| Dimitri |
"The Ranger" <cuhulain_-98@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:11dd27qpbhj67df@corp.supernews.com...
> Brick <hrbricker@NOSPAM.ij.net> wrote in message
> news:42d678c7$1_2@spool9-west.superfeed.net...
> [snip]
>> There's a restaurant chain called 'Cracker Barrel' spotted along
>> the interstates throughout much of the country. They have featured
>> Country Fried Steak with Sawmill Gravy for as long as I can
>> remember. I never pass up a chance to sample it again. The dish is
>> quite popular in their restaruants and I've never heard anybody
>> complain about it.
>
> Let me be that first negative datapoint for you then.
>
> We visited a Cracker Barrel, the first I'd ever been to, on our trip
> back into Socal from AZ a few years ago.
<snip>
> The Ranger
Well you have just isolated what I consider a serious problem I am having and
have had. Run of the mill food is no longer acceptable. I find it increasingly
difficult to eat at an, Italian, Mexican, Steak House, BBQ Joint, and many other
restaurant types. Why you might ask. The reason is simple - I can do it better
at home and much cheaper at home. Unless the variety is great as in a Japanese
Bento Box I end up disappointed.
Please don't misunderstand me I'm not trying to pat myself on the back - I have
lots and lots of limitations maybe the food is just getting worse and worse. It
all tastes the same too - Yucky!
Is anyone else honing this problem?
Dimitri
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| Katra |
In article <W0xBe.2880$Ih7.942@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com>,
"Dimitri" <Dimitri_C@prodigy.net> wrote:
> "The Ranger" <cuhulain_-98@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:11dd27qpbhj67df@corp.supernews.com...
> > Brick <hrbricker@NOSPAM.ij.net> wrote in message
> > news:42d678c7$1_2@spool9-west.superfeed.net...
> > [snip]
> >> There's a restaurant chain called 'Cracker Barrel' spotted along
> >> the interstates throughout much of the country. They have featured
> >> Country Fried Steak with Sawmill Gravy for as long as I can
> >> remember. I never pass up a chance to sample it again. The dish is
> >> quite popular in their restaruants and I've never heard anybody
> >> complain about it.
> >
> > Let me be that first negative datapoint for you then.
> >
> > We visited a Cracker Barrel, the first I'd ever been to, on our trip
> > back into Socal from AZ a few years ago.
>
> <snip>
>
> > The Ranger
>
> Well you have just isolated what I consider a serious problem I am having and
> have had. Run of the mill food is no longer acceptable. I find it
> increasingly
> difficult to eat at an, Italian, Mexican, Steak House, BBQ Joint, and many
> other
> restaurant types. Why you might ask. The reason is simple - I can do it
> better
> at home and much cheaper at home. Unless the variety is great as in a
> Japanese
> Bento Box I end up disappointed.
>
> Please don't misunderstand me I'm not trying to pat myself on the back - I
> have
> lots and lots of limitations maybe the food is just getting worse and worse.
> It
> all tastes the same too - Yucky!
>
> Is anyone else honing this problem?
>
> Dimitri
>
>
Yes...
In fact, it went so far as when I wanted to take Dad out to dinner for
his birthday, he refused! We went to the grocery store and he got to
pick out what he wanted me to cook for him instead. ;-)
We ended up with sauteed tiger shrimp with mixed steamed veggies,
including sliced and marinated portabellos.
The MAJOR problem IMHO with eating out is that the food is drastically
over-salted! :-P
We pretty much only hit chinese buffets anymore if and when we eat out.
--
K.
Sprout the Mung Bean to reply...
There is no need to change the world. All we have to do is toilet train the world and we'll never have to change it again. -- Swami Beyondanada
>,,<Cat's Haven Hobby Farm>,,<Katraatcenturyteldotnet>,,<
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=0&userid=katra
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| Dee Randall |
"Katra" <KatraMungBean@centurytel.net> wrote in message
news:KatraMungBean-A49AFE.12472214072005@corp.supernews.com...
> In article <W0xBe.2880$Ih7.942@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com>,
> "Dimitri" <Dimitri_C@prodigy.net> wrote:
>
>> "The Ranger" <cuhulain_-98@yahoo.com> wrote in message
>> news:11dd27qpbhj67df@corp.supernews.com...
>> > Brick <hrbricker@NOSPAM.ij.net> wrote in message
>> > news:42d678c7$1_2@spool9-west.superfeed.net...
