All of you chain restaurant haters have no idea!

[gotsmack]

So I just got done reading the Chipolte thread and you guys really hate most chains.

I used to be an anti chain person too, but I lived just outside of NYC where we have good food. I now live in the mid west and guess what? If you don't live on the coast or right by a mega city like Chicago your food options are crap and meh.

I've been in Minneapolis for 1.5 years now and have only found 3 restaurants and 1 bakery/pastry shop that I like, a couple of OK places, and the rest of the places are bland food.

I always used to wonder who would eat at Pizza Hut when you can get a good slice of pizza at almost any of the pizza parlors in north NJ where I grew up, but when I moved away, I realized that Pizza Hut was actually better than a majority of the crap they call Pizza here.

So this is how chains survive. Food from independent shops are mostly restaurant depot type slop in the mid west, because a majority of culinary school students don't want to go to non chicago mid west locations when they graduate.

And if you eat at an independent restaurant by Dayton OH, be prepared for heavy salt.

 

[purbeast0]

thankfully i'm not like 99.99% of the internet and don't have to pick "one or the other" with everything in the entire universe. i can actually enjoy both of them for what they are worth. i don't have to pick one and shit on the other like 99.99% of everyone else does.

 

[Zargon]

So I just got done reading the Chipolte thread and you guys really hate most chains.

I used to be an anti chain person too, but I lived just outside of NYC where we have good food. I now live in the mid west and guess what? If you don't live on the coast or right by a mega city like Chicago your food options are crap and meh.

I've been in Minneapolis for 1.5 years now and have only found 3 restaurants and 1 bakery/pastry shop that I like, a couple of OK places, and the rest of the places are bland food.

I always used to wonder who would eat at Pizza Hut when you can get a good slice of pizza at almost any of the pizza parlors in north NJ where I grew up, but when I moved away, I realized that Pizza Hut was actually better than a majority of the crap they call Pizza here.

So this is how chains survive. Food from independent shops are mostly restaurant depot type slop in the mid west, because a majority of culinary school students don't want to go to non chicago mid west locations when they graduate.

And if you eat at an independent restaurant by Dayton OH, be prepared for heavy salt.

sounds like Minnesota sucks then dude, I live a few hours outside Chicago in a town of around 100k and I almost never eat at chains

 

[poofyhairguy]

I feel consistent in my attitude. Yes I won't eat at 90% of the fast food chains. I also won't live in 90% of America.

If I had to live in one of those places I wouldn't go out to eat. Unless you are in such a shitty place that they don't have a Whole Foods cooking is always an option.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Meh chains over here are usually more expensive than single restaurants.

 

[DesiPower]

I always eat at chains... i hate those local ones. Sometimes my friends take me there and they are like drooling on the food, I pretend like yeah, its the best i ever had dude, but given a choice I always go back to chains, they taste the best.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I feel consistent in my attitude. Yes I won't eat at 90% of the fast food chains. I also won't live in 90% of America.

If I had to live in one of those places I wouldn't go out to eat. Unless you are in such a shitty place that they don't have a Whole Foods cooking is always an option.

:thumbsup: This.

Some of the higher end chains are decent but places like Olive Garden, Chili's and Red Lobster can suck my balls. I won't eat there.

 

[brianmanahan]

Unless you are in such a s****y place that they don't have a Whole Foods cooking is always an option.

lol, whole foods is a drastically overpriced chain for hipsters and people who want to feel healthy by blowing money on food

aldi all the way

 

[bradley]

I would rather support well-established mom and pop restaurants. Large chains are beholden to shareholders and will often cut all conceivable corners with inexpensive fillers such as wood pulp, while sometimes using microwaves for food preparation and cooking in cheap oils like unhealthy soybean. The truth is far removed from the actual marketing. Pass.

 

[gotsmack]

:thumbsup: This.

Some of the higher end chains are decent but places like Olive Garden, Chili's and Red Lobster can suck my balls. I won't eat there.

Eh, Red Lobster has good biscuits and I like their fried breaded jumbo shrimp, I think they call them Walt's Shrimp. At places like Applebees I only go after 10 with my friends for 1/2 price appetizers at the bar, mostly just the boneless wings which are just chicken nuggets. I don't really like chain places, but theres atleast something on the menu that I'll eat. If you don't see anything you like go with something deep fried. It's hard to screw up deep fried.

 

[BoberFett]

You're in the MN. The food here is bland.

 

[gotsmack]

I would rather support mom and pop restaurants. Large chains are beholden to shareholders and will often cut all conceivable corners with inexpensive fillers such as wood pulp, while sometimes using microwaves for food preparation and cooking in cheap oils like unhealthy soybean. The truth is far removed from the actual marketing. Pass.

Guess what? Lots of mom and pop places use restaurant depot to get their frozen prepared food and they use soybean oil too. They then heat and serve instead of hiring a real chef. Also getting a real chef is difficult in the mid west.

They are less likely to use filler, but that is only because they don't have access to the science to mix in filler and have it taste ok. As soon as they start selling flavored wood pulp filler at restaurant depot, you'll start seeing it at mom and pop shops.

Talk to any restaurant food supplier for mom and pop shops. Ask them what oil they sell to independent places, I'll bet you the vast majority of it is cheap processed oil like Soy or Canola.

 

[Phoenix86]

You're in the MN. Everything is bland.

:sneaky:

 

[Leyawiin]

You're in the MN. The food here is bland.

