FuckRestaurants

[FukCombustion]

I'm not a pick eater, relatively speaking, but going out to eat is becoming less appealing every time I go out.

In my brief experience as a human, back in the day, I recall restaurants as being a place where you could get exceptional food that would be tricky, if not virtually impossible, to make at home. For instance, it's hard to make good pizza at home, unless you use a grill or have a oven that can get hotasphuck. I'm talking 900 degrees baby. Anyways, it seems that restaurants are just getting worse and worse -- especially chain restaurants, such as Applebees, TGIF's, Olive Garden, etc., which are just a bunch of bull-cock. Sure, you can get decent wings and okay pasta, but it will certainly not be cost-justifiable. Let's say you pay $15 for a pasta dinner. You get normal pasta that is most likely cooked in an inferior oil instead of extra virgin olive oil. Parmesan cheese will be inferior to the good Italian Parmesan cheese from the store. You won't find delicious prosciutto, or tasty fresh basil and perfectly hand-crafted tomato sauce, or a tasty egg glaze to coat the pasta after it's been been freshly cooked.


Hamburgers at restaurants: bull-cock. Get some high-quality beef at the grocery store, add salt and pepper, and throw those burgers on your grill. Oh, and add any type of cheese or barbeque sauce that fancies you.

And who doesn't want a beer to wash down that tasty cheeseburger? Would you rather pay $3-6 for some cheap-ass water-beer, or would you rather spend $2 and get drink a well-craft brew?

Dessert: I admit, a lot of restaurants do make tasty desserts...couple problems: too small and too expensive. Make your own dessert, and damn pie and some ice cream for the same price as one slice of pie without ice cream at a restaurant.

 

[Jahannum]

I have noticed restraunts in general along with general products widely available to consumers have dropped in quality this past 15 years. Only time I go out to a restraunt is for sushi, and is the only thing that actually feels worth paying for. I make everything I eat from scratch and from organic and/or wild caught sources.

I do not even see most stuff sold in a restraunt as food. It is usually also loaded with preservatives and other additives, it is easy to tell if the food you ate feels really heavy in your stomach. Ingrediants from natural and organic sources do not give you this heavy feel, but instead gives you a light full feeling, even if you gorge.

 

[Madcap79]

It's especially hard for me, being a pescatarian. Luckily there are more and more restaurants that cater to special diets. Unfortunately, it happens much slower here in the midwest.

 

[Caligula]

It would seem that you need to stop frequenting the eateries on the lower end in the quality/cost spectrum.

Most of the places I go to in order to vote with my dollar serve mainly locally sourced organic ingredients, grass fed beef, artisan charcuterie, specialty micro brews, etc.

You also need to go to places that specialize in just one or two things. Do you see 100 different menu items? Odds are that they dont make a single one of them exceptionally well. If you need diversity under one roof, then go hit up a Vegas buffet.

Quite simply, I don't go to TGI McShananagins to get pizza. I go to the place down the street that uses a brick oven, fresh ingredients, and that doesn't make anything but pizza and calzones.

Now lets all head down to the Sizzler for some steak and lobster.

 

[Madcap79]

Some places don't have all those options unfortunately. I travel quite often so when I'm in larger cities I try to seek out such places. I love finding new non chain restaurants.

 

[Caligula]

Some places don't have all those options unfortunately. I travel quite often so when I'm in larger cities I try to seek out such places. I love finding new non chain restaurants.

I was actually directing my post towards the OP. I suggest you ask around at your local farmers market where to go out to eat. A lot of times the vendors are really plugged into who is serving local/sustainable/organic/etc stuff in your area.

 

[t-dub]

. . . unless you use a grill or have a oven that can get hotasphuck. I'm talking 900 degrees baby . . .

Ooooooooo yeah . . . .

---

 

[Buildozer]

Ooooooooo yeah . . . .

That episode is so funny.. It was just on TV right now.

 

[Madcap79]

 

[THC SCIENTIFIC]

here i thought this was about posting your stories of fucking in a restaurant. Carry on

Oh its nice to be young.

