chain restaurants vs. local

[USS Triumphant]

There's an aspect to all of this that I haven't seen anyone mention - the local chain. There's a absolutely awesome chain of 5 asian restaurants in Columbia, SC, called Miyo's. They strive to provide a consistent experience across all 5 of their locations. And there are several chains of Springfield-style cashew chicken joints in Springfield, MO, that maintain a common menu and experience in their locations. I would love to see any of these spread all over the country. But would that, then, make them somehow less "legitimate" or their food lesser than it is now? Are there national chains that exist now that came from beginnings like this anymore, or are they all Darden-esque corporate creations?

Then, sometimes there is the fear of finding something really GOOD, because if I'm in a city 150 miles from home for business the last thing I want is to learn a new taste that I will crave when I get home. I'd rather just eat at Chili's, knowing I can eat there again when at home. (I have made this mistake in the past, and now there are places we drive 2 hours both ways for on special occassions!)

Huh, what? I can't think of anything better than that, that's fucking perfect! I'm not a foodie by any stretch or whatever, but some of my best food memories are about restaurants in places I visited once and never again. Having the memory of a great meal forever is as good as it gets, why would you deny yourself that?

Because I frequently want it again - and will have it again, if I can - and that can be very inconvenient, sometimes. And one of the most irritating things in the world to me is when I remember a flavor that I can't have again, because the restaurant is gone, or (in the case of products) the company changed the formula or discontinued the product.

There was a restaurant about 1,200 miles from where I live that I ate what they called teriyaki (it was GOOD - but I've yet to replicate it with anything anyone else calls teriyaki, or even by attempts at home) from a handful of times 26 years ago. It has been out of business for more than a decade. I still crave it, strongly and uselessly, about once or twice a month. And Nacho Cheese Doritos are a disappointment every time I open a bag, since I still crave the formula they changed away from back in '90. I can't take satisfaction from the memories - they just serve as reminders of what I can't have.

And yes, I know I risk this with every place I eat from - Outback Steakhouse could go out of business next week. But some places are needlessly riskier.

 

[Nerdius Maximus]

I eat wherever the food tastes good. Period.

Yeah. I've got chains that I eat at regularly because I like them, but I've got all my local places that I know and trust. If a local place sucked compared to its chain equivalent, I wouldn't go there, I'd go to the chain. Fortunately I'm blessed with an abundance of great places to choose from, with food that's far superior to the chains. I'm sure that's not the case everywhere. I'd say my favorite chain is Texas Roadhouse. They have great...er...well, everything.

 

[the 4th hanson bro]

I went to Tulsa a couple years ago on business. I ate at a Texas Roadhouse and ordered a beer with my dinner. The waitress asked me if I wanted the beer on a separate receipt. That's the only place/time that's ever happened.

I guess some companies won't cover a beer with dinner. For myself, I wouldn't want to work for one of those companies.

 

[Timby]

There's an aspect to all of this that I haven't seen anyone mention - the local chain. There's a absolutely awesome chain of 5 asian restaurants in Columbia, SC, called Miyo's. They strive to provide a consistent experience across all 5 of their locations. And there are several chains of Springfield-style cashew chicken joints in Springfield, MO, that maintain a common menu and experience in their locations. I would love to see any of these spread all over the country. But would that, then, make them somehow less "legitimate" or their food lesser than it is now?

The food would certainly change, simply because it isn't cost-effective to use locally sourced food that you can get in South Carolina across the country. Food cost is king in food & beverage, especially when you have multiple locations. Legitimacy? Eh, that's not really the right term to use, I think -- Applebee's is a "legitimate" restaurant, in that people come there, they order food, they receive it, they pay for it and they leave. It's more a question of quality -- it becomes much more difficult to enforce exacting and specific brand standards in food when you spread your operation over a larger and larger area.

Locals can easily, easily suck. There's a small pizza company here in Madison called Glass Nickel, and year in and year out, it's voted the best pizza in the city by the readers of Madison Magazine. But it's terrible -- the crust tastes like cardboard, the toppings are bland and at all the locations around the city, the pizza comes out horrendously overcooked. But if you go to places like Yelp, or other social media outlets, you'll see that that opinion is shared by people who actually go there. Conversely, there's another small pizza place, Cafe La Bellitalia, which has the best pizza I've ever had in my life outside of Dan's Pizza in the Chicago suburbs (and jkladis will back me up on that one, especially the double-decker).

