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Started By
Message
re: How awful are “mom and pop” restaurant snobs?
Posted on 9/6/24 at 9:44 am to BillF
Posted on 9/6/24 at 9:44 am to BillF
quote:
nd you choose.......Chili's ???
Wow.
I know, Ain't Chili's great!!!!! Their unlimited chips and salsa were delicious the last time we went to one (maybe 2 years back), and their cold Miller Lite was tasty. They even took my empty bottle from the table and offered to sell me a second one without me even having to ask for it!
The burger was IMO, a lot better the McDonalds, and they let me sit down in a booth to eat. Someone brought me my food and said "Thanks, Come back to see us." Not a bad dining experience.
This post was edited on 9/6/24 at 9:46 am
0
Posted on 9/6/24 at 9:46 am to SixthAndBarone
quote:
you may want something you know and familiar.
Not really. I would just back to one of the local restaurants I liked
I have not been to one of the major chains in many years so I wouldn't consider any of them familiar
Posted on 9/6/24 at 10:32 am to SixthAndBarone
quote:
What if you’re working there for a month. After a couple of weeks, you may want something you know and familiar.
People always say this, but truthfully, what exactly at Chili's is familiar? I haven't eaten at Chili's in years.
Absolutely nothing about that place, or similar (Red Lobster, Olive Garden, etc.) is familiar. It's not like they're cooking up homemade pot roast and rice and gravy or something that I make regularly at home.
Furthermore, are we really acting like there aren't endless amounts of casual bars and restaurants in cities like L.A. with bar food?
I never understood the "familiarity" defense against these places because they're frankly not familiar at all unless you're a regular to them at home too.
EDIT - I say this as someone who would have no issue turning up at Chili's if someone asked me to. I'm not above it. Just pointing out how strange the "familiarity when working in L.A." reasoning is to me. Los Angeles is not Laos. I'm not looking for Americanized respite from Asian extravaganza in Los Angeles.
This post was edited on 9/6/24 at 10:35 am
Posted on 9/6/24 at 12:23 pm to TheWalrus
I love 2 things about chain restaurants:
Their Appetizers are always dope.
A lot of them have great bread.
Their Appetizers are always dope.
A lot of them have great bread.
Posted on 9/6/24 at 12:47 pm to TheWalrus
Since this discussion won’t quit I’ll add my opinion.
Once chains grow enough to go national they’ve either been or will soon be bought by private equity. Then quality, flavors and sometimes menus go to crap. I don’t care about mom & pop or not but prefer places that haven’t succumbed to private equity. I’m happy for the people who cashed out on their years of hard work. Chuy’s just did that.
ETA- Chuy’s owners sold out years ago but the new PE says they’re going to grow it more.
Once chains grow enough to go national they’ve either been or will soon be bought by private equity. Then quality, flavors and sometimes menus go to crap. I don’t care about mom & pop or not but prefer places that haven’t succumbed to private equity. I’m happy for the people who cashed out on their years of hard work. Chuy’s just did that.
ETA- Chuy’s owners sold out years ago but the new PE says they’re going to grow it more.
This post was edited on 9/6/24 at 12:48 pm
Posted on 9/6/24 at 1:55 pm to PerplenGold
quote:
ETA- Chuy’s owners sold out years ago but the new PE says they’re going to grow it more.
That hatch chile steak burrito is my favorite chain restaurant food of all time.
Posted on 9/6/24 at 2:54 pm to PerplenGold
quote:
private equity
The bane of any business...but especially restaurants.
Posted on 9/6/24 at 8:32 pm to TheWalrus
quote:
TheWalrus
This is why the landscape of most American towns today are nothing but chains, and the real estate is owned by nobody local. When you ask why we can’t have nice things, look to this.
Posted on 9/8/24 at 11:27 am to LouisianaLady
quote:
People always say this, but truthfully, what exactly at Chili's is familiar? I haven't eaten at Chili's in years.
Subway? Chipotle? McDonald’s? Name your chain. There has to be one that you frequent that you can relate to.
Knowing what restaurant X’s menu is, what your regular meal is, and what it tastes like is what I mean by familiar.
Posted on 9/8/24 at 1:15 pm to SixthAndBarone
I guess I just can't relate. I don't find local restaurants to be intimidating or foreign or any less comforting than a chain. 
Posted on 9/8/24 at 5:16 pm to LNCHBOX
quote:
Your fascination with looking like a complete dunce when it comes to northshore dining is interesting.
damn, are you still mad about when I made fun of Stale Cracker's jambalaya?