 

[kindbeats]

La-la-la-la-la-laa-laa Fraaaaaaiche

 

[Vicki]

I was a server for a while. I won't even walk into a Chili's anymore now that I know what goes on behind the scenes. For example, a steak falling on the floor, being picked up and put back on the grill, then served to the patron. Always makes me wonder what is going on back in the kitchen in all restaurants.

 

[deadheadbill]

I avoid chains at all cost. Solves most of those problems.

 

[SoulCaptivesAreFree]

well i guess this depends on where you live...

where i live we're quite spoiled in less than 5 minutes i can reach a vegetarian/vegan restaurant that always serves freshly cooked dishes made of organic, regional ingredients; put together by an inspired chef - for me it doesn't get any better than that

in 10 minutes i have two completely vegan restaurants, one of which serves exceptional quality and extraordinary dishes (all regional too)

and then there are about 3-4 restaurants also in 5 minute walking distance that are not explicitly vegan but also serve vegan dishes and are of exceptional quality... i really can't complain

 

[lwien]

I was a server for a while. I won't even walk into a Chili's anymore now that I know what goes on behind the scenes. For example, a steak falling on the floor, being picked up and put back on the grill, then served to the patron. Always makes me wonder what is going on back in the kitchen in all restaurants.

Floor grunge just adds a bit of organic flavoring is all. Considering all of the restaurants I have eaten at over the years, and not all in the US (Pakistan and Mexico come to mind), being that I'm 69 and healthy, I don't worry about that too much.

 

[Caligula]

A little bit of floor spice makes everything nice.

 

[Vicki]

That's disgusting.

 

[FukCombustion]

I'd rather make an avocado and egg and stuff sammich.

 

[syrupy]

One thing going out to eat is good for, is providing a social environment. I really enjoy meeting up with people for a meal.

 

[basement farmer]

Due to financial necessity (I'm buying groceries for four adults with hearty appetites as well as two small children), we seldom dine out. The plus side of this is that I've developed a fairly good grasp of the culinary arts......if I don't say so myself

One the rare chance that we do eat out, we usually gut-bomb ourselves. This is a consolation prize for being relatively frugal/ healthy the majority of the time and serves to provide for that rare guilty pleasure one finds themselves jonesing for. Fried Chicken a couple of times a year? Sure, why not....We'll hit the Chinese buffett on rare occasions as well.

I know habitual consumption of this garbage will kill you. But it isn't habitual.

I think there is a huge cultural divide between what would pass for "dining out" in the US vs. the rest of the world. Americans tend to hurry and eat on the go (also too much). Much of the rest of the world tends to sit down and savor the meal along with the company....or at least that's what I'm lead to believe.

 

[Hexi]

It would seem that you need to stop frequenting the eateries on the lower end in the quality/cost spectrum.

Most of the places I go to in order to vote with my dollar serve mainly locally sourced organic ingredients, grass fed beef, artisan charcuterie, specialty micro brews, etc.

You also need to go to places that specialize in just one or two things. Do you see 100 different menu items? Odds are that they dont make a single one of them exceptionally well. If you need diversity under one roof, then go hit up a Vegas buffet.

Quite simply, I don't go to TGI McShananagins to get pizza. I go to the place down the street that uses a brick oven, fresh ingredients, and that doesn't make anything but pizza and calzones.

Now lets all head down to the Sizzler for some steak and lobster.

Yes! If a menu has a bunch of items on it, that is a huge warning sign. My GF taught me that!

Sadly "locally sourced, Organic" has now been usurped by EVERYONE! Every fucking restaurant in Cali lies and now states this

I was in Monterrey Bay a few weeks ago, the food was fucking awful, but expensive and bragging about local/organic. They had very high Yelp review scores but every place we tried was really bad, like should have just gotten pizza somewhere else.

I think the "vacation" spots tend to do this, have over-rated restaurants because everyone is in happy vacation mode. The good news is my local places looked that much better next to the "5 star" places in Monterrey serving up Top Chef knock offs that taste like feet and look like hobo puke.

I'm not a pick eater, relatively speaking, but going out to eat is becoming less appealing every time I go out.