>> > [snip]
>> >> There's a restaurant chain called 'Cracker Barrel' spotted along
>> >> the interstates throughout much of the country. They have featured
>> >> Country Fried Steak with Sawmill Gravy for as long as I can
>> >> remember. I never pass up a chance to sample it again. The dish is
>> >> quite popular in their restaruants and I've never heard anybody
>> >> complain about it.
>> >
>> > Let me be that first negative datapoint for you then.
>> >
>> > We visited a Cracker Barrel, the first I'd ever been to, on our trip
>> > back into Socal from AZ a few years ago.
>>
>> <snip>
>>
>> > The Ranger
>>
>> Well you have just isolated what I consider a serious problem I am having
>> and
>> have had. Run of the mill food is no longer acceptable. I find it
>> increasingly
>> difficult to eat at an, Italian, Mexican, Steak House, BBQ Joint, and
>> many
>> other
>> restaurant types. Why you might ask. The reason is simple - I can do it
>> better
>> at home and much cheaper at home. Unless the variety is great as in a
>> Japanese
>> Bento Box I end up disappointed.
>>
>> Please don't misunderstand me I'm not trying to pat myself on the back -
>> I
>> have
>> lots and lots of limitations maybe the food is just getting worse and
>> worse.
>> It
>> all tastes the same too - Yucky!
>>
>> Is anyone else honing this problem?
>>
>> Dimitri
>>
>>
>
> Yes...
>
> In fact, it went so far as when I wanted to take Dad out to dinner for
> his birthday, he refused! We went to the grocery store and he got to
> pick out what he wanted me to cook for him instead. ;-)
>
> We ended up with sauteed tiger shrimp with mixed steamed veggies,
> including sliced and marinated portabellos.
>
> The MAJOR problem IMHO with eating out is that the food is drastically
> over-salted! :-P
>
> We pretty much only hit chinese buffets anymore if and when we eat out.
> K.
It's not often one can find or afford a dinner better than you can cook for
yourself. Even a Chinese Buffet in CT that I went to a few weeks ago that
was one that I said that I would go back to, a week or so later we were
stuck at a dealership waiting for a repair close by that particular chinese
buffet. Thumbs DOWN. How could it go from good to bad! A week or so later
for my husband's birthday we picked a Thai restaurant that had good reviews
and very reasonably priced, even though his father and cousin were not truly
Asian food lovers. They found some 'regular' food they could eat and my
husband's and my Red and Green Curry inspired me to make some Thai food
again. Now that's unusual to eat at a restaurant that inspires one to go
home and try to duplicate the pleasure. It even had the simple dessert
Mango and Sticky Rice, the mango being ripe, and the sticky rice enjoyable;
$6.95 and enough for three of us. I felt that all was not lost.
Dee Dee
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| sf |
On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 17:11:18 GMT, Dimitri wrote:
>
> Well you have just isolated what I consider a serious problem I am having and
> have had. Run of the mill food is no longer acceptable. I find it increasingly
> difficult to eat at an, Italian, Mexican, Steak House, BBQ Joint, and many other
> restaurant types. Why you might ask. The reason is simple - I can do it better
> at home and much cheaper at home. Unless the variety is great as in a Japanese
> Bento Box I end up disappointed.
>
> Please don't misunderstand me I'm not trying to pat myself on the back - I have
> lots and lots of limitations maybe the food is just getting worse and worse. It
> all tastes the same too - Yucky!
>
> Is anyone else honing this problem?
>
I thought my problem was that I'm spoiled by all the really good eats
I can get within 20 minutes of my house. It seems like when I travel
(and it doesn't have to be very far to find the Land of Chain Food),
I'm just not satisfied with the meal and feel fleeced when I have to
pay the bill for the stuff they call food.
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| Lisa Ann |
Dimitri wrote:
>Well you have just isolated what I consider a serious problem I am having and
>have had. Run of the mill food is no longer acceptable. I find it increasingly
>difficult to eat at an, Italian, Mexican, Steak House, BBQ Joint, and many other
>restaurant types. Why you might ask. The reason is simple - I can do it better
>at home and much cheaper at home. Unless the variety is great as in a Japanese
>Bento Box I end up disappointed.
<snip>
>Is anyone else honing this problem?