Sometimes, you just have to try. If my wife and I have a bad experience at a restaurant, at worst we're out $25 - 30, no more than the cost of seeing a movie in a theater and it turning out to be terrible. At least we then know not to go back.

Are there national chains that exist now that came from beginnings like this anymore, or are they all Darden-esque corporate creations?

Hard to say, off the top of my head. Uno Chicago Grill began as Pizzeria Uno, a restaurant opened by Ike Sewell in downtown Chicago back in the early 1940s before it got franchised to hell (and became fucking awful) in the early '80s. The recipe at the original store, at Ohio and Wabash, has never been tampered with, though, as far as I know.

I'm pretty sure that Potbelly Sandwich Works and Morton's Steakhouse both began as one-store operations in Chicago before being sold and franchised, too.

 

[Starbreaker]

There really aren't a lot of local restaurants in the area unless you want fried chicken or a vegetable plate. I would rather eat chicken tenders at O'Charley's, a nice juicy mushroom swiss burger at Chili's, or a big bowl of grilled chicken and pasta with a spinach and artichoke dip appetizer at Applebees. I mostly just drive through the Choo Choo BBQ or go into Quizno's now though if I want fast food. I used to frequent Taco Bell, Wendy's, Burger King, and Krystal... but I've grown sick of all that stuff.

 

[sojourner]

Here in the south we have a chain that I feel manages to put out an excellent and consistent product - Sonny's BBQ. I eat there at least twice a month. It's the only chain I frequent and crave.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Precisely why I rather avoid local joints; it is more torturous to know you will never be able experience that divine dish again, than to rather never know and only be familiar with readily available foods; to have that lifelong craving for a great dish, and never be able to satiate yourself on it again, ugh, no thanks. Memory be damned, it is not the same as the real thing. I am no advocate of "better to have loved and lost"

That's completely incomprehensible for me. Denying yourself new experiences (culinary or otherwise) in case you might like it and therefore miss it when it's gone? Whaaa?

 

[Miss Chicken]

I don't eat out very often. If I do it is a pub bistro/counter meal rather than a restaurant.

Here is a sample menu from my local pub. If I had to select from this menu I would probably choose the Tasmanian scallops as a main course and the pavlova as a desert.

 

[Timby]

That's completely incomprehensible for me. Denying yourself new experiences (culinary or otherwise) in case you might like it and therefore miss it when it's gone? Whaaa?

Yeah, I don't get that, either.

I had one of the best burgers of my life while on a three-hour layover in the Minneapolis airport last month, at a place called Ike's on Summit -- it's an airport extension of a downtown Minneapolis restaurant of the same name. Seriously, this burger was a life-changing experience, and I didn't think this was possible when eating a patty of meat, with some ingredients on top, between two slices of bread. But it happened.

Now, if I'm ever in downtown Minneapolis again (not out of the question, since I have friends there and I travel semi-frequently for work), I know that I have to go to the downtown Ike's. I would never have known this if I had decided to park at Chili's Too or Burger King.

 

[USS Triumphant]

That's completely incomprehensible for me. Denying yourself new experiences (culinary or otherwise) in case you might like it and therefore miss it when it's gone? Whaaa?

Imagine you were introduced to the perfect woman (or man, I'm not sure what sex you are or what way you swing ) for you. Beautiful, sexy, graceful, charming, intelligent, imaginative and yet down-to-Earth, and interested in you and with common interests and causes to you, but also with enough differences to be exotic and interesting to you. I'm sure you have an idea of what I mean in your mind - go with that. Now, imagine that you were told that you could spend a single day and night with that person - and then you could never, ever see them again. You will spend the rest of your life missing them, longing for them. Others may come along, and may be special in their own way, but they will only find their own places in your heart, mind, soul, and life - they will never fill that specific void.

Might you not choose to give that day and night a complete pass?

It's like that. Only with food. And more irritating than truly heartbreaking. But still...

