In your opinion, what is the worst corporate fast food or family style restaurant? Mine is Red Lobster, what's yours?

[debm55]

[spooky3]

1. Why do you say that?

[redwitch]

2. Limp shrimp

Is why I agree with this assessment.

[spooky3]

6. Haha! Nt

[debm55]

23. Overcooked seafood is rubbery.

[TexasBushwhacker]

69. But those biscuits!!!

[debm55]

70. They are good, but you can buy the mix to make at home at Walmart or your grocery store.

[CentralMass]

112. +1

[kimbutgar]

3. Olive Garden

[jimfields33]

5. My favorite. Angel hair with meat sauce I could eat all day long.

Add the salad and breadsticks and I’m happy.

[debm55]

9. I do like the salad and soup lunches at Olive Garden.

[jimfields33]

12. Absolutely and it's pretty affordable as well.

[MLAA]

31. Love those breadsticks!

[debm55]

34. Me too and their soup and salad.

[Aristus]

95. I like Olive Garden, too. I don't get the hate.

I mean, we won't pretend that it's authentic Italian food. There's a place for that not a three minute drive from my house, and the food is wonderful.

But OG has good food, good service, and it makes for a pleasant meal.

Applebee's is my least favorite 'casual dining' restaurant. I hear the food is all pre-packaged, and all they do in the kitchen is heat it up. I mean, shit, corporate America; spend some of those billions hiring real cooks! They don't have to be infinitely-creative chefs or anything. Just trained cooks who can follow a recipe.

[Redleg]

138. Our local Olive Garden is decent but....

the wait for seating is ridiculous. I rarely go there because of this. Would it be too much to ask for a few more decent Italian restaurants in the area?

[debm55]

140. I agree, we were told about 40 minutes wait time. Not worth it.

[kimbutgar]

141. The three times I have been there have been terrible

Cold food, long wait times and bland type of food. I guess because I have eaten plenty of Italian food that is flavorful and tasty. Olive Garden in my opinion is not one I would go to if I had a choice between them and a local Italian restaurant.

[debm55]

142. I agree. I would rather have the local Italian restaurant.

[Redleg]

144. Same here except we have no locally owned Italian restaurants

And I'm not gonna wait 40 minutes to be seated at Olive Garden.

[stopdiggin]

4. Starbucks

I get a lancing pain behind my left eye ..

he who popularized (and normalized) the $8 coffee drink - and the overweening and infuriating affectation of customers that followed on. Pain in the ass customers - pain in the ass prices. They've ruined the world as we know it ..

[Mr.Bill]

20. Absolutely.

Burnt coffee masked with huge amounts of sugar.

[OldBaldy1701E]

25. That is why my group all refers to that place as 'Charbucks'. (n/t)

[underpants]

101. The food is really dry.

[Tomconroy]

7. Red Lobsters martinis are on the smallish side.

Otherwise I don't get it.

[debm55]

11. There is always such a long waiting line to be seated.

[Meadowoak]

8. All of them. I don't eat fast food unless it's an emergency, like a power outage.

[jmbar2]

10. A friend who used to work there in college always referred to it as "Ded Lobster".

[JoseBalow]

16. And for good reason! See my post #15 below

[brewens]

37. I worked at a Skippers years before we had Red Lobster. Skippers went downhill in the late 80s, but I'd still love

to go back to one when they were hot. The menu was more limited than Red Lobster, but what they did, they did well.

[debm55]

38. Great, Were they regional?

[brewens]

39. It was a northwest chain at the start at least. I worked at the first franchise they sold. n/t

[Redleg]

139. Skippers was one of my favorite places

They were good and had all-you-can-eat fish and chips. Not good for my waistline but good for the budget.

[debm55]

143. Sounds good. TY

[mucifer]

164. Well most restaurant food is dead animals or animal products

[50 Shades Of Blue]

13. Subway.

[debm55]

14. Agree with that. Their tuna fish is terrible. but I do like their bread.

[justaprogressive]

118. They changed the recipe for tuna salad

and made it SWEET (I suspect Miracle Whip)

Then a couple years ago they took Roast Beef off the menu!



