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My wife and I were discussing the many restaurants in our lives that we use to patronize and now have come to avoid. The most common reasons are a big increase in prices, a decrease in food quality, or both. We came up with a few, most notably:
1. Panera Bread
2. Red Lobster
3. Olive Garden
4. The old standby Mickey D's
5. Burger King
6. Quizno's Subs
7. most Chinese buffets in our town
8. several Mexican places, which have both increased prices and greatly increased the salt content of the food, rendering it inedible
I remember fondly the McD's of my childhood.. the brightly colored styrofoam food holders, the harsh, rain-soaked astro-turf of their outdoor playgrounds.. Orange drink & disgusting, greasy food.. and their self-congratulatory Over a Billion served (& always counting) proclamation on their outdoor sign.
But they lost me when they started rebranding themselves.. salads, fruit for kids, subtle interior (as opposed to the bright hard plastic chairs) etc.. Banishing Grimace & the fry guys into obscurity. I also dislike their current, racially divisive McDonalds 365 project, where they celebrate Black culture, to the exclusion of all other ethnic groups that eat their garbage. Other than an occasional restroom stop, I never enter into McDonald's as a customer anymore.
McD's is really working hard to polish a turd, and I'm old school.. I like my turds to remain un-polished.
Panera - For a couple of years, I was making a long drive every weekend to check on a family member and Panera was the only place on the route that had Wifi. Got very tired of the food and it's still pretty far down on my list of places to go. That's not a fault of the restaurant chain, but I do feel like Panera isn't as attractive an option as it used to be. The ones around me now seem to be smaller and more crowded. Not the relaxing place to chill for a couple of hours like it used to be for me.
Chinese restaurants in general - Though I love Asian food, I grew tired of Chinese restaurants because they all started tasting the same, and not good.
Q'doba/Chipotle - Got tired of the genre.
Subway - I like that they have healthy options but it's the only place DH wants to stop when we're on road trips and it gets old.
Panera - For a couple of years, I was making a long drive every weekend to check on a family member and Panera was the only place on the route that had Wifi. Got very tired of the food and it's still pretty far down on my list of places to go. That's not a fault of the restaurant chain, but I do feel like Panera isn't as attractive an option as it used to be. The ones around me now seem to be smaller and more crowded. Not the relaxing place to chill for a couple of hours like it used to be for me.
Chinese restaurants in general - Though I love Asian food, I grew tired of Chinese restaurants because they all started tasting the same, and not good.
Q'doba/Chipotle - Got tired of the genre.
Subway - I like that they have healthy options but it's the only place DH wants to stop when we're on road trips and it gets old.
With the Panera thing, I noticed that their lunch prices suddenly seemed outrageously expensive and the food quality decreased dramatically. A sandwich, chips, and drink was running me $12.00, and that just was too much for me. When I discovered directly from a Panera employee's mouth that the sandwiches were not even made fresh, but premade and shipped in via whatever restaurant company, that was the end of my business with them.
The Chinese buffet quality has deteriorated markedly. I don't expect gourmet food; after all, it is food made in qualtity designed to appeal to the masses, but most of the buffets in my town reduced the amount of meat dishes to a trickle, so there is only one buffet we frequent, and it is consitently good. We do go to one Japanese sushi buffet, and that place is amazing.
Though I can't say I use to "love" them, we used to enjoy going tp Red Lobster and Outback. Now, we rarely go to either if them. The quality just isn't there. We never cared much for the rest if that list.
We've also nearly stopped going to Italian restaurants. Been too disappointed too many times.
McDonald's
BK
KFC
Denny's, used to enjoy their breakfast
Most Darden restaurants, sometimes menu changes are BAD..
Honestly, most of them..
Unless it's breakfast at a mom and pop greasy spoon..
There are some really great food trucks around that seem to blow the sit down place away...
Great food, great prices, different non boring menu options!!!
When I was a much younger man, without a skilled palette, I was pretty fond of places like Red Lobster, Chilli's, TGIF, Outback. Now I wouldn't waste my money at any mass produced, over sugared, crap like that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Scooby Snacks
3. Olive Garden
They have always sucked. I am honestly utterly dumbfounded how they are even still open, let alone popular. The fact that they have regular wait lists around the country is all the proof needed that the majority of this country are stupid.
When I was a much younger man, without a skilled palette, I was pretty fond of places like Red Lobster, Chilli's, TGIF, Outback. Now I wouldn't waste my money at any mass produced, over sugared, crap like that.
They have always sucked. I am honestly utterly dumbfounded how they are even still open, let alone popular. The fact that they have regular wait lists around the country is all the proof needed that the majority of this country are stupid.
The wait around here is HUGE. I shut my trap when someone wanted to take me there. We waited forever. Then had a very substandard meal. She LOVED it. It was like a jar of Ragu dumped on pasta, as far as I was concerned.
With the Panera thing, I noticed that their lunch prices suddenly seemed outrageously expensive and the food quality decreased dramatically. A sandwich, chips, and drink was running me $12.00, and that just was too much for me. When I discovered directly from a Panera employee's mouth that the sandwiches were not even made fresh, but premade and shipped in via whatever restaurant company, that was the end of my business with them.
While I will agree their prices went up, I have had countless sandwiches made to order (and sometimes remade to order if even 1 error on my request) since I am a picky eater.
Wendy's quality has decreased a lot unless you stick to ordering their over priced promotional burgers which are now $6-7.
TGI Fridays used to have great food and service. However, since Carlson has controlled it the past 20 years, the menu has declined, the portions have declined and the service is so artificial and scripted.
Ever noticed that when Buffalo Wild Wings enter a market that the pigeon population takes a dive? Where do they get such small birds?
Italian restaurants, even independent ones, have never really been all that good.
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