Jump to content

Golden Corral, Pancho's and Other Low-Brow Eateries of Your Youth

Guest

By Guest
in Food and Travel

 Share

Recommended Posts

Guest

Guest

Posted
Posted

Golden Corral was recently the title sponsor of a certain awards show for a certain right wing news station. That led to a thread in CR turning into a discussion of the restaurant, as well as Pancho's, Bennigans, Steak & Ale, and the original Chili's. Figured this thread could be a fun discussion.

Important topics to cover:

- High cost for the quality of food
- Tipping the staff that cleared dishes and brought drinks
- Ham cubes
- Raising the flag and how many sopapillas is the right amount?
- How Steak & Ale was fine dining in 1992 Texas

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 540
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

threesheets
threesheets

Most of the  good stuff has been covered, but I'll add Grandy's.  My freshman year they had all you can eat (included chicken and CFS plus whatever sides)- I think it was $4.99.  Glorious.  Especially

Brisketexan
Brisketexan

Y'all remember the Wendy's Superbar?  Soup and chili, baked potatoes, and salad bar with all the usual stuff you'd see in a full salad bar, all for something like $4-5 back in the late 80s?  When that

Landomatic
Landomatic

Man was it ever. I remember one time just out of college, I was broke as a convict and somehow ended up going on date with a girl who worked for their corporate office. I didn't like her/wasn't attrac

Posted Images

Kennythetiger

Kennythetiger 9303

Posted
Posted
44 minutes ago, South Austin said:

My high school friends and I murdered the Golden Corral buffet in Jacksonville, North Carolina. And Applebee’s is where we went when we were in a high-roller mood.

Same, but college. There’s a song getting play right now with lyrics that say “fancy like Applebees on a date night, bourbon street steak…”. No idea who sings it, but the bourbon street steak was for Friday paydays. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Landomatic

Landomatic 3813

Posted
Posted (edited)
58 minutes ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

- How Steak & Ale was fine dining in 1992 Texas

Man was it ever. I remember one time just out of college, I was broke as a convict and somehow ended up going on date with a girl who worked for their corporate office. I didn't like her/wasn't attracted to her at all, but she said we could eat at all of their restaurants for free, so I took her to Steak & Ale for the free meal, fine dining as it were. Well, I proceeded to obnoxiously order way too much food and pretty much the most expensive things on the menu. I also proceeded to way over order scotch and a couple bottles of wine, which, barely having two nickels to rub together, might as well have been Johhny Walker Blue and Opus One to me at that time. But hey, it was all free right? I'm so hammered and full I can barely stand up. Then the bill came. And alcohol wasn't included in her free food employee deal. Dick move backfired. Did not go out with her again. /csb

Edited by Landomatic
  • Hook 'Em 1
  • Like 1
  • Haha 5
  • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
LCHorn

LCHorn 2567

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, South Austin said:

My high school friends and I murdered the Golden Corral buffet in Jacksonville, North Carolina. And Applebee’s is where we went when we were in a high-roller mood.

Totally off topic but Jacksonville, NC might be the shittiest town I’ve ever spent a significant length of time in and I grew up in surrounded by Aggies in the golden triangle (I.e., I know my shitty towns).  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
South Austin

South Austin 51885

Posted
Posted
37 minutes ago, LCHorn said:

Totally off topic but Jacksonville, NC might be the shittiest town I’ve ever spent a significant length of time in and I grew up in surrounded by Aggies in the golden triangle (I.e., I know my shitty towns).  

I thought it was somewhat shitty when I grew up in Camp Lejeune, just outside of Jacksonville.  But I didn't know much else back then, and since there wasn't much to do on base outside of going to the beach and playing pick-up games with the young Marines, Jacksonville had a mall and restaurants. 

When I went back in 2012 for my 20th high school reunion and drove through town from the airport to the base, I had a greater sense and appreciation for just how shitty it is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
baboso

baboso 6041

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, South Austin said:

I thought it was somewhat shitty when I grew up in Camp Lejeune, just outside of Jacksonville.  But I didn't know much else back then, and since there wasn't much to do on base outside of going to the beach and playing pick-up games with the young Marines, Jacksonville had a mall and restaurants. 

When I went back in 2012 for my 20th high school reunion and drove through town from the airport to the base, I had a greater sense and appreciation for just how shitty it is.

