How Is That Chain Still Open?

[Vic Mackey 47229]

Wendy’s/Burger King have to be up there. 

Wendy's went downhill in a hurry. They used to be really good. I heard they cut costs and went with a different supply for meat and if that's true, it shows. Their burgers might be worse than BK now.

[956 Worldwide 34883]

I gave in to my seven year old in San Antonio a while back and ate at the Rainforest Cafe. Damn that place sucks. The food could be best described as “reheated Applebee’s.” The floor seemed filthy, too. 
 

Hard Rock Cafe is another one. I’d have thought that everyone who ever wanted a Hard Rock Cafe tshirt has one by now. 

[pch 1261]

34 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

I gave in to my seven year old in San Antonio a while back and ate at the Rainforest Cafe. Damn that place sucks. The food could be best described as “reheated Applebee’s.” The floor seemed filthy, too. 
 

Hard Rock Cafe is another one. I’d have thought that everyone who ever wanted a Hard Rock Cafe tshirt has one by now. 

Married my wife at the San Luis in Galveston in 2004, which is next door to the Rainforest Cafe.  Previous comments like yours kept us from going to that carnival atmosphere vomitorium.  We were lucky during the outdoor ceremony that the volcano didn't erupt like our digestive systems would have if we had eaten there.🤮

[WhatTheBuck 28825]

2 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

I gave in to my seven year old in San Antonio a while back and ate at the Rainforest Cafe. Damn that place sucks. The food could be best described as “reheated Applebee’s.” The floor seemed filthy, too.

I dined at the one at MGM Grand in Las Vegas years ago. It looked like it might be good. It wasn’t. It was Cheeseburger In Paradise bad. But the atmosphere was okay.

[cafe society 2879]

16 hours ago, Enchubben said:

Wendy’s/Burger King have to be up there. 

This is not even arguable.   Those chains blow goats. 

[Deej 77012]

38 minutes ago, cafe society said:

This is not even arguable.   Those chains blow goats. 

BK is OK if you ever have a craving for high school cafeteria hamburgers. 

[Neonmoon 38130]

1 hour ago, Deej said:

BK is OK if you ever have a craving for high school cafeteria hamburgers. 

This is amazingly accurate 

[Zepol87 9215]

9 hours ago, Vic Mackey said:

20 hours ago, Enchubben said:

Wendy’s/Burger King have to be up there. 

Wendy's went downhill in a hurry. They used to be really good. I heard they cut costs and went with a different supply for meat and if that's true, it shows. Their burgers might be worse than BK now.

They definitely are. Back in high school Wendy's was solid but now it's shit. My gf prefers BK stop Wendy's in the shit burger battle 

Edited August 22, 2021 by Zepol87

[Underdog 28855]

Some of us peaked in HS, so HS cafeteria burgers would be a nice memory.  

[WhatTheBuck 28825]

BK went to hell a long time ago. Then Wendy’s, then McDonald’s. McDonald’s was the last to fall as they advertised going to a “fresher” burger patty but they’re flavorless abominations. Try tasting just the patty sometime. And they know what they’re doing because they put more pickles and condiments on their burgers hoping you won’t notice. Wendy’s beat them to that punch several years earlier.

You young people, if you could go back to the late 70’s and early 80’s when Wendy’s cooked your burger when you ordered it, their slogan was “hot and juicy,” and you sat at a table decorated with old timey newspaper ads, it would blow your mind. And there wasn’t a microwave anywhere on the premises. 

[BurntOrange&White 40151]

13 hours ago, Underdog said:

Some of us peaked in HS, so HS cafeteria burgers would be a nice memory.  

That rectangle pizza from high school cafeteria remains in my top 5 favorite pizza till this day!

 

[Parliament 14357]

40 minutes ago, WhatTheBuck said:

BK went to hell a long time ago. Then Wendy’s, then McDonald’s. McDonald’s was the last to fall as they advertised going to a “fresher” burger patty but they’re flavorless abominations. Try tasting just the patty sometime. And they know what they’re doing because they put more pickles and condiments on their burgers hoping you won’t notice. Wendy’s beat them to that punch several years earlier.

