Wednesday Worsts.....Food Chain

CDGator said:

Anyone else remember Morrisons cafeteria in the malls? It was similar to a lunch line at school and you walk down and point to what you wanted and they slopped it on a plate.

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There is an authentic Mexican restaurant in Huntsville that is a buffet. They serve you though. Just point and they serve. Probably the best Mexican place in town.

Bernardo de la Paz said:

Wow. It must be a ton of work raising your own livestock and growing your own produce.

I'm impressed.

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And to think, I still have time to come here and argue with you rubes as well. So you should be.

Yes, I realize that there is an element of that which is inescapable. In general, we try to eat as cleanly as possible. Mostly organic at home and local where possible. But, regardless, it would only make sense that you'd be doubling your exposure to that corporate element if you go to a place that not only buys the cheapest food available, but then also prepares(pre-prepares) it as cheaply as possible. If you typically eat healthier, cleaner options, and then go to one of those places, it's that much worse. See my Carrabba's experience.

As an example, we purchase a whole, wild caught, sushi grade salmon at a time and have it portioned, which we then freeze. Usually lasts a little under a month, and comes out to be around $8 lb. If Publix puts dye in their salmon via farming(and tells you), I'm quite confident a chain restaurant is doing so as well. So while I'm sure I'm still getting some bad in my diet, and unavoidably so, it's nothing like what it could be.

soflagator said:

If Publix puts dye in their salmon via farming

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They don't. The farmed salmon is fed pellets of the same compound that wild salmon get naturally from shrimp and krill.

I get your point that by buying each ingredient individually yourself you have better control of the quality, but you can also read about a food chain's practices in the same way you do a grocer's.

soflagator said:

This is the correct answer. I'm not sure there's a decent actual food chain, unless you get technical with places Ruth's Chris and Morton's, which theoretically fall into that category. I'm a capitalist in just about every aspect of my life, and every restaurant is ultimately in the business of making money. But as soon as the food my family will be eating is subject to quarterly profit objectives, I'm officially out. We recently tried Carrabba's for the first time in a decade because I had been given gift cards for $125 total. I couldn't do it. Out of respect for the server and establishment, we smiled, boxed up the food and took it home, only to throw it straight in the trash. Too much salt, overcooked pasta, and everything felt fried. And worse, it still ran us roughly $140 with tip for a family of four. I'm dropping $100+ for a bad meal?

My philosophy, which I developed on countless trips to Disney, is that you either go high end, or you go ultra cheap(or ideally bring some food from home which we do for breakfast and lunch). Both are generally worth what you're paying. Anything in between--the Chilli's/Outback/Carrabba's of the world--is an absolute waste. Not only is it not hard, and much healthier, to prepare way better food at home for a fraction of the cost, as you said, even the service side is almost a lost art at this point. So we eat out maybe once every 2-3 months, and obviously on vacations, with no monetary restrictions at at all, rather than settling for garbage food and a dreadful experience once a week.

Give me a local "something" place where the owner actually cares about his or her craft and takes some pride in what they do, or I'm staying home. I have no idea what goes through the minds of people doing the opposite, except for you bag of hammers comment.

Side note. I worked at a TGI Fridays in school. That helped shape my opinion as well. Don't go there. Promise me you won't go there.

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While I generally agree with you I must say that I’ve never had a bad Chili’s experience . The key to any dining experience is to play to the strength . Don’t go to a bar and order salmon for example . I know it shouldn’t be necessary when at a great restaurant , but little things like this will optimize your experience . Of course you already know this , so next time tell the dumb bastard el dente on the pasta

Gatorbait25 said:

While I generally agree with you I must say that I’ve never had a bad Chili’s experience .

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I’ve given nearly 6000 positive “votes” on this site and I would not be surprised if 1500 are to SoFla, but this is his most pretentious post I recall. Chili’s serves a lot of not great food, but some is on point with understanding what you are getting.

I’ve spent an absolutely embarrassing sum on some crazy dinners (with course by course wine pairings) and, mostly, loved them and the experience while feeling little regret for my hard work going to something admittedly frivolous. It is part of my wife and I’s travel to see the best restaurants in various cities. But, at several thousand $ less, McDonalds fries, chili’s fajitas, KFC original recipe (if not somehow, though rarely, F’d up), and Ale House Zingers/Captain Jack (among others) are delicious.

There are more, including Texas Roadhouse yeast rolls, and at least a couple Cheesecake Factory cheesecake options, that are fantastic. Healthy and a good long term or repetitive idea? Of course not.

But, let’s not shyt on everything simply because it has a Jacksonville location on the find a restaurant link.

Sec14Gator said:

I’ve given nearly 6000 positive “votes” on this site and I would not be surprised if 1500 are to SoFla, but this is his most pretentious post I recall. Chili’s serves a lot of not great food, but some is on point with understanding what you are getting.

I’ve spent an absolutely embarrassing sum on some crazy dinners (with course by course wine pairings) and, mostly, loved them and the experience while feeling little regret for my hard work going to something admittedly frivolous. It is part of my wife and I’s travel to see the best restaurants in various cities. But, at several thousand $ less, McDonalds fries, chili’s fajitas, KFC original recipe (if not somehow, though rarely, F’d up), and Ale House Zingers/Captain Jack (among others) are delicious.

There are more, including Texas Roadhouse yeast rolls, and at least a couple Cheesecake Factory cheesecake options, that are fantastic. Healthy and a good long term or repetitive idea? Of course not.

But, let’s not shyt on everything simply because it has a Jacksonville location on the find a restaurant link.