I never returned

[debm55]

120. Maybe I will try then.It used to be that their tuna had such a strong tuna taste. I do like Arby's for roast beef.

[JoseBalow]

15. I have been boycotting Red Lobster for decades

after I learned how horribly they exploited the Miskito people who dive for their lobsters. Not only under-paying for their labor, but completely abandoning them and their families when they die become permanently disable due to their working conditions.

I read several articles about Red Lobster's greed and inhumanity towards these poor indigenous people back in the early 90's and I was horrified. I vowed then to never give Red Lobster a penny of my money, and to spread the information about their practices whenever I got the chance. Like now.

Fuck Red Lobster.

Dying for Lobster

So when Izdepski first visited the Mosquito Coast along the Nicaragua-Honduras border to witness the working conditions under which lobster divers (buzos de langostas) operate, he was horrified. “I had my epiphany,” he tells Mark Jacobson in the Natural Resources Defense Council’s OnEarth (Fall 2004). “I understood that I was a diver, I made my living as a diver, that diving was my life–and that what was going on in La Miskitia was the moral Armageddon of the diving world, a slow-motion underwater genocide.” In 1995 Izdepski co-founded SubOceanSafety, a nonprofit group that seeks to improve working conditions for the Miskito Indians who comb the Caribbean Sea searching for what’s known locally as “red gold.”

Over the past two decades, lobster fishing has exploded into a $50 million industry in Nicaragua and Honduras. The prized crustaceans now account for nearly 10 percent of Nicaragua’s foreign trade. Roughly 90 percent of that harvest ends up in the bellies of American and Canadian consumers. U.S. corporations such as Darden Restaurants, owners of the Red Lobster chain, and Sysco, a wholesale food distributor, are the primary customers.

https://www.utne.com/politics/dyingforlobster/

Since fishing for spiny lobster off the Caribbean coasts of Honduras and Nicaragua became industrialized in the 1980s to meet demand from the United States, the Miskito Indian divers who are the first link in the supply chain have moved farther and farther out to sea as stocks vanish in shallow waters.

They descend to depths of 100 to 120 feet, repeatedly diving and resurfacing, pushed by poverty to ignore all the safety rules. A few die every season; many more are paralyzed by decompression sickness, commonly known as the bends.

During a two-week fishing trip, they make as many as 12 to 16 dives a day — no more than two are recommended at that depth — to scrabble for a catch that earns them about $3 a pound. (On a productive trip, they may catch as much as 100 pounds of lobster, but they must pay expenses that total about 40 percent.)

https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/10/world/americas/10honduras.html?unlocked_article_code=1.8Ew.RDyg.f1PBQPbutKKr&smid=url-share

[debm55]

17. Thank you for that information.

[jmbar2]

18. Wow! Had no idea. Thanks so much for sharing this info.

Their practices are inhumane. I've never been to Ded Lobster, and now have no intention to.

[Mr.Bill]

19. I went there once.

It was nothing special.

[ificandream]

21. Olive Garden beats Red Lobster as the worst.

It's fake Italian. (And I'm Italian.) That said, the food isn't all that bad. It just tastes corporate

[ProfessorGAC]

48. My Take As Well

I'm of Sicilian descent, but I find OG to be acceptable, but nothing to rave about.
I'd go to them from time to time when traveling domestically. I was more prone to get Chinese or a sandwich & eat in my room, but if I did go out Olive Garden was convenient, quick & passable.
Miles from homemade Italian, but nothing to hate about it either.

[enid602]

24. Long John Silver's

Little, tiny, itty-bitty bits of seafood deep fried in copious amounts of batter. They don't appear to change the grease often. Yet, once a year, I'll go there, wolf down the largest captain's platter, and swear I'll never return. But I will, next year.

[debm55]

26. Very good post. I always wondered what type of fish it was. Was it even fish???

[enid602]

28. LJS

It’s pretty much batter and grease.

[SWBTATTReg]

47. Was my favorate at one time, no longer. Last time I had LJS, the food tasted oily, and didn't have a good taste

to it at all. And I'm one to give one a pass, stuff does happen sometimes, but this time around, I finally swore off of it (LJS). I just finally got tired of it, the quality of the food, the oiliness, etc.

[doc03]

53. I agree LJS is bad, havent been there in at least 10 years, forgot

they still existed.