You young people, if you could go back to the late 70’s and early 80’s when Wendy’s cooked your burger when you ordered it, their slogan was “hot and juicy,” and you sat at a table decorated with old timey newspaper ads, it would blow your mind. And there wasn’t a microwave anywhere on the premises. 

And they had a kickass salad bar.

[HenryJames 66231]

5 minutes ago, Parliament said:

And they had a kickass salad bar.

*salet

[BurntOrange&White 40151]

[Neonmoon 38130]

It’s not yellow anymore? Wtf? 
 

I haven’t been in 16 years 

[pch 1261]

16 hours ago, Deej said:

BK is OK if you ever have a craving for high school cafeteria hamburgers. 

In the 90's the BK on Camp Bowie here in Cowtown used to have Whoppers with cheese for $1 on Sunday nights.  The price was what I used to pay when in high school, so it made the burger taste better. Haven't eaten at BK this century and the one I frequented back then is no longer there.

[Native Horn 3516]

High-school hamburgers to me meant going to $0.39 hamburgers on Anderson near Burnet.  As non-awesome as the burgers were, you could gorge for $3.00 including fries and drink.  

Fortunately, the food in that location has improved over the years 

[Deej 77012]

55 minutes ago, Native Horn said:

Fortunately, the food in that location has improved over the years 

Yes, it has. 

(Damn, now I want enchiladas and margaritas.)

[WBT 20725]

4 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

BK went to hell a long time ago. Then Wendy’s, then McDonald’s. McDonald’s was the last to fall as they advertised going to a “fresher” burger patty but they’re flavorless abominations. Try tasting just the patty sometime. And they know what they’re doing because they put more pickles and condiments on their burgers hoping you won’t notice. Wendy’s beat them to that punch several years earlier.

You young people, if you could go back to the late 70’s and early 80’s when Wendy’s cooked your burger when you ordered it, their slogan was “hot and juicy,” and you sat at a table decorated with old timey newspaper ads, it would blow your mind. And there wasn’t a microwave anywhere on the premises. 

McDonald's has always had the worst burgers of any of the big chains

[gsoda3 3284]

On 8/22/2021 at 1:20 AM, WhatTheBuck said:

Easy. After you harvest the chicken breasts to sell as chicken breasts, you take all the leftover bits of meat and cartilage and connective tissue, cook it in a chemical bath, and add a bunch of corn by-products to create what is commonly known as pink slime. Same thing they use to make chicken nuggets. Then you extrude it through a metal die to simulate actual muscle fiber so the rubes won’t be able to tell the difference between your processed fake meat and the real thing.

Chicken nuggets aren’t chicken. Boneless wings are nuggets. Every Marie Callender’s frozen chicken product is processed, fake chicken. 

they haven't used pink slime in almost a decade.  

[irishtexan 11530]

I occasionally get a craving for a Big Mac while drunk.

And I still get Wendy's once every three months or so. There's one next to my office. Their fries aren't great, though. Better than In N Out. 

When I was working on campus in college I would get two jr. bacon cheeseburgers for lunch multiple times per week. The other days I'd get a chicken fried rice and a pink lemonade from the food cart that was later busted as a fencing operation. 

[MoJames 8256]

9 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

they haven't used pink slime in almost a decade.  

[WhatTheBuck 28825]

1 hour ago, gsoda3 said:

they haven't used pink slime in almost a decade.  

If you think your McNugget is real chicken then you’re sadly mistaken. And all of Marie Callender’s frozen chicken products are made from processed chicken. I can tell the difference. This was the last genuine chicken product they sold and I haven’t seen it in a long time. At least a couple of years. I’m assuming it’s been discontinued. If you can find it in the freezer section of your grocery, snap a pic and post it here.