Well, I am. Which has made it difficult on nights when I don't want to
cook after work (because I get off work at 8pm). Given a choice
between fast food or "nice" chain restaurant...more times than not, I
just come home and eat a salad.
I know I don't post a lot here - and probably never about actually
cooking! - but I've been lurking here for years...and just lurking has
improved my cooking - and expectations - to such a degree that I'm
terribly spoiled now. I don't want food that has been dumbed down to
the least-common denominator of taste - and that's what's being offered
so often these days.
Lisa Ann
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| Cindy Fuller |
In article <W0xBe.2880$Ih7.942@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com>,
"Dimitri" <Dimitri_C@prodigy.net> wrote:
> "The Ranger" <cuhulain_-98@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:11dd27qpbhj67df@corp.supernews.com...
> > Brick <hrbricker@NOSPAM.ij.net> wrote in message
> > news:42d678c7$1_2@spool9-west.superfeed.net...
> > [snip]
> >> There's a restaurant chain called 'Cracker Barrel' spotted along
> >> the interstates throughout much of the country. They have featured
> >> Country Fried Steak with Sawmill Gravy for as long as I can
> >> remember. I never pass up a chance to sample it again. The dish is
> >> quite popular in their restaruants and I've never heard anybody
> >> complain about it.
> >
> > Let me be that first negative datapoint for you then.
> >
> > We visited a Cracker Barrel, the first I'd ever been to, on our trip
> > back into Socal from AZ a few years ago.
>
> <snip>
>
> > The Ranger
>
> Well you have just isolated what I consider a serious problem I am having and
> have had. Run of the mill food is no longer acceptable. I find it
> increasingly
> difficult to eat at an, Italian, Mexican, Steak House, BBQ Joint, and many
> other
> restaurant types. Why you might ask. The reason is simple - I can do it
> better
> at home and much cheaper at home. Unless the variety is great as in a
> Japanese
> Bento Box I end up disappointed.
>
> Please don't misunderstand me I'm not trying to pat myself on the back - I
> have
> lots and lots of limitations maybe the food is just getting worse and worse.
> It
> all tastes the same too - Yucky!
>
> Is anyone else honing this problem?
>
Yes. It's the least common denominator problem. Restaurateurs have to
dumb down their food for the masses. A Chinese restaurant in, say,
Sheboygan, has to have certain items on the menu to bring in customers
(sweet and sour pork with gloppy neon-pink sauce, for example). In
addition, some customers don't have much experience with any cuisine
more haute than Denny's and may not appreciate well-prepared, authentic
food. Others just see food as something they have to have to keep
going, not as a source of sensory pleasure, so they accept salty, greasy
stuff.
I firmly believe that if more people took the time to learn how to cook,
even simple things, they would reject the crap that many restaurants are
passing off as food. It might also improve their health, as they could
better control the amount of fat, sugar, and salt they take in. And, as
Dimitri pointed out, home-cooked food is cheaper cost- and health-wise.
Cindy, jumping off soap box
--
C.J. Fuller
Delete the obvious to email me
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| The Ranger |
Dimitri <Dimitri_C@prodigy.net> wrote in message
news:W0xBe.2880$Ih7.942@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...
> "The Ranger" <cuhulain_-98@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:11dd27qpbhj67df@corp.supernews.com...
> > Brick <hrbricker@NOSPAM.ij.net> wrote in message
news:42d678c7$1_2@spool9-west.superfeed.net...
> > [snip]
> >> There's a restaurant chain called 'Cracker Barrel' spotted
> >> along the interstates throughout much of the country. They
> >> have featured Country Fried Steak with Sawmill Gravy for
> >> as long as I can remember. I never pass up a chance to
> >> sample it again. The dish is quite popular in their restaruants
> >> and I've never heard anybody complain about it.
> >>
> > Let me be that first negative datapoint for you then.
> >
> > We visited a Cracker Barrel, the first I'd ever been to, on
> > our trip back into Socal from AZ a few years ago.
>
> <snip>
>
> Well you have just isolated what I consider a serious problem
> I am having and have had. Run of the mill food is no longer
> acceptable. I find it increasingly difficult to eat at an Italian,
> Mexican, Steak House, BBQ Joint, and many other restaurant
> types. Why you might ask. The reason is simple - I can do
> it better at home and much cheaper at home. Unless the variety
> is great as in a Japanese Bento Box I end up disappointed.