[SWBTATTReg]

66. Yeah, and we have only left, and I kind of have to go aways to get to it. No more. I'm disappointed but, hey,

there lots of other places to try, see if the food is good there too. At least we're lucky there, that we do have lots of choices.

[petronius]

57. That's my relationship with Panda Express, but with monthly frequency

The next morning is always a "what was I thinking" kind of moment...

[debm55]

60. Sorry, but I know the feeling.

[Axelrods_Typewriter]

177. I went to a Panda Express once. I had a sore throat for the rest of the day and the next day. Never again.

[Ocelot II]

27. Dead Lobster does have great biscuits.

[debm55]

29. Agree, but Walmarts sells the mixture for them in the bakery departmant.

[Ocelot II]

32. I'll eat at Dead Lobster long before I'll step foot in a Walmart's.

You can get the biscuit batter in a lot of places, though.

[yellowdogintexas]

76. recipe on Pinterest for those biscuits. Lots of recipes nt

[TwilightZone]

86. Lots of places carry them.

Regional chain groceries (HEB, Publix, etc.) and Targets that carry groceries usually have them.

[Major Nikon]

89. I never understood why people like them

That includes my wife. To me they have too much salt and butter and garlic in a biscuit should be considered an abomination. Neither am I a fan of adding cheese to any sort of dough.

[debm55]

91. Their good though. I understand what you saying though,

[LakeArenal]

30. Taco Bell.

I used to like Red Lobster back when.

But now lobster seems to be a misnomer.

Meanwhile Taco Bell is to Mexican Food as Red Lobster is to a Maine Lobster Shack.

[debm55]

35. Never ate at Taco Bell. The smell of the inside is so off putting.

[Diamond_Dog]

77. I heartily agree with you there Deb. Never ate at Taco Bell either.

[Shermann]

54. Haven't been there since the pandemic

I used to get the Mexican Pizza which was decent comfort food. They removed the scallions in 2006 after an E. Coli outbreak and it hasn't been the same.

[underpants]

102. I stopped at one on a lark about 2 months ago

It was horrible. I mean just horrible.

[debm55]

105. Agree

[bucolic_frolic]

33. All of them. Just like TV dinners, after all the advertising there's no money left for the food /nt

[Bayard]

36. Any burger joint

Unless I can get a grilled chicken sandwich. I don't eat beef.

I like Olive Garden. I like Red Lobster, but now, I'll have to rethink that.

[Diamond_Dog]

78. Agree with you Bayard, about burger joints and beef.

I thought I was the only one ….

[Kali]

40. hmmm, I can usually find something I like at most drive-throughs

and I don't really eat at sit-down chains - if I am going to a restaurant I usually want to go somewhere good - but I kind of hate them in general. Again, can usually find something edible in the few I have been to. Had to hit Denny's for a family outing just last weekend as we were out doing something and it was the only thing open after 8 in the small town other than drive-throughs. It was actually pretty good this time. This one can be iffy with high staff turnover.

[Shermann]

55. That's pretty much where I am at

I can't really fathom not finding anything at all on a menu that I don't like. That restaurant would really have to suck and isn't going to be a successful chain. I guess I'm not that picky.

[calguy]

41. None worse than IHOP

[Ritabert]

42. I've been boycotting Darden restaurants

...when the then-CEO commented on keeping workers below 32 hours a week so he didn't have to pay for their health insurance. Also the endless salad servings went away given the big romaine lettuce scare from e-coli.

[debm55]

46. We lived very near a Mexican chain restaurant named Chi Chis. Seven people died from getting e-coli from eating

Last edited Tue Nov 7, 2023, 05:39 PM - Edit history (1)

green onions. All restaurants were closed immediately, nation wide. We used to eat there as my young son liked them. I believe it was in
2003

[TwilightZone]

87. Chi Chis used to be really good.

We went there a lot in the 90s. They were going downhill by the time of the hepatitis breakout. That was the final nail.

[debm55]

88. They were. We live very near the one where the diners ate the tainted food. It was very popular and good.

[FSogol]

151. I worked at Chi Chis all thru college. The e coli was from the green onion supplier and not really their fault.

They were a great restaurant in the 80s and 90s until the corporation made everything cheaper. The one I worked at made unbelievable amounts of money and was packed at all times.