[gsoda3 3284]

Just now, WhatTheBuck said:

If you think your McNugget is real chicken then you’re sadly mistaken. And all of Marie Callender’s frozen chicken products are made from processed chicken. I can tell the difference. This was the last genuine chicken product they sold and I haven’t seen it in a long time. At least a couple of years. I’m assuming it’s been discontinued. If you can find it in the freezer section of your grocery, snap a pic and post it here.

 

 

all of the fast food chains stopped using pink slime in the early 2010s.  i'm sure the current product undergoes a tenderization and preservation process but it is real chicken and not a mechanically separated slurry.  

 

as for the marie callender's products, i wouldn't be surprised if they take breast scraps and bind them using meat glue before cutting the shapes and tenderizing/preserving them.  the ingredients on their labels are some of the same used in binders.  but also here they're not mechanically separating and grinding.  

[Guest Lobo]

Wasn't there a Marie Callendar's on Brodie Lane awhile back?  Haven't thought about it in a long, long time until I saw the photo above.  It was her frozen dinners that I used to buy in grad school because they were big enough to stretch into two meals or only meal for the day, but it was those that made me realize how much sodium is already in our food.  I'm not a very healthy eater, but one simple thing I do at every meal is never add salt to anything.  Ever.  Not even fries.  There is already so much goddamn salt in everything in this country.  That decision helps offset alcohol and red meat which I think are a staple of every good meal.  

Speaking of chains, Brodie Lane is undergoing quite the turnover.  It was garbage chain food alley but they're starting to get some good spots down there that you can take the kids to while knocking out errands at Home Depot and Academy.  

How the fuck are Schlotzsky's staying open? 

[ztejas 43714]

9 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Wasn't there a Marie Callendar's on Brodie Lane awhile back?

This sounds right. In Sunset Valley iirc. 

[DonkeyCigars 143]

On 8/22/2021 at 10:09 AM, pch said:

Married my wife at the San Luis in Galveston in 2004, which is next door to the Rainforest Cafe.  Previous comments like yours kept us from going to that carnival atmosphere vomitorium.  We were lucky during the outdoor ceremony that the volcano didn't erupt like our digestive systems would have if we had eaten there.🤮

 

On 8/22/2021 at 9:30 AM, 956 Worldwide said:

I gave in to my seven year old in San Antonio a while back and ate at the Rainforest Cafe. Damn that place sucks. The food could be best described as “reheated Applebee’s.” The floor seemed filthy, too. 
 

Hard Rock Cafe is another one. I’d have thought that everyone who ever wanted a Hard Rock Cafe tshirt has one by now. 

The only reason for your shadow to darken the doorway of a Rainforest Cafe is because you have kids ages 4-7 years old. That's it.

If you are going for the food or anything else, well, that's on you. You should know better and you should already be aware that you are not paying for food, but you are paying for the atmosphere and for the face painter that walks around and the balloon animal guy who goes table to table and for the $18 ICEE with a cheap plastic toy in it and the 4 stale brownies stacked together with a sparkler on it at the end of your sad, little $100 meal. You are paying for a couple of hours to have your children smile and enjoy an immersive yet stupid Showbiz pizza meets Fight Nights at Freddies meets Jumanji.

If you don't have kids, you should never know what the menu here even looks like, much less be disappointed with the food.

If you do have kids and you are judging this place on the food, then I question your parenting ability and wonder what other wild misunderstandings and confusions you run into on a day to day basis.

Edited August 23, 2021 by DonkeyCigars

[956 Worldwide 34883]

34 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Wasn't there a Marie Callendar's on Brodie Lane awhile back?  Haven't thought about it in a long, long time until I saw the photo above.  It was her frozen dinners that I used to buy in grad school because they were big enough to stretch into two meals or only meal for the day, but it was those that made me realize how much sodium is already in our food.  I'm not a very healthy eater, but one simple thing I do at every meal is never add salt to anything.  Ever.  Not even fries.  There is already so much goddamn salt in everything in this country.  That decision helps offset alcohol and red meat which I think are a staple of every good meal.  

