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My father in his 80s use to always talk about the good old days. When he was at his peak in the 1950s and 1960s he used to eat out alot. That was rare back then. I looked at a old yellow pages from the town I use to live in and in 1965 there was only 12 places to eat in a town of 30,000 people. Now there are over 100 restaurants in town.
He says there may have been less places to eat out back then but the food was a whole lot better. He says most of the eating establishments were family owned and the people who worked there were proud of the service they offered and the food they cooked. Now most places are high on loud music, corporate themes, low cost labor and frozen food.
Were the eating establishments of the 1960s (the good old days) actually better as my old man insists, or is it just nostalgia?
I think so. They used less chemicals and additives. My father lived in Maryland in the 40's and 50's and said they had the best seafood places. Today there are too many chains. I can't stand the "Texas Roadhouse" and all those generic places. Also the service stinks!.
The success of many chains has come about because of a reasonably consistent level of food and service. If you like a ________ in one town, it's most likely that the franchise in another will be similar. It's a known quantity that may be better than a one-off local place with similar food selection.
I seek out the hole-in-the-wall family run restaurants in my travels. Sometimes, they're pretty good (and worth going back to for their unique food) ... and sometimes, they're a disgrace to the business. (You've never had really awful mexican food until it's in a mid-country small town and prepared by Koreans for the "american taste" .... thankfully, they're out of business now)
I avoid all of the fast food chain restaurants, so in some towns, that can really limit my available alternatives. Likewise, I avoid the chain steakhouses (stewart anderson's black an_us, Outback, Texas Rodehouse (been rode hard and put away wet), for example ...., or the chain mexican places, or the "themed" bar/grill operations).
Location: Moved to town. Miss 'my' woods and critters.
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Food may have tasted better in the good old days due to a number of reasons. Fresher food ingredients, longer preparation times. While growing up in St. Louis, my family used to go 'downtown to a Chinese restaurant, to the Hill for Italian and other places for American or other ethnic dishes.
No one appeared to be in a hurry. Had a beverage, appetizer, conversation and just relaxed. No deadline. If it was our first time in a restaurant, I remember the owner(s) would come over and greet us. On a return visit, it seemed as if you were now 'known'.
Nothing cooked fast, only as it was ordered. I guess our current lifestyle has a lot to do with what we would really like to receive and what we get.
Not always though
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