Go Outback!

~ Laura

Funny, funny discussion by Megan, Ezra, and Matt who are annoyed by this New York Times review of suburban chain restaurants. I’ll take my condescension a la carte, please.

Although I didn’t grow up in Manhattan with Megan and Matt, I did live there for nearly twenty years. So, I have to admit that I’ve never been to the Outback, Red Lobster, the Olive Garden, the Cheesecake Factory, or any of the other places in the article.

But New Yorkers shouldn’t be too snobby, because Manhattan has its own chain restaurants. Teriyaki Boy. There’s the Fajitas place that’s run by Koreans (I forget the name). Dallas Barbecue. And all those Indian restaurants on 6th Avenue share a common kitchen, don’t you know.

Published by Laura

6 thoughts on “Go Outback!”

  1. Don’t forget Famous Ray’s Original pizza. NOt sure if it’s a chain or just the same name all over Manhattan.
    I have been to many of those chain restaurants because I drove across the country a few times and the first time I did it we stuck to the chains because we were young and scared of getting lost. The second time I avoided them like the plague and learned the enjoyment of finding the local greasy spoon in a town with a population of 300. My neighbor was overjoyed when Applebee’s opened down the street. So much so that they made a reservation on the day it opened. It’s been around almost a year and I don’t know that we’ll ever step in there.

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  2. Based on my limited experience, Red Lobster is quite good, Olive Garden is vile, and Outback is acceptable but no bargain. Applebees and TGIF are both a little better than Outback.
    I suspect that the success of these places is based on the shortage of information about quality for people who don’t eat out often and want to avoid the risk associated with trying a mom and pop place for the first time. The chains focus on consistency and predictability, which is what you want if this is the only restaurant meal you are going to eat this month.

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  3. I tend to avoid chain restaurants mainly because I don’t eat much meat. I hate burgers and fish/seafood and chicken is always iffy. We prefer Mexican restaurants or Thai restaurants–and can I just say, I have NEVER had such friendly service as when I’ve been to Thai restaurants with the kids. The kids knocked over a glass of water once, and you would have thought that they had turned rice grains into diamonds the way the staff treated them.
    But we go to Friendly’s a lot.

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  4. “I have NEVER had such friendly service as when I’ve been to Thai restaurants with the kids.”
    We’ve had very similar experiences with Thai places, especially at Bangkok Bistro in DC, even though I don’t think I ever saw anyone else bringing kids there.
    I think it is very strange that some people think that the big national chains are typical of Middle America (my home town has lots of independent restaurants (two Chinese, several Mexican-owned Mexican restaurants, etc.) but just a single Subway). As far as I can tell from my limited experience, the chains are just what’s visible from the interstate, and as Tom says, there’s safety in sticking with mediocrity especially when you’re just passing through. If there’s a hepatitis outbreak at the Sizzler you just ate at, it will make the national news. If it happened at a greasy spoon, you’ll never hear about it.

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  5. i don’t care much for chain restaurants, but my in-laws all live in the ‘burbs and that’s where they prefer to eat. so, when we’re visiting family, we eat at chains. again not what i would choose, but you know what? it’s not disastrous.
    the kind of snobbiness that looks down on olive garden is a special pet peeve of mine.

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  6. I look down on chain restaurants because I would much rather support a smaller restaurant. In the food biz, trust is key so most of your staff is family. When the restaurant does well, the trickle down effects are great for the family’s ecosystem of wealth. They buy more stores, they set up a travel agency, girl meets teacher named Ian :). Suffice to say the money stays local.
    As for Chotchkies* et al. : They are public companies , less Bertucci’s and they have an obligation to make as much money as they can while keeping operating costs as low as they possibly can.
    So while I’m happy to chug a beer or two at Flingers* before a movie at the mall , I would much rather sit down for a meal at non-chain restaurant.
    * Per the office space reference here is a link to the best who wants to be a millionaire question ever: http://youtube.com/watch?v=5monB4fIzy8

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