Speaking of chains, Brodie Lane is undergoing quite the turnover.  It was garbage chain food alley but they're starting to get some good spots down there that you can take the kids to while knocking out errands at Home Depot and Academy.  

How the fuck are Schlotzsky's staying open? 

Schlotzky’s is awesome. Their salt and vinegar chips are the best chips around. Lots of vinegar.

I honestly never knew Marie Callendar’s was also a restaurant. 
 

Here’s something I don’t get: of all the family feedbag type places, Golden Corral is by far the shittiest. I always preferred like a Bonanza or Sirloin Stockade to that the GC. Why does it always beat them out?

[gsoda3 3284]

38 minutes ago, Lobo said:

Wasn't there a Marie Callendar's on Brodie Lane awhile back?  Haven't thought about it in a long, long time until I saw the photo above.  It was her frozen dinners that I used to buy in grad school because they were big enough to stretch into two meals or only meal for the day, but it was those that made me realize how much sodium is already in our food.  I'm not a very healthy eater, but one simple thing I do at every meal is never add salt to anything.  Ever.  Not even fries.  There is already so much goddamn salt in everything in this country.  That decision helps offset alcohol and red meat which I think are a staple of every good meal.  

Speaking of chains, Brodie Lane is undergoing quite the turnover.  It was garbage chain food alley but they're starting to get some good spots down there that you can take the kids to while knocking out errands at Home Depot and Academy.  

How the fuck are Schlotzsky's staying open? 

used to be one at mopac and 183 too til 2005ish?

[Guest Lobo]

2 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Schlotzky’s is awesome. Their salt and vinegar chips are the best chips around. Lots of vinegar.

I honestly never knew Marie Callendar’s was also a restaurant. 
 

Here’s something I don’t get: of all the family feedbag type places, Golden Corral is by far the shittiest. I always preferred like a Bonanza or Sirloin Stockade to that the GC. Why does it always beat them out?

Schlotzsky's did have good chips, I'll give you that.  Those were the ones that turned me on to salt and vinegar chips.  Which are now my go-to's if I'm at a deli.  Speaking of small chains, I think Biderman's was up to four locations around Austin.  Now, just one.  Really liked that place.  The one at used to be at 2244/360 by HEB is now going to be a Southeast Asian cocktail bar/shared plates space.  Kinda different, hope it works out for 'em.  

Yeah, not sure how Golden Corral thrives while most of the rest of those family-friend buffets are going out of business (even before Covid).  And it's not cheap either, $20/person with tax and beverage.  IT's one thing i didn't get during COvid with people clamoring to reopen states and then when they did, these people didn't run to the local restaurant that was hurting financially, they ran to Chili's and Applebee's and Golden Corral.  Those places aren't cheap.  They are billed as "family friend american grills for every budget."  But they're not, they're pricey.  They can really put a dent in the monthly food budget of a working class or even middle class family.  But Golden Corral manages to project this "larry the cable guy culinary opulence on a real cable guy salary", but a family of four with beverages and a couple bucks tip---you're out about $100.    Awhile back, we drove past the new Golden Corral on IH-35 & Slaughter and we're on the access road.  And wife commented, "How in the world is a buffet restaurant so damn crowded during a pandemic?"  She's one of the smartest people I've ever met, but I looked at her like, "Bless your heart sweetie.  Those were the people that never believed in Covid to begin with and now their headquarters is back open.  Tomorrow's meeting is at Cracker Barrel."  

I saw a handful of the "new Look" buildouts of Bill Miller BBQ in South Texas earlier this month on a trip.  Didn't stop obviously because the food is atrocious, but the new style looks interesting.  Obviously they are planning on surviving for several more years.  

I also don't get the Pok-E-Jo's survival.  It's better than Bill Miller, but that ain't saying much.  But there is one not far from my house by the old Toys 'R Us on South Lamar.  I've never seen more 2 cars at a time there, yet it remains fully open year after year.  I don't get it.  