>
> Please don't misunderstand me I'm not trying to pat myself on
> the back - I have lots and lots of limitations maybe the food is
> just getting worse and worse. It all tastes the same too -
> Yucky!
>
> Is anyone else honing this problem?
I think you're approaching this from with dual-tines: as someone that is
experienced as a gourmet cook and simultaneously as someone that's also
more experienced from the consumer's perspective.
I like to joke that my FIL is enjoying his senior moment because he
speaks his mind quickly and doesn't allow mismanaged problems to be
shifted back over to his shoulders. His favorite rant is reservations.
Gahdz ferbid the restaurant even be off by a minute because he is at
that maitre d' station by the time the second hand has ticked over to
:01 asking if there will be a problem with his being seated. He's also
become more expecting of food quality to meet the cost so his food
better not sit under a heat lamp to cool.
Me, I've taken to voicing my displeasure more frequently but again
that's because I can apply experiences most people don't have. For
instance, I've worked in several restaurants and have a good idea when
to cut someone some slack. I've been treated to many restaurants during
my career in high tech. I now understand that a business does me no
favors by taking my money.
Do I enjoy going out to chain restaurants over some mom-n-pop place? It
depends on who I'm dining with and what the occasion will be. Are some
mom-n-pop places worse than any national chain on its worse day? Most
definitely.
My experiences with Olive Garden have been mixed. The one in Lubbock, TX
was great; good service, good food, good prices. The one in Palo Alpo
has been two-two many disasters with someone else paying the tabs. My
experience with Cracker Barrel was nowhere near as orgasmic food-wise as
many other posters. My experience at The Place was great, as have my
experiences at too-numerous other mom-n-pops.
Can I do similar items to what I get out? Sometimes but most often,
these days, I try and spend more time at the higher-end restaurants that
are doing something novel (not necessarily for novelties' sake) with the
food that I wouldn't try at home. It's a conundrum with all three
daughter-units.
The Ranger
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| Curly Sue |
On Thu, 14 Jul 2005 17:11:18 GMT, "Dimitri" <Dimitri_C@prodigy.net>
wrote:
<snip>
>Well you have just isolated what I consider a serious problem I am having and
>have had. Run of the mill food is no longer acceptable. I find it increasingly
>difficult to eat at an, Italian, Mexican, Steak House, BBQ Joint, and many other
>restaurant types. Why you might ask. The reason is simple - I can do it better
>at home and much cheaper at home. Unless the variety is great as in a Japanese
>Bento Box I end up disappointed.
>
>Please don't misunderstand me I'm not trying to pat myself on the back - I have
>lots and lots of limitations maybe the food is just getting worse and worse. It
>all tastes the same too - Yucky!
>
>Is anyone else honing this problem?
I've been lucky in finding good restaurant food wherever I've lived.
Having said that, I don't eat out on a routine basis, mainly because I
never developed the habit. ( I also don't like spending the money.)
When I was growing up, we rarely ate out. My parents eat out more
these days, but there's no shortage of good restaurants there.
It probably depends on where you live. One of my co-workers is from
Indianapolis and can't find decent food when he visits (or so he
says).
Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
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| Edwin Pawlowski |
"Curly Sue" <address.in.sig@nyc.rr.com> wrote in message
>
> I've been lucky in finding good restaurant food wherever I've lived.
>
> My parents eat out more
> these days, but there's no shortage of good restaurants there.
>
I guess it depends on what you consider good. We have a couple in town that
I consider good, but my wife or I can out-cook them at any time. Then there
are a couple that are great, better than what I can do at home.
The good restaurant will be $25 for the two of us, the great one will be
$150.
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| Curly Sue |
On Sat, 16 Jul 2005 03:46:06 GMT, "Edwin Pawlowski" <esp@snet.net>
wrote:
>
>"Curly Sue" <address.in.sig@nyc.rr.com> wrote in message
>>
>> I've been lucky in finding good restaurant food wherever I've lived.
>>
>> My parents eat out more
>> these days, but there's no shortage of good restaurants there.
>>
>
>I guess it depends on what you consider good. We have a couple in town that
>I consider good, but my wife or I can out-cook them at any time. Then there
>are a couple that are great, better than what I can do at home.
>
It probably also depends on where you live and knowing where to go.
Sue(tm)
Lead me not into temptation... I can find it myself!
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| Pixmaker |
Oh, my, have you struck a chord!
