Since Covid, we still haven't had a solid good dinner at a restaurant.

[iamwhatiseem]

Went out today needing to get a new comforter set and grocery store.
We dared to go to Mai Thai in Bloomington... thinking maybe restaurants are getting better now... maybe?
Not really.
My Thai is one of the better chain of Asian restaurants. Not super awesome, but far better than the usual buffet Asian fare all over the place.
Sigh. The rice was overcooked, not enough sauce and I am pretty sure they gave me chicken and not the pork I ordered. And yes, not being able to tell if it is chicken or pork is a pretty major deal. I am pretty sure they are now buying their chicken/pork from the same places as other shitty Asian restaurants buy from.. thinly cut..shriveled leathery looking pieces of protein.
And it was nearly all bamboo shoots - which I am not a fan of.

Are restaurants ever going to get good again??

 

[Polishprince]

I went to a local restaurant serving Mexican cuisine this week- Taco Bell- and found the food to be as delightful as ever.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

I went to a local restaurant serving Mexican cuisine this week- Taco Bell- and found the food to be as delightful as ever.

The first part of your sentence explains the second part very well

 

[Confederate Soldier]

Maybe you're just a bitch like my aunt and uncle. They complain about every plate of food set in front of them.



I've had some fantastic meals when I go out to eat. I've only ever had one problem, and the staff were very apologetic about it. They gave me another meal, on the house.

 

[Ringtone]

Went out today needing to get a new comforter set and grocery store.
We dared to go to Mai Thai in Bloomington... thinking maybe restaurants are getting better now... maybe?
Not really.
My Thai is one of the better chain of Asian restaurants. Not super awesome, but far better than the usual buffet Asian fare all over the place.
Sigh. The rice was overcooked, not enough sauce and I am pretty sure they gave me chicken and not the pork I ordered. And yes, not being able to tell if it is chicken or pork is a pretty major deal. I am pretty sure they are now buying their chicken/pork from the same places as other shitty Asian restaurants buy from.. thinly cut..shriveled leathery looking pieces of protein.
And it was nearly all bamboo shoots - which I am not a fan of.

Are restaurants ever going to get good again??

Actually, there's an excellent Asian buffet in my neighborhood, and it does huge business. Indeed, it survived the COVID lockdown via takeout orders. The key to its excellence: quality poultry, accomplished chefs, the heated serving bins are closely monitored.

 

[JustAGuy1]

Went out today needing to get a new comforter set and grocery store.
We dared to go to Mai Thai in Bloomington... thinking maybe restaurants are getting better now... maybe?
Not really.
My Thai is one of the better chain of Asian restaurants. Not super awesome, but far better than the usual buffet Asian fare all over the place.
Sigh. The rice was overcooked, not enough sauce and I am pretty sure they gave me chicken and not the pork I ordered. And yes, not being able to tell if it is chicken or pork is a pretty major deal. I am pretty sure they are now buying their chicken/pork from the same places as other shitty Asian restaurants buy from.. thinly cut..shriveled leathery looking pieces of protein.
And it was nearly all bamboo shoots - which I am not a fan of.

Are restaurants ever going to get good again??

We have found the same thing here in Nebraska. Places we loved but simply are not the same anymore.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

Maybe you're just a bitch like my aunt and uncle. They complain about every plate of food set in front of them.



I've had some fantastic meals when I go out to eat. I've only ever had one problem, and the staff were very apologetic about it. They gave me another meal, on the house.

Not even close.

 

[TeeDub]

Went out today needing to get a new comforter set and grocery store.
We dared to go to Mai Thai in Bloomington... thinking maybe restaurants are getting better now... maybe?
Not really.
My Thai is one of the better chain of Asian restaurants. Not super awesome, but far better than the usual buffet Asian fare all over the place.
Sigh. The rice was overcooked, not enough sauce and I am pretty sure they gave me chicken and not the pork I ordered. And yes, not being able to tell if it is chicken or pork is a pretty major deal. I am pretty sure they are now buying their chicken/pork from the same places as other shitty Asian restaurants buy from.. thinly cut..shriveled leathery looking pieces of protein.
And it was nearly all bamboo shoots - which I am not a fan of.

Are restaurants ever going to get good again??

Asian buffet, good luck with that.

 

[Concerned American]

Maybe you're just a bitch like my aunt and uncle. They complain about every plate of food set in front of them.



I've had some fantastic meals when I go out to eat. I've only ever had one problem, and the staff were very apologetic about it. They gave me another meal, on the house.

It is clear that you don't live in Spokane. They wouldn't know a good restaurant in that town to save their lives. Chinese sucks. Italian is acceptable. Mexican barely makes the grade. Outback is the best steakhouse. A few places claim to have formal dining--could have fooled me. BBQ is Dickeys or cooked to leather. Even pizza--they have a couple of places with good pies, but they want $35 for a medium and a large will cost nearly $50. We head to Idaho if we want a decent meal.

 

[Confederate Soldier]

It is clear that you don't live in Spokane. They wouldn't know a good restaurant in that town to save their lives. Chinese sucks. Italian is acceptable. Mexican barely makes the grade. Outback is the best steakhouse. A few places claim to have formal dining--could have fooled me. BBQ is Dickeys or cooked to leather. Even pizza--they have a couple of places with good pies, but they want $35 for a medium and a large will cost nearly $50. We head to Idaho if we want a decent meal.

