Hey Chef Jen,

This past weekend I had the chance to eat at your restaurant, Cookin Thyme, unfortunately I didn’t have good experience. I understand that you’re an experienced catering chef, but that you have a small restaurant with limited operating hours. It may not be easy to work around those limitations, but there were a few things that made it hard for me enjoy the meal. The first issue was the layout of your dining area and the second was my meal.

As I was being taken to my table, it was uncomfortable getting to my seat as the tables were so close to one another. I felt like either my purse or my butt was hitting someone. “Whoops excuse my bag. Oh did my bum hit your head? Sorry.” I don’t even have a big butt, but in that moment I felt like Kim Kardashian. I assume that the tables sit so close so you can serve as many customers as possible, but it’s not a good use of your available space. Once I sat down, I saw the biggest issue: the table width. They aren’t wide enough to fit two placemats across from one another. Meaning, if my placemat is set fully on the table, the person across from me has his placemat hanging off edge. It was no bueno.

Now, let’s talk about the food.

I really didn’t enjoy the meal. I got the complimentary Sausage Stuffed Mushroom and while it looked lovely, it was underwhelming. I was hoping for flavor to pop out of the sausage and for the mushroom to contribute to the taste. Unfortunately, it was bland and lackluster. I finished it only because I was waiting for something to surprise me, sadly it never happened. Plus it’s a mushroom–you can eat it in two bites.

Following the mushroom was my order of the Chicken Apricot Skewers ($16). I was excited to read the creative description of the dish: kabobs over confetti couscous, Greek yogurt, coconut milk, peanut butter, cilantro, and jalapenos. I wasn’t sure how peanut butter was going to mix with the other ingredients, but I was eager to see how you would make it happen! When I got it, everything looked fine until I tasted it. Jen, the chicken was moist but it tasted of so much smoke that it overshadowed any seasoning you may have put on it. Then the apricot was so dried that it tasted rubbery. Even worse, the couscous had too many flavors that I was confused. It was sweet, then spicy, and then something was sour that I couldn’t fully grasp. I really wanted this dish to win because the concept was so creative, but it fell short. The combination of all the pieces ended up leaving me with an unpleasant aftertaste that made me feel nauseous throughout the evening.

So there are drawbacks, but there are some great attributes to your restaurant.

The first one is your staff. Your hostess was so welcoming, sweet, and has the same hatred for traffic that I have. How could I not like her? Then there was my waitress, Lauren. I swear she is more chipper than a hummingbird. And I don’t mean the annoying kind of hummingbird that wakes your up early on a Saturday morning. She’s like the ones from Mary Poppins that makes me want to whistle and skip off to my car. She was a joy! The other part of the restaurant that I loved, was your personality. I only saw you for a few moments, but what I saw of you was memorable. You had such a bright smile on your face and it felt genuine. It was also heartwarming to see you making silly faces and waving at the baby with her family, while you were in your cooking station. You just seemed like you enjoyed your guests and it made me appreciate the personality you exhibited.

However, when I think of your external personality and compare it the food you served, they don’t match. I was hoping the food would taste the way your smile looked, but the food tasted frustrated and rushed. It kind of makes me wonder if your focus is truly on the food, or if it’s somewhere else. Maybe there are things outside of the restaurant that are taking up your attention? Possibly a distraction or two that, although small, are interfering with your work? I don’t know you and I’m not trying to sound like a therapist, but I know something’s off.

Jen, understand that this is solely my perspective and I’m only being upfront with you. Please don’t take this review as an attack, but as constructive critiques that I hope will help make your restaurant better. As well, please realize that the issues I had with the restaurant are completely fixable. You can alter the layout of the tables, buy smaller placemats, and rework some of your dishes. It’s with those changes (and maybe others) that you will improve and become a stronger restaurant that will best showcase your culinary creativity. And when that happens, I would love to come back and eat with you. Then I will hopefully write a review that hails your improvements and puts this review to bed.

Love (and I mean that),

Danielle.

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Address: 16503 Hawthorne Boulevard, Lawndale, CA 90260
Phone: (310) 944-4431
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