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I used to love to go out to eat. Over the last few years though I have enjoyed it less and less because of the poor quality and/or service, prices, etc. I am enjoying cooking at home more and more. DH and I were talking about some of the dining out doozies that we have lived through (without killing anyone). What are your stories?
Ok, I will tell you just one of our stories. We went to a national chain restaurant that features their hamburgers. (not fast food, this is a nice, sit down place) So, we go for lunch and order hamburgers and fries. It's Saturday at lunch (not even the busy dinner time crowd) and the waiter comes back and says that they are out of hamburgers and we have to select something else. So we choose a different sandwich and then they bring out the clubs with fries and then we ask for ketchup to go with our fries. The waiter sighs big and tells us that they are out of ketchup! It really would have been easier for them to tell us what they DID have when we ordered, kwim? Thank goodness we can laugh about it now. It isn't a big surprise to us though that this stock isn't doing well!
Back in the 80s, I traveled to the coast of Maine, and was absolutely in heaven -- eating lobster as many as 3X/day. The best I found were these little shacks along the road, where, for $10 you got as many as (3) steamed lobsters and some fixings.
The last night, I ate at an expensive place on the coast, overlooking the water, that came highly recommended. It was the WORST lobster -- broiled -- and the cook/chef was highly insulted that I complained.
Well, we moved to Detroit about 4 years ago. Everyone told us we MUST go into Mexican Town (in Detroit proper) to eat. It is the best of the best authentic Mexican food...So we did. The place was PACKED. Finally when we were seated we were so close to the surrounding tables and there was hardly any light...it was really really dim, and really really packed...
So as we sat there drinking our adult libations and chatting,,,I saw a 'little something' scurry across the table. I asked my hubby if he saw that...and he said "Saw what?" So I just chalked it up to dim lighting and being very hungry....So we carried on with the conversation and sipping on our drinks when I saw a fat cockroach creep up the front of his off white sweater....
BARF!
But we stayed and ate...and it was the best Mexican food I have ever had...
I couldn't eat with the roach crawling!!! The worst thing I've had happen recently was the very large clump of grit I bit into in a spinach salad. The restaurant did not offer anything in the way of apology, coupons, etc. Needless to say, I haven't been back.
I have always eaten out a great deal, but have only two experiences I'd say were really bad. One was in Providence RI at a local place I ate frequently. I ordered chicken salad. I developed the worst case of food poisoning I ever experienced, and felt as if I might die. And to make matters worse I was in the middle of a federal grant application with a serious deadline...I had to orchestrate the final details from bed. No more chicken salad w/mayo in summer for me since.
And another bad experience was in SA. My kids and I were traveling around Peru and Bolivia, and I can't put my finger on which of dozens of restaurant or fast food places we ate caused it, but the two kids came down with a combination of giardia and salmonella poisoning. When we got to Cusco we found a great doctor and as I was formerly in the parasite business, we were able to make a quick and speedy diagnosis. They were able to find some relief before we made it up to Machu Picchu. It was definitely raw fish-ceviche.
Both chicken and fish are often parasite carriers.
Prices of food out, and service, have not improved over the years, but I think all service industries are really suffering from some form of decline.
Well, we moved to Detroit about 4 years ago. Everyone told us we MUST go into Mexican Town (in Detroit proper) to eat. It is the best of the best authentic Mexican food...So we did. The place was PACKED. Finally when we were seated we were so close to the surrounding tables and there was hardly any light...it was really really dim, and really really packed...
So as we sat there drinking our adult libations and chatting,,,I saw a 'little something' scurry across the table. I asked my hubby if he saw that...and he said "Saw what?" So I just chalked it up to dim lighting and being very hungry....So we carried on with the conversation and sipping on our drinks when I saw a fat cockroach creep up the front of his off white sweater....
BARF!
But we stayed and ate...and it was the best Mexican food I have ever had...
Well I know right away what my worst experience was. We were on our honeymoon, almost 22 years ago. We took a day trip to the island of Hawaii to see the volcano, look around the island a bit and fly back to Oahu. We rented a car and had to be back at the airport and had not eaten all day, so we were hungry. We could not find any restaurants near the airport except for this one Korean one. We had never eaten Korean food but figured it was probaby like Chinese food, which we liked. First of all none of the staff spoke very little English, they just motioned us where to sit and gave us water. We had no idea what we were ordering, nothing looked recognizable. We pointed to what we wanted and they brought us plates of things that did not look apetizing at all. One plate was full of little dried fish. I tried some things, some not, and did not like one thing we had ordered. I wanted more soda and motioned to a waitress and asked for more. Not understanding me she poured water in my soda glass. I put my hand on the seat next to me and felt something and there were red ants ALL over my hand and wrist. We wanted to get out of there and motioned to a waitress and said we were ready to go, could we please have the check. And again, she poured water in mjy soda glass! We finally just got up and walked to the cash register and stood there until they figured it out and left. Ugh!
The food was great but the service was terrible. The first time I ever did not leave a tip. I always leave a tip, even when the service is not half way up to par....
My son and daughter and I went out to eat one day, the lady took our order, and was complaining the whole time of how she had not gotten a break yet, took forever before that, just to get to our table...
When she brought my sons food she shoved it in his face telling him to hurry up and move because the plate was hot...
She was about another five minutes bringing my daughter and my food. She never came back to ask if things were ok, and she never refilled, or offered to refill our drinks.
Ok, I will tell you just one of our stories. We went to a national chain restaurant that features their hamburgers. (not fast food, this is a nice, sit down place) So, we go for lunch and order hamburgers and fries. It's Saturday at lunch (not even the busy dinner time crowd) and the waiter comes back and says that they are out of hamburgers and we have to select something else. So we choose a different sandwich and then they bring out the clubs with fries and then we ask for ketchup to go with our fries. The waiter sighs big and tells us that they are out of ketchup! It really would have been easier for them to tell us what they DID have when we ordered, kwim? Thank goodness we can laugh about it now. It isn't a big surprise to us though that this stock isn't doing well!
OMG & LMAO We had such a similar experience at Dairy Queen in Bethlehem Pa. this past summer!
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It really would have been easier for them to tell us what they DID have when we ordered, kwim? 
Thank goodness we can laugh about it now. 
Lobster in Maine, believe it or not