Well, Jacksonville's a city with a hopeless streetlight
Seems like you're lucky if it ever change from red to green

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
DFWTexEx

DFWTexEx 271

Posted
Posted

As a kid, Bonanza and Pancho's were amazing.   A couple of years ago, we tracked down a Pancho's in Forth Worth, and I took my parents and sister there.  Just like old times.  The experience and the tastes were exactly as they had been 40 years ago.  Those chiles rellenos!

My freshman year in college, a group of guys on our floor had a Friday night free and decided to go to Steak and Ale.  We did our best to dress up and act like grown ups.  It cost us what we thought was a fortune.  Looking back, it was so goofy, but I remember that night so clearly.  It's a happy memory.  I wonder where those guys all are now.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
DalTxHornFan

DalTxHornFan 3073

Posted
Posted
30 minutes ago, DFWTexEx said:

As a kid, Bonanza and Pancho's were amazing.   A couple of years ago, we tracked down a Pancho's in Forth Worth, and I took my parents and sister there.  Just like old times.  The experience and the tastes were exactly as they had been 40 years ago.  Those chiles rellenos!

My freshman year in college, a group of guys on our floor had a Friday night free and decided to go to Steak and Ale.  We did our best to dress up and act like grown ups.  It cost us what we thought was a fortune.  Looking back, it was so goofy, but I remember that night so clearly.  It's a happy memory.  I wonder where those guys all are now.

We all thought that Steak & Ale was the ultimate back in HS/College days.  Had some friends that worked there and we all ate the leftovers they brought back for our late night drinking events.  Good times.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
South Austin

South Austin 51885

Posted
Posted (edited)
22 minutes ago, 6th Street said:

Red Lobster. Used to be a special occasion like a birthday or something. I used to be amazed at the lobsters behind the glass. And those cheddar bay biscuits were fire. Now it's nothing more than glorified frozen food

Fuck yeah.  When my family was driving through the south one summer we stayed the night in Auburn, Alabama and ate dinner at Red Lobster.  I might have well been in Maine.

Edited by South Austin
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Surly Bevo

Surly Bevo 24664

Posted
Posted

Buddies and I used to destroy Panchos, some Chinese buffet up on either N Burnet or N Lamar (can't remember the name or the exact location) and Sirloin Stockade back in the UT days.

Although it didn't fit quite as precisely in the low cost/questionable quality bucket as those others I would submit Salt Lick was treated roughly the same way by the mid 90s college male.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites
South Austin

South Austin 51885

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Surly Bevo said:

some Chinese buffet up on either N Burnet or N Lamar (can't remember the name or the exact location)

We used to frequent a Chinese buffet in the Westgate area.  Maybe Buffet Palace.  Is it still there? 

I used to love Chinese buffets in high school and college.  I don't think I've eaten at one in well over a decade, maybe two. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
You don't know me

You don't know me 1161

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, South Austin said:

I thought it was somewhat shitty when I grew up in Camp Lejeune, just outside of Jacksonville.  But I didn't know much else back then, and since there wasn't much to do on base outside of going to the beach and playing pick-up games with the young Marines, Jacksonville had a mall and restaurants. 

When I went back in 2012 for my 20th high school reunion and drove through town from the airport to the base, I had a greater sense and appreciation for just how shitty it is.

Hmmm...  I got stationed there in 1993 or so.  There was a restaurant there and I can't remember the name, but they had an all you can eat beef rib night. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
South Austin

South Austin 51885

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, You don't know me said:

Hmmm...  I got stationed there in 1993 or so.  There was a restaurant there and I can't remember the name, but they had an all you can eat beef rib night. 

Doesn't ring a bell.  We pretty much stuck to Golden Corral, Applebee's, a Chinese buffet (the name escapes me but it was there when my family went back for a visit around 1994), and some Italian restaurant that seemed like an Olive Garden but wasn't an Olive Garden.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
You don't know me

You don't know me 1161

Posted
Posted

`

Just now, South Austin said:

Doesn't ring a bell.  We pretty much stuck to Golden Corral, Applebee's, a Chinese buffet (the name escapes me but it was there when my family went back for a visit around 1994), and some Italian restaurant that seemed like an Olive Garden but wasn't an Olive Garden.