In my brief experience as a human, back in the day, I recall restaurants as being a place where you could get exceptional food that would be tricky, if not virtually impossible, to make at home. For instance, it's hard to make good pizza at home, unless you use a grill or have a oven that can get hotasphuck. I'm talking 900 degrees baby. Anyways, it seems that restaurants are just getting worse and worse -- especially chain restaurants, such as Applebees, TGIF's, Olive Garden, etc., which are just a bunch of bull-cock. Sure, you can get decent wings and okay pasta, but it will certainly not be cost-justifiable. Let's say you pay $15 for a pasta dinner. You get normal pasta that is most likely cooked in an inferior oil instead of extra virgin olive oil. Parmesan cheese will be inferior to the good Italian Parmesan cheese from the store. You won't find delicious prosciutto, or tasty fresh basil and perfectly hand-crafted tomato sauce, or a tasty egg glaze to coat the pasta after it's been been freshly cooked.


Hamburgers at restaurants: bull-cock. Get some high-quality beef at the grocery store, add salt and pepper, and throw those burgers on your grill. Oh, and add any type of cheese or barbeque sauce that fancies you.

And who doesn't want a beer to wash down that tasty cheeseburger? Would you rather pay $3-6 for some cheap-ass water-beer, or would you rather spend $2 and get drink a well-craft brew?

Dessert: I admit, a lot of restaurants do make tasty desserts...couple problems: too small and too expensive. Make your own dessert, and damn pie and some ice cream for the same price as one slice of pie without ice cream at a restaurant.

OMG Applebees is the bane of America! Why? Because their business model actually works in many states! Shitty, pre-cooked food off a truck that is then de-frosted and microwaved! America's meals!

Everytime you pay $15 for a bowl of pasta that is overcooked with some canned sauce, watch TV and listen for the guy from Northern Exposure talk about "REAL BURGERS" That's why it cost so much! The corporate marketing campaigns!

The expense for chains is trying to advertise to the mass market. To offset that, a bunch of A+ students from Harvard Business School (the average grade at Harvard is now an A- ROFL....if you are rich enough for Harvard, you will get an A! no matter how sloppy your work is) figured out a way to make it work is to spend more on marketing and cut costs in production! Sounds easy! The result is rubbery chicken breast with painted on charcoal grill marks. Burger King 2.0 if you will.

Sadly the corporate chain / franchise model works exceptionally well, for the parent corporation.

McDonalds makes bank, but the actual guy who owns the run down looking McDs in the bad part of town isn't exactly rich. He needs to sell X number of 0.99 cheeseburgers to pay the rent, and then pay his employees their min wage.

But the guys who run McDs corp get MILLIONS and spend even more on offensive adverts that blanket every bus, train, billboard everywhere.

I know a dude who owns 2 subways! 2! he is constantly looking for another job (got laid off a few years back) even tho he owns 2 subways! How is that possible, everyone buys subway! The adverts are everywhere. Same as McDs. He has to sell a shit-ton of $5 footlongs to make any real money. Subway corporate decides how much he can sell subs for and whats on sale and what isnt.

Owning a franchise is really like being in the middle of a pyramid scheme. It's better than being at the bottom... but you're not really a true business owner, more like a lease-er.

And yeah, the food ends up sucking because everyone is racing to the bottom to cut costs. Just look at how dead and sickly looking subway cold cuts are.

Talk to anyone who runs a middle of the road small restaurant and they are usually living week to week and the liquor is where the real money is. Selling fresh steaks and fresh fish is a way to go out of business quick if you can't make up for it with appetizers and drinks.

Go back to Subway. There is a local place out here that does fresh, high end subs. They cost like $8 to as much as $10! (Crab is more) For subway, you can get 2 subs for the price of this guy's 1 sub. But his subs are FANTASTIC with top quality ingredients. Because of this and many other factors, he is doing OK. But just barely. He wants to sell his business for the long term. 1 slow week selling subs could put him in debt.

If the Subway down the street closes, someone else will open another. As long as college kids get their $5 footlongs... that's all that matters.

Applebees is the destination for little league baseball teams and other event type outings that need a controlled cost.

Across the globe chains and franchises are dominating. Every country I've been to in the past 5 years has had at least a McDs. Even Old World Europe manages to squeeze in a McDs where it obviously stands out like a sore thumb against a backdrop of historical buildings and sculptures....

We're doomed, food wise. Even high end restaurants are testing the "just in time" methodology.