[debm55]

152. I lived near the one that was infected the e-coli on RT 51. near Century III Mall. You are right in their prime they

were great. We live south of Pittsburgh. TY

[PJMcK]

43. I don't go to the chain restaurants anymore

The mediocrity is unbearable.

[Probatim]

63. That's how I feel - no chain restaurants ever again.

Although, I will eat a breakfast sandwich at McDonald's if there isn't a Sheetz nearby.

[Danmel]

45. Applebee's

Or as my kids call it, Crapplebee's.

[ProfessorGAC]

49. Home Of The $9 Beer

"Get our specially discounted appetizers for 2, and a couple beers. That'll be $32 plus tax & tip."

[Freddie]

64. Salads are good

Otherwise meh. I can microwave food at home.

[ailsagirl]

98. Salads are great!! The rest... mediocre

[Diamond_Dog]

81. I got a gift card for Applebee's one Christmas

My hubby and I went there for dinner and I swear the food tasted like it came from a frozen TV dinner box. Very, very, disappointing.

[debm55]

117. that's a bummer

[Chi67]

50. Ugh

McDonalds. The worst.

[doc03]

51. McDonalds is the worst fast food restaraunt.

[debm55]

52. If you can get your order correct. Last time I was missing the fries. This time I was missing the burger.

[doc03]

56. They are so damn cheap they don't even put any condoments out. You

get fries you check and find out you have no ketchup. You go and wait to get some ketchup then they give you
20 packs, does that make sense? One day a guy ordered a sausage and egg Mc Muffin, he had to come back in twice to get the sausage on his sandwich. One morning someone in the drive through asked for some sauce that comes with chicken nuggets for her breakfast sandwich. They wanted 20 cents extra for it. This resulted in a shouting match with the manager and the customer. The police were called to break it up, all over 20 cents.

[mercuryblues]

58. I will never forget the time I was on the phone with my sister at their drive through

MD's: Hi, can I take your order?

Sis: Just surprise me, you give what you want to anyhow.

[Freddie]

65. Order on the app

More likely to get it right, plus you earn points (pretty quickly) for free food. My granddaughter liked McD’s (she’s 5) but I can usually talk her into Wendy’s (far superior IMO) for our weekly drive-thru lunch.

[Diamond_Dog]

82. My son used to work at McDonalds in high school as a cook

And he wouldn’t even eat the food, it was so bad.

[Diamond_Dog]

85. The smell alone inside a McDonalds makes me retch.

[debm55]

90. I know--the grease. Taco Bell makes me want to retch also.

[BlueKota]

59. Burger King

Ate there twice, got sick twice. Also had a co-worker get sick after eating one of their burgers. Okay it was in the mid 80s, but not interested in giving them another shot at making me toss my cookies. Also our local one gets a lot fewer customers than the local McDonald's and Wendy's. Not really sure how they have stayed open here as long as they have.

[Clash City Rocker]

153. That would be my choice

I am a little curious about the Impossible Whopper, because Impossible burgers tastes like meat, and the Whopper never tasted like meat.

[BlueKota]

156. That's strange

[debm55]

157. I ate there once and my burger was grey, I didn't eat it.

[Jrose]

61. I'd say 'I-Hop'. Slow death by sugar and carb bomb

Although it all tastes and feels delicious.

Is there actually anything naturally green there, except the plants?

[enid602]

79. plants, fruit

Mine has plastic plants. And what’s with the heavily preserved and syrupy fruits they put on everything. Regular cut fruit would do fine.

[exboyfil]

62. I prefer to cook my food at home

But my particular dislike is McDonalds because my wife is addicted to their breakfast sandwiches. I am obligated to eat at McD twice a year for breakfast (Mother's and Father's Day for the free meal). I only do it because I value my marriage over fighting about it.

This morning I made a tasty omelet with mackerel, spinach, peppers, mushrooms, onions, etc. My wife ate a god awful breakfast sandwich.

My wife is doing better (lost 20 pounds recently), but she still eats those breakfast sandwiches.