I find it hard to believe in a well-educated, prosperous metro area of three and a quarter million that you can't find interesting, well prepared food from all sorts of styles and ethnicities.

 

[xeemzor]

I've been in Minneapolis a bunch of times for work and always managed to find great food. Places like Butcher and the Boar are fantastic. You should try looking harder.

 

[GeekDrew]

I'm in the middle of nowhere, Ohio (more than an hour from Columbus). I endorse your support of chains over mom & pops. My position reverses itself whenever I'm in a large city. But not out here.

 

[bradley]

Guess what. Lots of mom and pop places used restaurant depot to get their frozen prepared food and they use soybean oil too.

They are less likely to use filler, but that is only because they don't have access to the science to mix in filler and have it taste ok. As soon as they start selling flavored wood pulp filler at restaurant depot, you'll start seeing it at mom and pop shops.

I'm talking about mom and pops who prepare food on site (sometimes source local ingredients) and allow kitchen visits. Chains like Chipolte don't even post an ingredients list and refuse to be as forthcoming.

Independent restaurant owners also have a much greater stake in the success/failure of their businesses than the manager of a national chain.

 

[BoberFett]

I find it hard to believe in a well-educated, prosperous metro area of three and a quarter million that you can't find interesting, well prepared food from all sorts of styles and ethnicities.

I've been in Minneapolis a bunch of times for work and always managed to find great food. Places like Butcher and the Boar are fantastic. You should try looking harder.

Of course there are, but those are standouts. While other large cities have interesting ethnic restaurants on every corner, we get one or two in the whole metro area. I've had fantastic Thai, Indian, Korean, Ethiopian, etc. But a large number of Minnesotans like their flavorless meat and potatoes. Ketchup is about as wild as they get.

 

[gotsmack]

I've been in Minneapolis a bunch of times for work and always managed to find great food. Places like Butcher and the Boar are fantastic. You should try looking harder.

I've been to the Butcher and Boar they do a good job, but is overpriced for what they offer. I had the Beef Rib at like $44 + tax. I had the same Beef Rib at Daisy May's in NYC for $25 + tax. Butcher and Boar is a more fancy place, but the premium is crazy. My favorite restaurant in the area is Icehouse.

Like I said earlier there are a handful of really good restaurants, the rest is a sea of mediocre food. The thing that really grinds my gears is that they have some really inventive dishes and combinations on the plate, but they can't execute. An example is the Bachelor Farmer (which the locals LOVE), I ate up a $100 bill of food only one Sat night. And they brought out interesting food but preparation was garbage. The Cheese tuile they prepared was stale, everything lacked flavor, and the sides were poorly cooked. Good plating though.

Every time I eat at a new place I ask myself, would this place make it in Manhattan. The answer is NO for the vast majority of the restaurants here in the Twin Cities.

My favorite upscale casual restaurant in the US is actually in Salt Lake City, a place called PAGO. This is to show that small cities do have good food. It's just that there are only a handful and the rest are really bad. While on the coasts and mega cities there are lots of great restaurants and the rest are decent. The trash ones just go out of business because there are so many good options to choose from while in the mid west they hang on because almost everyone else is trash too.

I'll give you an example of how ignorant they are about food out here. I was at some fair thing and there was a stand that sold grilled pork chops, I saw the cook move the raw meat onto the grill and then move the cooked pork off the grill with the same pair of tongs. When I told him that was cross contamination he just told me that he had been cooking his entire life so what he was doing was ok.

Guess what, old italian grandmas eat raw ground sausage before they put it in the casing to check flavoring, that doesn't make it OK.

 

[Red Squirrel]

One thing I find hilarious is that no matter what chain or store or product you mention on a forum there will always be people "why did you eat there" or "why did you get that" "nn sucks"

Then they'll suggest some obscure place or product that most people probably never even heard of let alone is available.

 

[Ns1]

I'm talking about mom and pops who prepare food on site (sometimes source local ingredients) and allow kitchen visits. Chains like Chipolte don't even post an ingredients list and refuse to be as forthcoming.

Independent restaurant owners also have a much greater stake in the success/failure of their businesses than the manager of a national chain.

1) not sure if srs

http://www.chipotle.com/en-us/menu/ingredients_statement/ingredients_statement.aspx

2) Ever watch "kitchen nightmares" and take a look at some of these mom & pop places?

 

[GagHalfrunt]

I feel consistent in my attitude. Yes I won't eat at 90% of the fast food chains. I also won't live in 90% of America.

If I had to live in one of those places I wouldn't go out to eat. Unless you are in such a shitty place that they don't have a Whole Foods cooking is always an option.

OMG!!! Criticizing fast food chains while sucking up to Whole Foods would be one of the funniest sly ironic digs ever if only you had meant it that way.

 

[brianmanahan]

I'm in the middle of nowhere, Ohio (more than an hour from Columbus). I endorse your support of chains over mom & pops. My position reverses itself whenever I'm in a large city. But not out here.

there is nowhere better than rural ohio

 

[Fritzo]

There are several chains I love: Abuelos for tex-mex, Pizza Hut thin crust is great, Pita Pit, Panera, Captain Ds...I like lots of places and I know a lot about food.

 

[brianmanahan]

There are several chains I love: Abuelos for tex-mex, Pizza Hut thin crust is great, Pita Pit, Panera, Captain Ds...I like lots of places and I know a lot about food.

you guys got east of chicagos out there?

their taco pizza = mmmmmmmmmmm