[956 Worldwide 34883]

While we are talking buffets— Mr. Gattis kicks CiCis ass every which way. CiCis is literal hot garbage.  And Pizza Inn was badass but I never see them. Or Godfather’s.

True story: I knew a woman in the Rio Grande Valley who called CiCis “Chee-Chees” because “that’s the Italian pronunciation.”

Edited August 23, 2021 by 956 Worldwide

[gsoda3 3284]

I also don't get the Pok-E-Jo's survival. 

Their catering business does well.

[Texas St. Armadillos 1381]

3 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

 

 

Their catering business does well.

 

I would also guess that the proliferation of quality BBQ and their prices has lifted all ships in terms of what they can charge.  Keeping raw materials and quality of product the same as before would lead to profit margins increasing with no other increased expense.   Just a thought.

[Guest Lobo]

6 minutes ago, gsoda3 said:

 

 

Their catering business does well.

 

Yeah, good point.  Didn't even think of that.  I forgot how many offices still use them for a month end lunch treat.  The location to which I referred is probably just a glorified ghost kitchen at this point.  I'm seeing so many more of those now in Austin---ghost kitchens.  And some of them are cooking for chain restaurants too.  Weird.  There's a whole sub-asset class going on I don't fully grasp yet.  

I've been noticing more and more Jersey Mike's popping up around Austin.  Ballsy move considering how saturated we are in sandwich/sub shops.  I'm guessing since Subway has cornered the yoga-mat bread market, Jersey Mike's makes theirs with pilates mats instead?  Although I saw a woman walking out a yoga studio this morning near campus.  Her ass could have stopped Covid-19.  If I could eat her yoga mat, I would.  

 

[gsoda3 3284]

I would also guess that the proliferation of quality BBQ and their prices has lifted all ships in terms of what they can charge.  Keeping raw materials and quality of product the same as before would lead to profit margins increasing with no other increased expense.   Just a thought.

I don't know what they're charging but I know they've been doing a lot of weddings on top of their corporate business.

[utee94 15878]

33 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

While we are talking buffets— Mr. Gattis kicks CiCis ass every which way. CiCis is literal hot garbage.  And Pizza Inn was badass but I never see them. Or Godfather’s.

True story: I knew a woman in the Rio Grande Valley who called CiCis “Chee-Chees” because “that’s the Italian pronunciation.”

We had a Pizza Inn on Burnet Road near Rockwood when I was growing up back in the 70s/80s but I haven't seen one in years.  They did an evening buffet I think one night per week, Tuesdays?  I remember loving it, but I was just a kid so...

And I also loved Godfather's.  And Shakey's.  But they were further away.

[Muy Frio 182]

My submission sadly would be Taco Cabana. I remember it being good back when I was young. In the Sean Elliott days. Even in college I thought it was fine. The last couple times I've dared to stop there it was God awful.

[Biff Tannen 45761]

There's a new commercial for Applebee's out with some bro-country-ish song they made up about having a date night at Applebee's.  I want to kill them.

[DalTxHornFan 3121]

7 minutes ago, Muy Frio said:

My submission sadly would be Taco Cabana. I remember it being good back when I was young. In the Sean Elliott days. Even in college I thought it was fine. The last couple times I've dared to stop there it was God awful.

Corporate fuckery is afoot:

https://www.frgi.com/news/press-release-details/2021/Fiesta-Restaurant-Group-Inc.-Closes-the-Sale-of-Taco-Cabana-to-an-Affiliate-of-Yadav-Enterprises-Inc/default.aspx

[HoustonHorn 1062]

25 minutes ago, Muy Frio said:

My submission sadly would be Taco Cabana. I remember it being good back when I was young. In the Sean Elliott days. Even in college I thought it was fine. The last couple times I've dared to stop there it was God awful.

Yeah, Eggs Mexicana with a bunch of tortillas was almost a must on the way home from 6th.