[Diamond_Dog]

83. My sister raves about their breakfast sandwiches

I can think of 1000 other things I’d rather have for breakfast than one of those things.

[CanonRay]

67. Jack in the Box

Only one I ever go sick at. Haven't ever been back.

[ailsagirl]

99. They're the only fast food place I go to

I love their burgers & French fries. They are always hot-off-the-grill. 🍔

Haven’t sampled anything else and don’t intend to.

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

68. Burger King for fast food, Red Lobster for casual

I don't go to them anymore and I loved Red Lobster when I was younger. Last time I got BK, I threw it away.

[sakabatou]

71. IHOP. It was SO loud in there I could hardly hear the staff

[happy feet]

72. Applebees

Disgusting

[Talitha]

73. Golden Corral

In general I detest going out to eat, but hubby insisted on stopping at Golden Corral a few times when we were on the road.

IMO the food was bland (our sons said it tasted like school cafeteria slop) and we certainly didn't consume enough to validate the price, but it's an all you can eat buffet and, well, hubby enjoys stuffing himself like a pig, so at least he enjoyed it.

[MichMan]

80. I only went to one once

After seeing people pawing all over the food and kids running around amok, I swore I would never go to one again. I haven't

[debm55]

116. Agree with that

[sinkingfeeling]

74. Toss-up between Chili's and Olive Garden.

[debm55]

75. That's a shame. We used to like going to the movies and having lunch at Chili's.

[Chainfire]

107. What I found ironic to the point of being humorous is just how bad Chili's chili is.

[debm55]

109. I liked their blooming onions to share and their burgers, Agree about the chili.

[Chainfire]

113. Indeed, I am resonable sure that their chili comes out of a Hormel can.

[debm55]

115. That's funny, Wendy's chili was good, but most are closed up around here.

[Diamond_Dog]

84. I usually like Panera

But last time I was there, there was a fly in the pastry case, walking all over every single item in the case. Bleccch

[debm55]

93. they have been going downhill

[Diamond_Dog]

96. You're right about that Deb.

They used to be very high quality but not any more.

[LudwigPastorius]

92. Worst Fast Food: Tossup between Taco Bell and Jack In The Box

I've never eaten anything that wanted to get out of me faster than Taco Bell. And, Jack In The Box is just the worst everything - worst burger - worst fries - worst "tacos"...

Worst Sit Down Chain: Waffle House for breakfast...Golden Corral for lunch or dinner

Waffle House...how can you f..k up a ham and cheese omelette? Waffle House can. Golden Corral...The original All You Can Stand Buffet...even the salad bar reeks of misery and despair.

[debm55]

94. Never been to a Golden Corral. though they have them around here; I don't like buffets.

Last edited Wed Nov 8, 2023, 05:45 PM - Edit history (1)

Your post is hilarious, Up thread I wanted to put that Taco Bell smelled like poop. I went for my son. But you said it so right

[csziggy]

97. That's too bad about Red Lobster

My grandmother used to take us to eat there back in the 50s-60s, when there was only one location and it was still owned by Lawton Chiles - before he became a politician. It was pretty decent back then. For my family, it was too expensive to eat at very often, though. it was only grandmother's treat for major events such as graduations. Other times, she would "treat" us to McDonalds or Morrison's cafeteria.

[lpbk2713]

100. Firefox on Lakeland Hills Blvd was upscale too.

We passed by there many times but never ate there.
Figured it was out of our league. Fat Jack's was good
for lunch. It's still there after all these years.

[debm55]

103. Thanks Ipbk2713

[csziggy]

173. I don't think the Firefox opened until after my grandmother was gone

In 1969. I remember driving by it but by that time, my home town of Bartow had more restaurants so Mom & Dad went to the home town places.

[Chainfire]

104. I haven't been in a Red Lobster in decades, but the worst fast food chain, off the top of my head,

has to be another "seafood" place; Captain D's. Followed closely by Hardees.

[debm55]

106. Hardees-yuk

[Chainfire]

108. Last week, I left the doctor's office after having a fasting blood test. I was as hungry as all get out, so

I stopped by Hardees for a sausage biscuit. One bite and into the trash, nothing but salt and fat.