During the past 10-15 years, it appears to me that the quality of
restaurant meals has deteriorated significantly. To be fair, this
perception coincides with my growing in skills as a cook at home.
I believe that most people, with the great exception of most
contributors to this NG, simply don't cook much or very well.
Accordingly, they simply don't know what good cooking is and thus,
there's not much of a need for restaurants to provide it.
A few years ago, I, too, became disillusioned with paying $125 or more
for a meal for two that was mediocre at best. And this at a growing
number of so-called "upscale" restaurants. The annoyance was caused
by the fact that I did not receive "value" for what I paid. The
cooking was poor, not to mention an increasing reduction in the
quality of service, presentation, restaurant ambience and the like,
over the years.
I have come to learn that, for $25-$35, I can beat a lot of expensive
restaurants hands down, if I want to!
I believe it's because our society has changed in that people don't
cook; they rely upon prepared foods and packaged meals, don't eat very
many meals as a family, etc. Lifestyles change and the free
marketplace changes to accommodate these different lifestyles.
Regarding Cracker Barrel, I agree that it's offerings are kinda grim
and surely overpriced. We won't stop there any more.
FWIW, I'm a great fan of the "working-man's" diners. These small,
usually owner-operated places can have some really good, plain cooked
food. The owner is usually the guy at the register (or grill) and the
guys in the kitchen (or grill) have been there a long time. Often the
staff is family.
Some of the best steaks, chops, soups and even burgers I've eaten are
from these places. No, you won't find a three-pepper demi-glace, but
you will find fresh mushrooms and gravy made from the pan...not a mix!
At least two of the diners I frequent are owned by men who spent years
as chefs in some of those "upscale" restaurants and they bring their
knowledge of good cooking to the masses (so to speak.)
Often, we eat our dinner at noon in one of these places and then just
a light meal at home in the evening. 'Tis said that's healthier. May
be, but it sure tastes good!
Those who lurk or contribute to this NG are the rare folk who
understand what it means to "COOK." I suspect you have no idea how
rare you really are.
Pixmaker inFLL
==========================
It's not the heat, it's the humidity
==========================
(Think the humidity's bad?
You should watch us vote!)
==========================
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| Pixmaker |
Oh, my, have you struck a chord!
During the past 10-15 years, it appears to me that the quality of
restaurant meals has deteriorated significantly. To be fair, this
perception coincides with my growing in skills as a cook at home.
I believe that most people, with the great exception of most
contributors to this NG, simply don't cook much or very well.
Accordingly, they simply don't know what good cooking is and thus,
there's not much of a need for restaurants to provide it.
A few years ago, I, too, became disillusioned with paying $125 or more
for a meal for two that was mediocre at best. And this at a growing
number of so-called "upscale" restaurants. The annoyance was caused
by the fact that I did not receive "value" for what I paid. The
cooking was poor, not to mention an increasing reduction in the
quality of service, presentation, restaurant ambience and the like,
over the years.
I have come to learn that, for $25-$35, I can beat a lot of expensive
restaurants hands down, if I want to!
I believe it's because our society has changed in that people don't
cook; they rely upon prepared foods and packaged meals, don't eat very
many meals as a family, etc. Lifestyles change and the free
marketplace changes to accommodate these different lifestyles.
Regarding Cracker Barrel, I agree that it's offerings are kinda grim
and surely overpriced. We won't stop there any more.
FWIW, I'm a great fan of the "working-man's" diners. These small,
usually owner-operated places can have some really good, plain cooked
food. The owner is usually the guy at the register (or grill) and the
guys in the kitchen (or grill) have been there a long time. Often the
staff is family.
Some of the best steaks, chops, soups and even burgers I've eaten are
from these places. No, you won't find a three-pepper demi-glace, but
you will find fresh mushrooms and gravy made from the pan...not a mix!
At least two of the diners I frequent are owned by men who spent years
as chefs in some of those "upscale" restaurants and they bring their
knowledge of good cooking to the masses (so to speak.)
Often, we eat our dinner at noon in one of these places and then just
a light meal at home in the evening. 'Tis said that's healthier. May
be, but it sure tastes good!
Those who lurk or contribute to this NG are the rare folk who
understand what it means to "COOK." I suspect you have no idea how
rare you really are.
Pixmaker inFLL
==========================
It's not the heat, it's the humidity
==========================
(Think the humidity's bad?
You should watch us vote!)
==========================
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