Posted on 9/8/24 at 6:57 pm to TheWalrus
Many of those chain restaurants are locally owned. I get the quality debate but when someone brings up the locally owned point I have to roll my eyes
This post was edited on 9/8/24 at 9:59 pm
Posted on 9/9/24 at 11:02 am to jmarto1
I've actually gone to a few chains sorta ironically with my friends lately. Texas Roadhouse was great, but this past weekend specifically we did PF Chang's and Olive Garden.
First, both were filthy. We sat in the bar in both places. In PF Changs, the window was leaking rain and the entire right side of the bar area was closed with like an inch of standing water, towels everywhere, chairs turned over on it, etc. Both PF Changs and Olive Garden had nobody sitting at the bar (PF Changs did eventually get guests), and they were dirty and unwiped.
Both places had a weird collection of alcohol behind the bar. Olive Garden had like 15 bottles of liquor total. PF Changs had more, but both had the oddest assortment. Fruity flavored liqueurs, Hennessey, etc.
Food at PF Changs was okay, but I wouldn't say any better than my regular Nine Dragon. Lo Mein had nothing in it besides noodles. No onions or anything.
Food at Olive Garden was very mid. Definitely nowhere near as good as local Italian places, but fine enough I guess.
The worst part of Olive Garden by far though is the people. Our server was very strange to the point of making us uncomfortable. Customers not much better. The people seated near us were rude to their server and very needy.
Olive Garden offers lots of freebies and boy do the guests take advantage of that! Which, fair enough I guess. It's kinda funny to see people getting basket after basket of breadsticks and salad.
It appears there are ways to get out cheaper there, but if you order a traditional entree off the menu, it wasn't necessarily cheap. I guess the salad and breadsticks make up for that?
There are chains that are good (Texas Roadhouse, Ruth's, even Hooters I enjoy), but I think some chains like Olive Garden absolutely deserve the criticism they receive.
First, both were filthy. We sat in the bar in both places. In PF Changs, the window was leaking rain and the entire right side of the bar area was closed with like an inch of standing water, towels everywhere, chairs turned over on it, etc. Both PF Changs and Olive Garden had nobody sitting at the bar (PF Changs did eventually get guests), and they were dirty and unwiped.
Both places had a weird collection of alcohol behind the bar. Olive Garden had like 15 bottles of liquor total. PF Changs had more, but both had the oddest assortment. Fruity flavored liqueurs, Hennessey, etc.
Food at PF Changs was okay, but I wouldn't say any better than my regular Nine Dragon. Lo Mein had nothing in it besides noodles. No onions or anything.
Food at Olive Garden was very mid. Definitely nowhere near as good as local Italian places, but fine enough I guess.
The worst part of Olive Garden by far though is the people. Our server was very strange to the point of making us uncomfortable.
Customers not much better. The people seated near us were rude to their server and very needy. Olive Garden offers lots of freebies and boy do the guests take advantage of that! Which, fair enough I guess. It's kinda funny to see people getting basket after basket of breadsticks and salad.
It appears there are ways to get out cheaper there, but if you order a traditional entree off the menu, it wasn't necessarily cheap. I guess the salad and breadsticks make up for that?
There are chains that are good (Texas Roadhouse, Ruth's, even Hooters I enjoy), but I think some chains like Olive Garden absolutely deserve the criticism they receive.
Posted on 9/9/24 at 12:06 pm to LouisianaLady
quote:
There are chains that are good (Texas Roadhouse, Ruth's, even Hooters I enjoy), but I think some chains like Olive Garden absolutely deserve the criticism they receive.
Definitely. I'll criticize our corporate stores all day long. By no means is my store perfect but I feel like you can tell we care and try there
Posted on 9/9/24 at 6:26 pm to cgrand
quote:
chains are terrible food that is terrible for you
I don’t believe for a minute that a locally owned restaurant is necessarily using quality ingredients.
I can’t guess at a % but I’d say a large % are as bad or worse than chains.
Posted on 9/9/24 at 6:35 pm to Tigertown in ATL
quote:
I don’t believe for a minute that a locally owned restaurant is necessarily using quality ingredients.
I can’t guess at a % but I’d say a large % are as bad or worse than chains.
Yeah...I'm under no delusions that a place is some farm to table pinnacle of dining just because it's local. Many do use cheap ingredients just like chains.
Posted on 9/9/24 at 6:37 pm to TheWalrus
You realize that Applebee's and Olive Garden are mostly serving you premade shite from a packet that's reheated? You're basically paying them to microwave a TV dinner.
If you can't tell the difference between frozen pre-battered, pre-cooked shrimp and fresh fried shrimp, hand battered from scratch, I don't know what to tell you.
You're a galoot. A palooka. An oaf.
If you can't tell the difference between frozen pre-battered, pre-cooked shrimp and fresh fried shrimp, hand battered from scratch, I don't know what to tell you.
You're a galoot. A palooka. An oaf.
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