[debm55]

111. Agree

[ificandream]

110. Used to work at McDonald's when I was in high school. That was about 1969.

I was in charge of the milkshakes. We had to weigh them individually to make sure they were 11 oz. I remember a manager coming over and checking a couple of mine by putting them on the scale next to me and was delighted to find I was right on the nose. But given the way food is made today at McDonald's and other fast food places, I think it's all manufactured and like cardboard. I don't eat fast food much anymore, if at all. I wouldn't trust it.

[debm55]

114. Agree

[justaprogressive]

119. MickeyDs serves

UNFOOD

I SHOULDN'T NEED TO GO INTO IT!

[debm55]

121. Don't understand why they are so popular.

[justaprogressive]

122. Used to be they were cheap

now it's expensive garbage...

but very convenient for tired people who don't enjoy cooking...

[debm55]

123. True. Still rather go to Arbys

[Ferrets are Cool]

124. I can't believe no one has mentioned

Waffle House.

[debm55]

125. Ferrets, I think they might be regional. I don't recall seeing any in my area. Are they really that bad--dirty, bad food

[Ferrets are Cool]

129. Lets just say that you are much more

Likely to see redneck repugs there than liberal intellectuals. And, never, ever look for their health rating...you are better off not knowing.

[debm55]

133. Glad we don't have any here,, My husband makes the best waffles from scratch.

[malthaussen]

135. I have a rule, "Never eat anywhere with House in the name." n/t

[debm55]

136. Yep

[RussellCattle]

155. Anthony Bourdain did a show on the Waffle House and said good things about it, in a guilty pleasure, comfort food....

.....sort of appreciation.

[debm55]

159. I remember that. He went with his friend. I miss Anthony.

[RussellCattle]

161. I miss him too. He was a humanist, first and foremost. The food was good, the travel was great, the people he met.....

.....were wonderful. Loving other people's food is loving them and their culture. Nice post again, Deb.

[RussellCattle]

180. Let's see if I can attach the video.....

[debm55]

181. Thank you Russell

[marble falls]

126. 45's White House ...

[debm55]

128. OMG, Did the asshole eat it himself?????

"DONALD HUNGRY"

[marble falls]

131. No. He only looks like he did!

[debm55]

132. You bad, but funny.

[GP6971]

127. The 3 Denny's in my area sucks, but

50 miles away they were great. So it's hit and miss.

[debm55]

130. Denny's around here

[malthaussen]

134. Has to be Sonic.

Every time I've eaten there I've gotten food poisoning.

-- Mal

[debm55]

137. Sorry to hear that. We don't have Sonic near by.

[appleannie1]

145. It is a toss up between Olive Garden and Ponderosa

[debm55]

147. I thought Ponderosa went out of business or maybe it was Bonanza There steaks were terrible.No matter how you wanted.

it done, you got very well done.

[appleannie1]

146. Long John Silver used to be good before they merged with A&W Root Beer.

Now if you hold a piece of their fish over the oil fill in your car, you would not have to buy Pennzoil or Mobile. You would not even have to squeeze the fish. Just let it drip.

[debm55]

148. HAHAHAHHAH-That is so funny, but true. I only liked their hush puppies.

[RobinA]

149. Dennys

with Applebees coming in second. I could tolerate Dennys in a pinch until they went 100% microwave. Microwaved pancakes? No way. Oh, and Eat n Park, which I used to like back in the day, but which has become completely inedible.

[debm55]

150. Robin, are you by any chance for western PA. Eat n Park is big here. But they have gone downhill since Covid. I still

like the Smily cookies.

[bamagal62]

158. OMG Eat n Park is pretty awful.

We ate there in Pittsburgh once. Huge mistake.

[debm55]

166. They used to be very good, We used to go there for breakfast, No more

[mvd]

165. Yeah I remember Eat n Park in State College

Haven’t been there in a long time but even then it was going downhill.

[debm55]

167. Hi Matt, You got that right. TY

[Chakaconcarne]

154. PNW has a plethora of good, non-corporate options... so I don't frequent them...

[bamagal62]

160. I don't usually eat at fast food places

unless I'm on the road. But, just from the commercials alone, it has to be Taco Bell. The food that the commercials show look disgusting. (I didn't even know Long John Silvers was still around.)

