P.F. Chang's China Bistro

P.F. Chang's China Bistro Restaurant Review:

We want to like P.F. Chang’s more than we do. Really. The décor’s pretty impressive, what with the giant mural and the sculptures, and the place is always packed, so obviously we’re in the minority. We just feel that it doesn’t measure up to all the hype. Take the menu, for example, which lists a handful of things as spicy. Most of these are spicy in the sense that you wouldn’t offer the average picky child a bite, but they certainly don’t set the tastebuds twanging. We’ve found ourselves too often reaching for the condiments to perk things up and, with their help, we enjoyed the steamed shrimp dumplings---not listed as spicy---and the orange peel chicken. But the heavily pushed appetizer, a chicken mixture that you wrap in iceberg lettuce, was bland beyond redemption. We also think that the tables are closer together than in any other Dallas restaurant, which makes for a very loud meal. And, if we’re allowed just one more complaint, on two recent visits, we were asked about six times if the waitress could bring us anything else. We held ourselves back from saying, Yes, a muzzle. For you.