Monday, June 12, 2006
Bad Food
There's a few restaurants where I don't like the food. Every year or two I decide to give them another try in the hopes that either they've gotten better, or maybe I didn't really have a bad meal there. One of them is Long John Silvers and another is Bob Evans. Today I went to Bob Evans for the first time in over a year to see why I didn't like it.
I had a taste for a club sandwich, but was open for other things. The description of the club sandwich was that it was a chicken breast. I did remember that the last time I had a club sandwich there, it was a complete chicken breast - not some sliced meat and not a triple decker. If you've read this, you know I'm a traditionalist in many areas, and club sandwiches are it. So I passed on that. They had a blasphemous BLT on the menu. A BLT with EGG and cheese. They call it a BLT for a reason. Bacon, lettuce and tomato - simple. No cheese and certainly not an egg -- an egg of all things. I asked the waitress later how popular it was and she said some people did order it, but most ordered it without the egg. What is the sense of ordering a sandwich if you plan on leaving off most of it. I'm really not into paying for something I don't plan on eating.
I ended up with French toast and homestyle potatoes. It was OK. The French toast was slightly soggy inside and the potatoes were uninspired. I had to get up and walk to the waitress station to ask for a refill of water. All-in-all, I know why I don't like Bob Evans and hopefully I'll remember that next time I want to stop there.
Now that I'm thinking about Long John Silvers, I know why I don't like it. Grease! Everything is battered and eep-fried and the batter holds onto every drop of grease. You might just as well swallow a bar of butter - except the butter tastes better. If Long John's ever offered a salad, I'll bet you it'll be deep-fried.
There's a few other restaurants in the area I won't be going back to. It's not that the food is that bad, it's just between service and food and atmosphere, I don't have much desire to ever return. Here's some of them and why I don't like them:
- Texan Steak House - a horrid Thanksgiving meal once suffered through - absolutely the worst Thanksgiving meal ever.
- Bubbas - The food was actually OK, but the place had its share of fights and even going during a slow late lunch time on a weekend, it was like eating in an ashtray (it's been renamed, but I haven't returned).
- Culvers - you order at a counter and get your drink to take to the table. However, you have to pick up condiments and there's no way to carry them. So when they drop off your food, you have to go back up to get the condiments. And really bad hot dogs.
- Lonestar - really, really bad steak - twice. Tough, gristly and bad tasting. However the service was quite good.
- New York Bagel on State Street - the service went bad a couple years ago. Walking in there was like walking into a place where you definitely weren't wanted.
- Bringer Inn - the food is OK, the service is fair, but the place is absolutely filthy. There's more food on the floor than there is on the tables.