[qwlauren35]

162. But the BISCUITS!!!

I would go to Red Lobster just for the biscuits.

[mvd]

163. I don't like fast food places Subway, Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, Burger King and more

As far as eat in restaurants, Chilis is so salty and when I tried IHOP, it tasted terrible.

[debm55]

168. Most of the once good ones are not so good now. TY

[Emile]

169. I like Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Texas Roadhouse,

Applebee's.

I hate all you can eat COVID spreading smorgasbords!

[debm55]

170. Emile, I really don't like to eat out since covid. For me, I would rather cook at home. .I used to like salad bars but

Last edited Thu Nov 9, 2023, 09:27 AM - Edit history (1)

no more.

[Aussie105]

171. "It just tastes corporate."

Sums it up well, in just that one word.

Most of the Australian fast food places are based on the American model - ie bland, inoffensive, and forgettable 5 minutes later.

Problem is, the good (expensive) ingredients are cut back slowly over time, replaced with the cheap ingredients.
Witness the battered fish where the fish is something hard to identify in there somewhere inside the grease dripping flour batter.

I prefer Chinese satay chicken and beef in black bean sauce, but only if I can take it home and add more of the satay or black bean.
Otherwise, corporate blandness.

From worst to also worst:
McDonalds.
Hungry Jacks (Burger King)
Any fish place that uses batter.
Any local Indian, Chinese, Thai, Italian eateries.

Really breaks it down to a painful fact - gotta make my own!

EDIT: Used to be some really good smorgasbord style eateries around here. Quality food, great range of food, all you can eat.
Didn't last long though, all gone now.

[debm55]

172. Great response. Very true on the food, Thank you

[Jeebo]

174. Bob Evans, Steak 'n' Shake

I tried a Bob Evans a few weeks ago. Yuck. I didn't eat much of it, took home the leftovers, they stayed in the refrigerator untouched for about a week until I finally threw them out.

Fifteen or 20 years ago I ate one night at one of the local Steak 'n' Shake restaurants. I had eaten there before and it was okay, merely okay, but this time, it was ... I don't know how to describe it, it was just, well, BLAH. It was just a bunch of glop in my mouth. I haven't eaten at a Steak 'n' Shake since.

Quite a few people have mentioned Olive Garden, which I don't understand. I just LOVE Olive Garden, it's one of my favorite restaurants. Are y'all talking about the same chain?

I'm surprised nobody in this long chain has mentioned Cracker Barrel. I like Cracker Barrel, but not so much because of the food as because of the homey ambience, and the consistency. If you're at a Cracker Barrel you can be anywhere. I can't think of any other restaurant chain about which that is more true. The food frankly is merely okay, but I can see somebody saying that it's bad enough to warrant mention in this thread.

Several people have mentioned Golden Corral, but I love Golden Corral, not because the food is all that great, but because it is so varied and plentiful that among all the many, many options, you can always find something good to eat. I like the salad bar because you can make your own salad, put all your favorite vegetables in it. I also like the baked potatoes because Golden Corral is one of the few restaurants I can find where they serve potatoes that have that wonderful potato-ey flavor in them. Almost everybody nowadays serves potatoes that during the preparation and cooking process somehow have all of that potato-ey flavor leached out of them. The baked potatoes at Golden Corral still have that wonderful potato-ey flavor in them.

-- Ron

[debm55]

175. I like Cracker Barrel and Bob Evans. I liked Steak and Shake for their milkshakes. Their hamburgers were the worst I eve

tasted. I have to say Burger King is a little above the Steak and Shake . Steak and shake are/were so bad, so greasy that I bit into it and gaged. I threw it away then and there. All Steak and Shakes have closed down in the Pittsburgh area. Thank God, I think the problem is that some are franchises that are, in alot oft cases poorly run by the franchise owner. Wendy's are not entirely closed around Pittsburgh l but some are franchise that have poor food , and service. Just my thoughts. I like the soup, salad and breadsticks at Olive garden.

[Sneederbunk]

176. Liver on a Stick.

[debm55]

178. Where did you buy that.

Last edited Sat Nov 11, 2023, 01:12 AM - Edit history (1)

Did you eat the liver and put the stick up your nose?