Service, definitely!

I'm noticing that Brooks and I don't use the same criteria for judging a restaurant experience, which should make this blog interesting. In his scenarios he seems to make a final judgment of the restaurant based on the food and how much lighter his wallet is.
If forced to judgment I definitely have to choose service because I focus on my entire experience. Yes, I realize bad food (or any food) is an element of that experience, but there's so much more to it. When I go out to dine, I want to feel happy when I'm done. Sounds simple, but there's a lot that goes into creating a 'happy' or fulfilling dining experience. On top of that, each person's 'happy' is subjective, which explains the difference in opinion between Brooks and I. A great front-of-the-house team can do so much more for my dining experience than the food can, no matter how good it is. If the food I'm served is horrible, but the service is friendly, informative, professional, and not pushy I will be much happier at the end of my meal than if I had wonderful food and a grouchy server. Grouchiness is contagious, and I want none of that when I go out. The industry is called the hospitality industry for a reason.
*Disclaimer: neither option (good food/bad service or bad food/good service) comes close to incredible food and an amazing staff, of course.