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Well, pretension was certainly not my objective here. My original point was that, imo, it's more about basic economics than anything else. You're talking to someone who brings his lunch from home every day(for 20 years) and usually brings his own wine to restaurants. I'm big on cost analysis and hate waste. So again to use my Disney reference, I'd rather eat at some of the counter service food stands in Animal Kingdom than the mid-level restaurants, which I put on par with Chili's for example. I'm not averse to eating cheap food per se. I'd just rather not pay next tier pricing when the difference in actual food quality is very little, or in some cases non-existent. And I get @Gatorbait25 's point of knowing strengths. I'm not trying the clams casino at some random diner, and definitely apply the "when in Rome" philosophy wherever I go. I just feel if I can eat a better filet at home, for a third the overall cost, I'm going that route. It helps that my wife enjoys cooking.

As an analytical person, I'm also big on "net" cost. Sounds like you and I are on similar pages here. Again, I see people walk by restaurants all the time, or speak of them as if they're completely out of reach financially, because they can't possibly spend $45-55 on a steak. But they'll happily line up at Outback 3-4 time per month to eat a substandard piece of meat microwaved vegetables, other sides that arrived in a bag and were defrosted, and bread that was likely first made when you and I were finishing up the 8th grade. The reality is it's not $45-55. It's $15-20, because you were already prepared to spend the first roughly $30. So skip Outback once a month, and substitute a better option, and you're basically in the same place.

I also think it may be culture to an extent. Food was big in my family and still is. We were just in Orlando for a surprise anniversary weekend, and my mom's number one focus was where we were eating and where we were drinking. I have friends who are almost completely the opposite. As a kid, when we ate out(which was fairly rare), it was a big event. Imo, that's how dining should be and once was. So I'm not a food snob really. I just place such an emphasis on it and am very analytical about the expense.

As for Chili's, which inadvertently seems to have struck a nerve with a few, my reasoning there largely stems from my stint at Fridays, which I tend to paint with a similar brush. I can tell you that the fajita meat that TGIF uses comes in frozen bags of pineapple/soy gel and sits in there so long that the acidity completely cooks the chicken and steak before it's ever thrown on the grill. Also, the guy who preps all the salads and lettuces for sandwiches and other things is the dishwasher, who embarks on those ready to eat items just after taking out all of last night's garbage. How they've not killed someone I have no idea.

Way too many to mention...but pretty much any low end dine in chain like Applebee’s is a no go. Pretty much any chain pizza places are off the list because the quality is so poor. My dad has a franchise of a chain pizza place (local not National) and I’ve seen first hand how they cut costs and ruin quality. He never has and has kept everything the same as it was 25 years ago when he first started.

I'm a picky eater so anyplace that doesn't serve plain American food would be on my list. The one exception might be a good Cuban restaurant, could be because my grandparents lived just a few blocks from the Columbia in Tampa when I was growing up. I love a bowl of Spanish Bean Soup and a Cuban Sandwich with no mustard.

Like others I am not an Appleby's fan. I have not been in a McD since 1981; not so much because of bad food, but at the time you had to have it their way.

515151, the Columbia's cuban bread is to die for.

g8tr76 said:

Like others I am not an Appleby's fan. I have not been in a McD since 1981; not so much because of bad food, but at the time you had to have it their way.

515151, the Columbia's cuban bread is to die for.

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The Columbia has awesome food for sure

Gator515151 said:

I'm a picky eater so anyplace that doesn't serve plain American food would be on my list. The one exception might be a good Cuban restaurant, could be because my grandparents lived just a few blocks from the Columbia in Tampa when I was growing up. I love a bowl of Spanish Bean Soup and a Cuban Sandwich with no mustard.

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Mrs. G is from St. Pete and we used to enjoy going to the Columbia on the pier there before they tore it down. The views were spectacular. We've also been several times to the Ybor City location you mentioned. We have always enjoyed our meals.

Gator By Marriage said:

Mrs. G is from St. Pete and we used to enjoy going to the Columbia on the pier there before they tore it down. The views were spectacular. We've also been several times to the Ybor City location you mentioned. We have always enjoyed our meals.

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Also a location off Sand Key Beach, in the same plaza as the Backwater Cafe.

TheDouglas78 said:

Also a location off Sand Key Beach, in the same plaza as the Backwater Cafe.

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I've driven by that location dozens of times, but never eaten there. BTW, we had lunch at Backwaters in November with some friends from New Jersey who were spending a few months living nearby. (They figured if they were going to be telecommuting, why not do it in sunny Florida instead dreary NJ.) They loved the food and of course the view from the back deck. They also wondered how I ever found the place.

Gator By Marriage said:

I've driven by that location dozens of times, but never eaten there. BTW, we had lunch at Backwaters in November with some friends from New Jersey who were spending a few months living nearby. (They figured if they were going to be telecommuting, why not do it in sunny Florida instead dreary NJ.) They loved the food and of course the view from the back deck. They also wondered how I ever found the place.

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Mrs Dougie and I got married on the red pirate ship that sails out of Clearwater Beach, after we got married the wedding party all went to that Columbia location for food and drinks.

CDGator said:

Anyone else remember Morrisons cafeteria in the malls? It was similar to a lunch line at school and you walk down and point to what you wanted and they slopped it on a plate.

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That place was one of the “go-to” spots after church on Sunday’s. I’ll take the “blue plate”.

Gator515151 said:

.....I love a bowl of Spanish Bean Soup and a Cuban Sandwich with no mustard.

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No mustard on a pressed Cuban?

Sacrilege!

Cuban must have mustard and good pickles. Stupid Yankees are putting Mayo on it. They should be shot for that.

speaking of Sammy’s and the original topic, I’ll never set foot in a Subway. Their meat is a slimy shade of grey, and the veggies are limper than me seeing Betty White spread eagle.

Jimmy John’s crushes subway.

Carrabba's - Consistently bad.
All of the franchise pizza places.