 

[Gepard]

Man, I had no idea chain vs. local was such serious business. I've eaten at both and don't recall being amazed by the difference.

 

[Spot's Meow]

Another thing I just thought of that influences my decision is money. If I had more money, I would not feel so bad about trying out a new local place that I might end up not liking. But at the moment, with me being unemployed and my boyfriend not earning much as a grad student, on the rare occasions that we go out to eat we want to be absolutely sure we are getting something we will love.

 

[sojourner]

But under your example, others will never come along because you won't take the chance to begin with.

 

[{ Emilia }]

Might you not choose to give that day and night a complete pass?

No.

Just no.

I love trying new stuff, I love cooking (specially for friends and family), I like variety, new tastes. When I'm in a different country I eat local stuff (Curry for breakfast on the Maldives, lovely). I just really enjoy it. I'm too curious to give that a pass.

I don't go to chains cause (like the iguana said) there aren't actually many chains here (apart from the usual fast food stuff) there is a nice variety of really good private restaurants. Why should I support some chain with random standard dishes? Not interested, sorry.

 

[USS Triumphant]

But under your example, others will never come along because you won't take the chance to begin with.

Untrue. If I knew I had much longer, or even if the time was left unspecified (as, in real life, such things generally are), I would go for it. But for such a brief moment, torturous forever after? No thanks.

But also bear in mind that I am stating a principle, and I am all-too-fallible - put me in a distant town for a week, and I will almost certainly try some local (probably Chinese or Mongolian) restaurant or two. I just know I will regret it - either because it isn't good... or because it IS.

 

[sojourner]

That's just an odd view to take for me. I have traveled extensively and never regretted having some great new meal. (bad meals, yeah, there have been some). The meals just help build fond memories.

 

[USS Triumphant]

That's just an odd view to take for me. I have traveled extensively and never regretted having some great new meal. (bad meals, yeah, there have been some). The meals just help build fond memories.

Maybe you aren't prone to addiction like I am - it's a family trait. I've never fallen prey to cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs, like some of them have. But foods are a weakness, and I will CRAVE a food, sometimes maddeningly.

 

[{ Emilia }]

Maybe you aren't prone to addiction like I am - it's a family trait. I've never fallen prey to cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs, like some of them have. But foods are a weakness, and I will CRAVE it, sometimes maddeningly.

Well, sheesh... learn how to make the food you enjoyed so much and you're sorted.
I got pretty good at cooking Indian food simply because I enjoyed eating it in restaurants. Takes some effort but oh well... ?

 

[Timby]

Wow.

I'd much rather say, "Man, I had this incredible seafood fra diavolo dish in [Insert City Here], if you're ever there, you have to try it, because I'll definitely go back if I ever get the chance," than say, "Yep, I went to [Insert City Here], went to the conference. Didn't do much, just ate at McDonald's and the hotel restaurant."

It's like seeing an amazing play. It might never be staged again in my area, but if I go when it's in town, I can always hang onto those memories.

Maybe you aren't prone to addiction like I am - it's a family trait. I've never fallen prey to cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs, like some of them have. But foods are a weakness, and I will CRAVE it, sometimes maddeningly.

Happily recovering alcoholic, here. And I still would try a new restaurant in a heartbeat, even if I knew the likelihood of me having an opportunity to visit that place again was about as likely as McDonald's not sucking out loud.

 

[bluedana]

Up until recently, we'd take the kids to chain restaurants, like Applebees or Unos, because they'd find something we know they'd like and that avoided restaurant meltdowns. But the food for us, the adults, was bland at best -- it tasted the same as every other time we'd been there, which is exactly the point. When we went out just the two of us (those rare times), we'd seek out recommendations from friends and try local restaurants. We're rarely disappointed.

My mom and dad go out on a date every Saturday night, and have for at least twenty years. They recommend restaurants out by them (south of Boston), and we'll sometimes drive significant distances to try them. At the same time, if we find a great local restaurant in the city (not so much downtown, but in the kinda-burbs where we live, like Rozzie), they might drive in to try it out.

Now that the kids are a bit older, we are trying not to do chains, but going for some of the places we pass every day. It's really not even that much more expensive.