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| "Welcome to Chubby's! Have you been here before?" |
My dislike of Chain Restaurants has been documented here on this blog enough that I"m sure you're sick of hearing about it.
My primary reason is I like to eat at a restaurant with a chef, as opposed to a cook.
Someone like Chris at Mac's on Shrewsbury Street has a set of recipes he follows, yes, I understand that, but as a chef he also has the opportunity to see what is especially fresh on a given day and has the ability to create a special-- or as he's done on some occasions for me make something completely from scratch because it wasn't on the menu-- like Grilled Chicken and Vegetables if I'm feeling a need to keep my caloric intake in check.
While over at say, Olive Garden, you have a group of cooks who are following corporate orders as to what the specials are-- figured based on profits not ingredients. The creativity goes out the window when I can have the same exact meal prepared the same way in Worcester Massachusetts and in Times Square in New York (and I would NEVER eat at a chain in NYC-- NEVER. It's the freakin' restaurant capital of the world people-- expand your horizons).
Though I do protest about chains I do sometimes go-- I like Texas Roadhouse because they offer really good cheap steaks (pass on the free rolls though- they are 300 calories each!)-- but one of the biggest irritants to me is when the waiter or waitress comes up to the table and asks:
"Have you been here before?"
I think this is one of the stupidest of all possible questions. The answer is irrelevant-- even if I haven't dined in your particular restaurant, unless the food is delivered via air cannon fired across the room and I'm required to catch it while blindfolded I'm pretty sure I get the process.
1. I order my food.
2. You bring me my food.
3. I pay for my food.
Do I have it?
Especially ridiculous when you reply "Yes." and then they still go on-- "So you know about our fall off the bone ribs and endless salad buckets?"
Yes.
YES I do.
I know it's the waiter/waitress doing their job but it doesn't excuse the fact that it's just plain idiotic and annoying.
They don't do this at Indian Restaurants.
They don't do this at REAL restaurants.
