We recently ate for the first time at an Indian place in Somerville called The Kebab Factory. The word of mouth was that the food was great (it was) if a little overpriced (also true).

The service was just OK. Mostly little things, like we asked for a table for five, waited for 30 minutes in a pub across the street, and then were given a table for four. Fortunately some other diners were just finishing, so were were able to move to a larger space after a few more minutes. Our waiter was very pleasant, but the girl who was assisting him was kind of… hmm, brusque?

My primary issue was that a good 20-30 minutes after everyone at the table had clearly finished eating, no one on the staff bothered to clear a single item from our table. I finally had to make this kind of awkward, irritated sweeping gesture to communicate that maybe it was a good time for them to clear some plates. This really, really drives me nuts. Also, I asked that the leftovers from Jenny’s and my meal be wrapped up but I guess I was misunderstood and they ended up in the trash because I was never brought a “doggie bag”.

In case this seem a little harsh, let me remind you that this was no mom-and-pop Indian joint (like the excellent India Palace). The Kebab Factory is getting $15-25 for an entree.

But wait, there’s more.

Afterwards we strolled down to Harvard Sq. for some ice cream at Toscanini’s. We were served by two dudes in dreadlocks. I bought my ice cream and ate it and it was good and I’m sure it didn’t have any cooties in it, but thinking back on it, I’m kinda grossed out. Last time I checked, one of the steps involved in forming dreadlocks is not washing your hair for several months. Surely there’s some kind of health dept. regulation that requires food workers to wash their hair? Honestly, I’m not anti-dread; I’m pro-hair-washing.