Epiphany.

There has been an annoying phenomenon I've been encountering since my first order with 10Bis.

I'm having trouble finding a place I really enjoy ordering from, and not one that's just good enough in comparison to the other sub-par places. What surprises me the most is that I've ordered many times from a lot of these places from home, and it's been great.

So here is the thought...do these restaurants see a 10Bis order and they think - eh, we can just throw this meal together - no biggie? What is it about a 10Bis order that makes every restaurant fail at the basic task of providing a good meal?

It might be the many orders that come in simultaneously - but really, if they had a packed restaurant would they behave the same way? I'm fairly certain they wouldn't. It's just something in that 10Bis Mark of Cain.

Take the following restaurant.

Ba Li Kooskoos.

The ORDER: The Orange Dish המנה הכתומה - Chicken drumsticks with Carrot, Squash, and Yams

The PRICE: 29 NIS

The DELIVERABLE: I've had this dish tons of times - it's one of my favorite meals. This restaurant sits on the corner of my street. I've ordered this dish from home, and I've had take out. I just don't get it. While it tasted the same. It came with 25% less cous cous, and no vegetables in the soup. This is a place I KNOW can do better than that. It's really disappointing. They've had really low scoring on 10Bis and I've been urging everyone to eat there, since I really did like what I had in the past. And lo and behold, even one of my favorite places was pretty lame. (And I've lost some credibility in doing so...REALLY THEY'RE GOOD I PROMISE!)

Maybe I'm being too hard on these places, but I know that in their heart of hearts - they don't even want to have to work with 10Bis. They want to be one of those restaurants that can forego 10Bis and still be successful. But they can't.

So why not appreciate the customers you have through 10Bis?!

I just don't get it.

The VERDICT: I usually love this place. Good taste - could use a little more umph.