura Restaurant Shows How Not To Handle It

Yes, that really is a picture of hair in my food (bacon) in a Ventura restaurant

I just returned from eating breakfast / brunch at a Ventura restaurant I visit rather frequently. I'm not going to name names as I like the place and staff. That's also why I feel compelled to write this up. I expected better from them. Better? Better than what? Well to start with, my pancakes came with a side of bacon. And the bacon came with a side of hair.

Hair in your food. That's simply yecch. Disgusting. Nobody is perfect, especially me, but hair in your food speaks to a quality control problem in either the source ingredient (the bacon), how it is stored in the restaurant's kitchen, the chef or prep crew's hair control, or somewhere after it is plated and served to the guest.

No matter the source, I had a large and apparent dark hair (and not one of the curly ones, thank goodness), staring right back at me as the plate hit the table. The chef missed it. The server missed it. But I sure didn't. Not only did I spot it, I was able to take a photo or two before I called someone over, quietly, and brought it to their attention. No need to make a scene folks. And I did not.

Here is the real rub for me. I was there with another guest. This means our check had entrées for two, etc. Comping (taking the item off the check) the pancakes a la follicle is a no brainer and any eatery allowed to operate in Ventura or elsewhere that indoor plumbing is no longer a novelty would and should do that. And that is what this place did. Nothing more. Nothing less.

But any place I care to give another chance to, let alone one where the staff knows my name and where I've brought someone else along should comp the entire meal. That says, "We truly are sorry, we appreciate your business, please forgive this error, allow us to show you some other time that this is not how we operate."

Instead this place, with the knowledge of very senior staff, just phoned it in and did the barest of minimum efforts. And that, Ventura eaters and restaurateurs, is how not to handle that.