Good restaurants for downtown el paso (home, live in, store)

[mistabinks]

Tara Thai is new but on the westside. I know this thread is about Downtown restaurants. We need to speak with our wallets. Support new local restaurants!

[Caltep]

I love local restaurants and in EP have preferred local over some of the chains. But, I will say for impact, sometimes a more than average chain restaurant has more of an effect on a local economy. The name bandied about a lot is Cheesecake Factory. It's not another Applebee's or Chili's and it has enough name recognition to draw folks to an area. Locally owned restaurants and businesses can benefit from the draw a place like that can provide.

On this site and others, the criticism on EP is the localism; that true progress cannot be achieved b/c there is too much "keep it status quo". I heard this even before I moved here. Local business will always have local following, but a national following will help the local economy. How many people can be employed by a place the size of a Cheesecake Factory? Those places are huge and are ALWAYS crowded. I don't think a chain restaurant such as Cheesecake Factory will hurt local food businesses. Positioned the right way, it can only help.

So, it is the eternal EP question- move forward and be a progressive regional center CITY or always think in terms of a small town stay quaint outpost mentality.

[mistabinks]

I think a Joe's Crab Shack near the Outlet Mall could be a great idea. That way it would not have to rely solely on locals. It would be near a shopping outlet which tourists may frequent. Also, people only passing through El Paso via 1-10 could pull over and eat.

[Caltep]

Binks...yes, you are right. More needs to happen around that Outlet Mall other than the McDonald's and Rudy's.

[cj4]

Originally Posted by Smooth from ELP

Well as long as Paso Del Norte is in control of this city we can wish away and nothing will ever happen.

From a blogger in El Paso (talking about PDNG's and outside businesses, People with fresh new ideas, and the brain drain):

The problem here is that we have a powerful group of businessmen, politicians, and lawyers who benefit from and fiercely defend the status quo.
So, every few years we get energetic, hopeful people like yourself who come here and have great ideas and then after 2-3 years of banging your head against the wall of stagnation in this city, you finally come to the conclusion that nothing really changes here, it just keeps coming back every few years.

Dude, it's an Applebee's bringing minimum wage jobs. Dont have to be too energetic and hopeful for that great idea.

[ez360]

I agree with the others putting an Applebees in downtown would be a waste. Its a good restaurant but come on Applebees and Chilis are basically the Mcdonalds of the mid level restaruant chains. Downtown would benefit more from cheescake factory, hardrock cafe, or other restaturant of that nature in addition to other locally owned restaurants. An Applebees would be just like adding another McDonalds to the area.

[jj4003]

Something like The Melting Pot, Benihana, The Cheesecake Factory, etc would be cool...

[alliswell]

It'd be different if the "local restuarants" were any good, but they're not. They're mostly dirty and gross with gross food that exclusively appeals to a specific cultural palette. People in El Paso are in no uncertain terms food ignorant. Even the Italian tastes like Mexican.

I say bring on the chains and as many as are dumb enough to come here. If the local restaurants want to step it up and compete, then let's see 'em do it. The only reason the majority of "the local restuarants" are clamoured around and flagged as "good" is because there's no where else to freakin' eat out! Most of them are holes serving overly spiced ****-poor quality ingredients.

I am a foody and I have never in my life seen a city as large as El Paso so incredibly backwards, unsophisticated and unworldly when it comes to food. It is severly underdeveloped and unrefined and no one who lives here or is *from* here knows any better. They all think EP has great food. Um. No. Not even.

[ez360]

Yes and Applebees and Chilis are the restaurants for those with refined pallets. My point is bring restaurant chains but bring worthwhile ones while bringing in only the best local restaurants. Bringing in nothing but Applebees, Chilis, Red Lobster, etc... will only turn the downtown area into a food court of sorts. I agree that a lot of our local eateries are god awful but there are good ones and to say otherwise is just ignorant and that's why i say bring only the better ones. Downtown is too small to let it go to these generic chains. Unlike places like Chicago and San Antonio who have ample space for both types of chains we only have the luxury of catering to one so I say leave it for restaurants that we currently don't have and let the Chili's and Applebees continue their dominance across shopping malls and centers. Lets bring some diversity to the city rather than than bringing more of same and retaining the status quo.

[mistabinks]

The term "bring in" is being used by many. Does the city even have a say in this? I'm sure we could recruit or pitch El Paso to some chains but are actually "bringing in" restaurants. Is it not quite the opposite? Don't the restaurants themselves do the market analysis and research and decide which cities to expand to? I am actually asking as I do not know.