Well, if you spent any time in the greater Jacksonville area in 1994, you probably fucked my ex-wife.  My condolences.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Popular Post
threesheets

threesheets 1651

Posted
  • Popular Post
Posted

Most of the  good stuff has been covered, but I'll add Grandy's.  My freshman year they had all you can eat (included chicken and CFS plus whatever sides)- I think it was $4.99.  Glorious.  Especially toward the end of hell week when I'd basically fasted for 5 days straight.  We got sent on a "scavenger hunt" and that was the first place we stopped.  

  • Hook 'Em 9
  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Brisketexan

Brisketexan 104061

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, Covri said:

Golden Corral on south Lamar was fine dining compared to the Furr’s down the street. 

As a baby lawyer, I was involved in a large case relating to the leveraged buyout of Furr's.  I had to go to Lubbock for a shareholders meeting, which ended right around lunchtime.  I had time before my flight, thought it would be wise to do some research, so I had lunch at the "flagship" Furrs in lubbock.  

Then I got on a plane.

I generally avoid destroying an airplane lav on a short flight.

The "don't destroy the lav" option was not a possibility for me that day.  I was forced to do horrific damage. SWA may have scrapped that 737 afterwards.  They probably should have.  

I didn't eat at Furrs again.  I learned all I needed to know.

  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Brisketexan

Brisketexan 104061

Posted
Posted
17 minutes ago, Rudiger said:

Bennigans was low brow? My mom took me there one time, I got a Monte Christo, and I felt like the Sultan of Brunei. Then again, we were poor and from a small town, so eating out was a big deal. 

Bennigans had an excellent Monte Cristo.  As did Jojo's/Coco's (of which there once were many, and now they're gone).  I haven't had a Monte Cristo in probably 20 years.  Jesus they were glorious.

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
ztejas

ztejas 42963

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Bennigans had an excellent Monte Cristo.  As did Jojo's/Coco's (of which there once were many, and now they're gone).  I haven't had a Monte Cristo in probably 20 years.  Jesus they were glorious.

There was this badass food trailer called "Hey you gonna eat or what?" in that Barton springs food court that sadly closed some years ago. The main offering was different gourmet sandwiches including a Monte Cristo - served with homemade potato chips. 

Dude that ran it was an awesome guy, too. Hope he landed on his feet somewhere else. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Rudiger

Rudiger 1148

Posted
Posted
14 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Bennigans had an excellent Monte Cristo.  As did Jojo's/Coco's (of which there once were many, and now they're gone).  I haven't had a Monte Cristo in probably 20 years.  Jesus they were glorious.

Feeling nostalgic, I had a "Monte Christo" at a restaurant that was not Bennigans a few years back. Didn't hold a candle to the real deal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Landomatic

Landomatic 3813

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, 6th Street said:

Red Lobster. Used to be a special occasion like a birthday or something. I used to be amazed at the lobsters behind the glass. And those cheddar bay biscuits were fire. Now it's nothing more than glorified frozen food

Ah, yeah. Same for me. Very special occasion for my family growing up. Then my college roommate got a job there when we were 19-20. He got half price food and we could drink there because he knew everyone. We put a hurtin' on some half price, all you can eat crab leg specials they'd roll out from time-to-time. Thought we were big time ballin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
tx 3 putt

tx 3 putt 75810

Posted
Posted
55 minutes ago, threesheets said:

Most of the  good stuff has been covered, but I'll add Grandy's.  My freshman year they had all you can eat (included chicken and CFS plus whatever sides)- I think it was $4.99.  Glorious.  Especially toward the end of hell week when I'd basically fasted for 5 days straight.  We got sent on a "scavenger hunt" and that was the first place we stopped.  


grandys is still damn glorious

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
SimonBolivar

SimonBolivar 10851

Posted
Posted
29 minutes ago, Deej said:

Souper Salad. 

Pretending I was eating healthy while eating pounds of turkey, ham, cheese, croutons, and blue cheese or ranch dressing. 

We'd go there after church growing up and as kids it was load up a potato with cheese, croutons, and ham time. We we're always upset when the rotation went to Souper Salad.

 

Week A- Luby's

Week B- Arby's 5 for $5

Week C- Souper Salad

Weed D- Brookshire's Fried Chicken

Then repeat ad infinitum. 

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...