I'm living in small town, coal country Pennsylvania. There are tons of small local diners, restaurants, etc. Haven't had any complaints. All the food is pretty good, even great.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

Went out today needing to get a new comforter set and grocery store.
We dared to go to Mai Thai in Bloomington... thinking maybe restaurants are getting better now... maybe?
Not really.
My Thai is one of the better chain of Asian restaurants. Not super awesome, but far better than the usual buffet Asian fare all over the place.
Sigh. The rice was overcooked, not enough sauce and I am pretty sure they gave me chicken and not the pork I ordered. And yes, not being able to tell if it is chicken or pork is a pretty major deal. I am pretty sure they are now buying their chicken/pork from the same places as other shitty Asian restaurants buy from.. thinly cut..shriveled leathery looking pieces of protein.
And it was nearly all bamboo shoots - which I am not a fan of.

Are restaurants ever going to get good again??

It's almost become impossible to get a decent burger these days.
We decided to make some smash burgers this weekend on the flat top.

 

[Concerned American]

I'm living in small town, coal country Pennsylvania. There are tons of small local diners, restaurants, etc. Haven't had any complaints. All the food is pretty good, even great.

That has been the story in pretty much any locale I have ever been in until Spokane. These people have no idea what good food is and their restaurant management sucks as well. I went into Red Lobster a couple years ago (last time). They did not have shrimp, lobster, crab or daily fish blaming it on the fact that Father's Day was the day prior. C'mon. Have they never had a fathers day before? And for this lousy food and service, they pay their help $15+/hr and expect 20% tip on an inflated bill. Thank you is not in their vocabulary--the usual retort is "There's that."

 

[Hang on Sloopy]

Went out today needing to get a new comforter set and grocery store.
We dared to go to Mai Thai in Bloomington... thinking maybe restaurants are getting better now... maybe?
Not really.
My Thai is one of the better chain of Asian restaurants. Not super awesome, but far better than the usual buffet Asian fare all over the place.
Sigh. The rice was overcooked, not enough sauce and I am pretty sure they gave me chicken and not the pork I ordered. And yes, not being able to tell if it is chicken or pork is a pretty major deal. I am pretty sure they are now buying their chicken/pork from the same places as other shitty Asian restaurants buy from.. thinly cut..shriveled leathery looking pieces of protein.
And it was nearly all bamboo shoots - which I am not a fan of.

Are restaurants ever going to get good again??

Ever notice there are no cats and dogs nearby at these places?

how was that chicken again?

 

[WinterBorn]

We have been out to eat numerous times this year. The food has been excellent. Maybe Atlanta just has better places to eat?

 

[Harry Dresden]

love the restaurants were i am at.....

 

[iamwhatiseem]

We have found the same thing here in Nebraska. Places we loved but simply are not the same anymore.

Two of our old favorites closed, one re-opened but under a different owner that clearly doesn't pay attention to the food.
The number of single owned establishments that closed in the past 2 years is heartbreaking.

 

[iamwhatiseem]

We have been out to eat numerous times this year. The food has been excellent. Maybe Atlanta just has better places to eat?

Doubt it. The city I live in has been known for decades for the food.
I am gonna say at least 7-8 have been on Food Network etc. Guy Fieri has been here twice, Man vs. Food, Alton Brown... pretty unusual for a city of only 84,000 people.

 

[sparky]

This is brilliant! Written by a restaurant owner:

As I walk into the grocery store with 30 other people at the same time, I think about my restaurant which allows parties of 6 total, and meticulously spaces out reservations by 10 minutes ensuring guests that aren’t from the same party do not arrive at the same time.

As I take a cart, that has had just the handle sanitized, I think about my restaurant which invested thousands of dollars (so far) on ink and paper to print disposable menus to ensure no two guests touch the same menu.

As I walk over to the produce aisle with 15-20 other people around me, I’m reminded of the strict “no mingling / no walking around the restaurant other than to use the washroom or enter/exit” policy we have in place and the 6ft distance between tables which has cut our capacity in half.

As I watch the woman next to me pick up apples with her hand, check them over closely and then put them back on the open pile and repeats this until she finds the perfect apples — the same thing that all other people that day who want an apple will then do and then put those apples into their mouths, I think about the two step sanitation process in place at my restaurant for all cutlery and dishes and glassware in between every single guest, and the sanitation of every surface guests touch (tables, chairs, salt and pepper shakers, etc).

As I watch the man in the next aisle over ignore or not notice the directional arrows on the ground, I think about my restaurant and the constant redirecting our staff does of guests - by locking certain doors, blocking areas off and the work my team does to simply not allow guests to walk where they are not supposed to.

As I walk down the cereal aisle, I see a person with their mask off so they can talk on the phone, and I’m reminded of my restaurant where our masking policy has lost us so much business.

As I check out at the cashier, I use my debit card to pay and see the plastic film covering the terminal. It was not sanitized after the person before me used it. I am reminded of the sanitizer used on the debit terminals in between each guest every time at my restaurant.

As I stand at a crowded exit trying to leave, I’m reminded of the detailed contact tracing in place at my restaurant that records the name, phone number, table number, arrival and exit time, as well as the server and section the guest sat in that is in place at my restaurant— not one of those pieces of information was taken from any customer here.

As I get into my car and watch all these people leave the store, I wonder which person will visit my establishment after contracting covid at this grocery store, and I wonder why on earth my restaurant will be blamed as the source.

Restaurants are being targeted as the “source” of Covid infections because we are one of the ONLY industries required to provide contact tracing.

Someone with Covid could have gone to Costco, Home Depot, Walmart, the Mall food court....any grocery store, etc. Yet it’s the restaurant that took their detailed information that will be forced to close and deemed responsible for the infection.

You want to blame restaurants for the spread after thousands of dollars investing in equipment, training and stricter policies than ANYWHERE ELSE?!

PROVE IT

#saverestaurants

~S~