Customers in general HATE waiting for more than 10 minutes in a sit-down restaurant. Even in a nice place, a couple of weeks ago I had 2 people apologize to us because we didn't get the menus quick enough. LOL I didn't need an apology, but they were really insistent. I don't go to that nice place for fast service, I go because the food is high quality and the menu is prepared with care.

So the blame lies with us, the customers as well as our fat-cat corporate overlords who would never sink to the level of eating @ one of their own chains.

 

[djonkoman]

Due to financial necessity (I'm buying groceries for four adults with hearty appetites as well as two small children), we seldom dine out. The plus side of this is that I've developed a fairly good grasp of the culinary arts......if I don't say so myself

One the rare chance that we do eat out, we usually gut-bomb ourselves. This is a consolation prize for being relatively frugal/ healthy the majority of the time and serves to provide for that rare guilty pleasure one finds themselves jonesing for. Fried Chicken a couple of times a year? Sure, why not....We'll hit the Chinese buffett on rare occasions as well.

I know habitual consumption of this garbage will kill you. But it isn't habitual.

I think there is a huge cultural divide between what would pass for "dining out" in the US vs. the rest of the world. Americans tend to hurry and eat on the go (also too much). Much of the rest of the world tends to sit down and savor the meal along with the company....or at least that's what I'm lead to believe.

yes that's what dining out is for as I see it(from my cultural perspective). around here, we always complain how long you have to wait in reestaurants between courses. once I ate with family at a fancy restaurant, the kind with a lot of tiny courses. because we had to wait so long, and the courses were tiny, we were all still hungry when we were finished, eventhough the amount we actually ate troughout the night was more than a regulkar portion.

I also know of a bit of a comedian from my country comparing his dinigexperience in the US to that in the netherlands, he observed that in the US they were hurried a lot(no time to look trough the menu, serving the next course right after you've finished the previous, no time to drink a cup of coffee afterwards and talk). his reasoning was that because in the US servers make a lot of their money from tips, they're moree inclined to hurry customers trough(more customers is more tips, even if individual customers tip less is they're less satisfied), while here tips are uncommon, servers are just paid by the hour so there is no incentive for them to cram more guests into the time

we also have the simpler fastfoodplaces where you go just to eat though, often that are places that also offer take-away, places like snackbars, pizzeria's, chinese restaurants etc

I don't eat out often though so my experience with it is limited, growing up we never ate out much only with family-occassions, and now I'm a student so I'm too poor to eat out.

 

[crawdad]

Hamburgers at restaurants: bull-cock. Get some high-quality beef at the grocery store, add salt and pepper, and throw those burgers on your grill. Oh, and add any type of cheese or barbeque sauce that fancies you.

i have spent years working on my burgers.

we eat out once a week due to money partly but mostly due to the fact that i married a cook who makes *everything* from scratch, im spoiled and i know it.

if i eat out and enjoy it its usually some joint that has its kitchen run by a grandma who knows how to keep a family happy and together, where you can taste the love and consider it a complement to them and yourself for not needing a to go box.

 

[Hexi]

Yeah in Europe, they actually pay waiters a real wage they can live on, so no tips. Since they really aren't into TV in Europe, eating out is more of an activity. They don't do table turnover like the US. THis is challenging on business trips because everyone expects you to go out to dinner, and spend 5 hours at the table talking and eating and drinking! ROFL aint no one got time for that shit! I'm american, I eat my dinner in 23 minutes, then go right back to testing my code!

Seriously tho, that was a real tricky thing to get used to. Almost every sit down place I went in EU, you needed a spot ahead of time, and dinner "starts" at 730pm for pretty much everyone, and everyone sits at their table and doesn't leave until 1030pm.

The plus side is work never starts going til 830 over there, usually 9. None of this 7am-8pm bullshit will pull in the US for "crunch time"

I will say that the restaurants are generally worse in EU tho. A lot of olde worlde style cooking, but with new world style "pre-cooked / frozen / microwaved" style. The worst of both worlds combing for a touristy nightmare! Well that was in the major cities. Everyone tells me the good food in EU is in the countryside.

 

[Vicki]

Everyone tells me the good food in EU is in the countryside.

Haggis anyone?