I am in an abusive relationship…with a restaurant.

Mao’s Kitchen is a universally praised and adored Venice institution. Under their auspice of a communist Chinese theme, they serve some of the yummiest and cheapest vegetarian Chinese food in the area. Portions big enough for two to split, which makes them even cheaper.

Sadly, they also have some of the worst service ever. No, really. When they get busy (which is nearly every night), the servers run around with crazed terrified looks in their eyes, making it clear that there’s no system in place for how to deal with the frequent rushes. I tried to compensate for this by going to Mao’s during quiet times, say around 3pm. Service has sucked then, too, with sullen, “Why are you bothering me?” waiters having to be asked three times for drinks, and a 20 minute wait for the bill. Like the battered woman whispering, “I ran into the door,” I always tip generously in hopes of better service next time.

I then tried to compensate by having them deliver — no need to deal with the servers at all! This has worked pretty well … until last night. I placed an order at 6pm, and was told it would be 30-45 minutes. At 7:15 I called to check and make sure that nothing had gone wrong. No, no, they said, your order’s going to be up in five minutes! At 8pm, Dre had to leave, and I called to cancel the order. It’s on its way!, they said.

At 8:20, the order finally arrived. I begrudgingly signed for it, only because I was told I would get a $10 service credit. I have no proof of this credit, however. But will I go back? I most certainly will. The food is that good!

Update: I did indeed receive the credit. That said, a $10 credit doesn’t go very far towards rectifying a 2½-hour delivery time for a restaurant that’s a 10 minute drive from my house.