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| - I obviously don't "get this place" while I appreciate the decor the food leaves a ton to be desired. Honestly I don't care if I am eating at a bus stop out of a paper hat if the food is good I will eat there every day. This is literally the reason I hate trying new places. When I arrived for a late lunch around 2pm the place was pretty busy. I later put two and two together and figured the only people drinking a bottle of Veuve on a Monday afternoon would be the owner and his friends.
I ordered the rib eye pho, I may not be an expert but I have had pho at more than 20 places in Las Vegas and LA including staples like Pho Kim Long. The pho at District One tasted like they took beef jerky from Wal-Mart and soaked it in hot water then threw in some "Fresh vegetables" also from Wal-Mart with maybe a dash of MSG but certainly not enough to add any flavor. It was the worst Pho I have ever had. Period. I am writing this review absolutely starving because I took two bites and realized that even the entire bottle of cheap Hoisen sauce couldn't improve the flavor.
When I told the server it wasn't good and I just wanted a box and the check (In hindsight I don't even know why i would bother taking it to go.) She didn't include any utensils or sauces so she must have imagined I would just throw it out. She did give a half hearted apology and offer something different however I was so disgusted with the food so far I couldn't picture anything else on the menu edible.
Here is the worst part of the entire experience, I believe the level of ineptitude transcends anything thing the "chef" could ruin in the back of the house. So I have already voiced my frustration with how awful the food is and I am actually offering to pay for it as opposed to just walking out and telling them where to stick it. I put my debit card in the $8 check and she promptly returns to inform me there is a $15 minimum on CC transactions. REALLY? Do I have cash? No... I don't have cash.
I will go ahead and lay out the reasons why this pisses me off so much.
1. $15 dollar minimum! Seriously? This is illegal according to the Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Bill
(3) LIMITATION ON RESTRICTIONS ON SETTING TRANSACTION MINIMUMS OR MAXIMUMS. (A) IN GENERAL.--A payment card network shall not, directly or through any agent, processor, or licensed member of the network, by contract, requirement, condition, penalty, or otherwise, inhibit the ability (i) of any person to set a minimum dollar value for the acceptance by that person of credit cards, to the extent that (I) such minimum dollar value does not differentiate between issuers or between payment card networks; and (II) such minimum dollar value does not exceed $10.00
2. This is stupid, what do you think their average transaction for lunch is? I'm going to go ahead and say their average check is just under $15. You are only going to piss people off with these kinds of restrictions. This may have flown 15 years ago but when the lady selling tamales out of her van started accepting credit cards on her iPhone it made this place look ridiculous.
When McDonald's started allowing credit card payments, they found that the average purchase size increased from $4.50 to $7.00 (source: NPR). A broad study across multiple industries conducted by Dunn & Bradstreet found that purchase sizes were 12% to 18% more when paid for with credit card.
3. I am obviously already having a bad experience, why not just proactively handle the problem and when you drop off my check let me know "for next time"? Would it really have been that hard for her do think autonomously without me needing to get more upset than I already was?
In conclusion: Don't go here. It isn't worth the hassle or frustration, maybe the owner should put down his noontime Champaign and get in the kitchen. I don't know what else can save this place from becoming yet another mediocre eatery in a city that deserves better.
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