Restaurant critic David Park visited Bistro Nouveau twice within the same month in 2023. During his first visit, he found...
GMAT Information and Ideas : (Ideas) Questions
Restaurant critic David Park visited Bistro Nouveau twice within the same month in 2023. During his first visit, he found the service to be excellent but was disappointed by the 'bland and uninspired' menu offerings. On his return visit, the service quality had declined noticeably, but Park was impressed by the 'creative and flavorful' new dishes the chef had introduced. Park's reviews suggest that _____
Which choice most logically completes the text?
Bistro Nouveau maintained consistent quality in both service and menu between visits.
the restaurant showed mixed results, with menu improvements offsetting service decline.
both the service and food quality improved between Park's visits.
the restaurant's service quality improved while the menu remained unchanged.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| 'Restaurant critic David Park visited Bistro Nouveau twice within the same month in 2023.' |
|
| 'During his first visit, he found the service to be excellent but was disappointed by the 'bland and uninspired' menu offerings.' |
|
| 'On his return visit, the service quality had declined noticeably, but Park was impressed by the 'creative and flavorful' new dishes the chef had introduced.' |
|
Part B: Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: David Park's two visits to Bistro Nouveau within the same month revealed opposite changes in service quality and menu quality.
Argument Flow: We learn Park visited the restaurant twice in a short timeframe. His first experience showed excellent service but poor food quality. His second visit revealed the reverse pattern—worse service but significantly improved food. The passage asks us to draw a conclusion from this contrasting evidence.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- From our analysis, we see a clear pattern between the two visits:
- Service quality moved in one direction (excellent to declined)
- Menu quality moved in the opposite direction (bland to creative/flavorful)
- These changes happened within the same month, so they represent the restaurant's inconsistent performance
- The right answer should acknowledge that the restaurant showed changes in both areas, but those changes went in opposite directions—one area improved while the other declined.
Bistro Nouveau maintained consistent quality in both service and menu between visits.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims the restaurant maintained consistent quality in both areas, which directly contradicts our evidence showing that both service and menu changed significantly between visits
the restaurant showed mixed results, with menu improvements offsetting service decline.
✓ Correct
- Accurately captures the mixed results pattern we identified and specifically notes that menu improvements offset service decline
both the service and food quality improved between Park's visits.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims both service and food improved, but ignores the clear evidence that service quality declined noticeably on the second visit
the restaurant's service quality improved while the menu remained unchanged.
✗ Incorrect
- Claims service improved and menu stayed the same, which gets both directions wrong