I haven't eaten there but a handful of times in the last 10 years, but the last time I went about a year ago I took one bite of a quesadilla and had to throw it away. Disgusting.

[pch 1261]

6 hours ago, Native Horn said:

High-school hamburgers to me meant going to $0.39 hamburgers on Anderson near Burnet.  As non-awesome as the burgers were, you could gorge for $3.00 including fries and drink.  

Fortunately, the food in that location has improved over the years 

It was the .15 hamburgers at Burger Chef for moi in Corpus Christi.  I met the owner of that restaurant later in Fort Worth who became a Miller distributor.

Edited August 23, 2021 by pch
correct information

[CHIEF 5095]

2 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

used to be one at mopac and 183 too til 2005ish?

That MC location shut down after failing their first three health inspections. I don't know how I remember that. But I remember seeing it on the news right before I moved out of Austin. Never ate there.

CHIEF

[elfenix 34371]

2 hours ago, gsoda3 said:

Their catering business does well.

 

constant pok-e-jo's catering on the floor at dell back in the day.  nearly always the fajitas, which weren't terrible. 

 

1 hour ago, Muy Frio said:

My submission sadly would be Taco Cabana. I remember it being good back when I was young. In the Sean Elliott days. Even in college I thought it was fine. The last couple times I've dared to stop there it was God awful.

they started going downhill about the same time they got rid of the rotisserie chickens, iirc.  used to kill a cabana bowl on the reg. 

 

Edited August 23, 2021 by elfenix

[Zepol87 9215]

1 hour ago, HoustonHorn said:

Yeah, Eggs Mexicana with a bunch of tortillas was almost a must on the way home from 6th.

I haven't eaten there but a handful of times in the last 10 years, but the last time I went about a year ago I took one bite of a quesadilla and had to throw it away. Disgusting.

Eggs Mexicana used to be the go to, so damn good. I agree it is shit now. 

Also I had no idea that MC was in Texas. I guess I never saw it in DFW but I remember them in Oklahoma when I was younger my mom would always stop. 

Edited August 23, 2021 by Zepol87

[Underdog 28855]

1 hour ago, CHIEF said:

That MC location shut down after failing their first three health inspections. I don't know how I remember that. But I remember seeing it on the news right before I moved out of Austin. Never ate there.

CHIEF

Interesting.  I remember them having a solid brunch on weekends and we'd pick up a pie or two for holidays.  

[dimyh 1874]

2 hours ago, CHIEF said:

That MC location shut down after failing their first three health inspections. I don't know how I remember that. But I remember seeing it on the news right before I moved out of Austin. Never ate there.

CHIEF

I'd still grab a pie from there if they were open. Regular food was pretty meh but they had the best chocolate cream pie. Nothing fancy, just a regular crust (but not like the waxy pre-made crap that a bunch of places use), chilled chocolate cream, and a light top of whipped cream (never liked the towering meringue style) with some small chocolate shavings to give it a little extra chocolaty goodness.

[Hook1997 5422]

10 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Here’s something I don’t get: of all the family feedbag type places, Golden Corral is by far the shittiest. I always preferred like a Bonanza or Sirloin Stockade to that the GC. Why does it always beat them out?

You obviously have never tried Ryan’s…. Makes Golden Corral look like fine dining, they use 0 seasoning on anything they make.  I once walked out of one and went to taco bell across the street.  Now it has been over ten years since going to any of them. 

[Deej 77012]

14 hours ago, dimyh said:

I'd still grab a pie from there if they were open. Regular food was pretty meh but they had the best chocolate cream pie. Nothing fancy, just a regular crust (but not like the waxy pre-made crap that a bunch of places use), chilled chocolate cream, and a light top of whipped cream (never liked the towering meringue style) with some small chocolate shavings to give it a little extra chocolaty goodness.

[The Ace of Aces 5240]

9 hours ago, Hook1997 said:

You obviously have never tried Ryan’s…. Makes Golden Corral look like fine dining, they use 0 seasoning on anything they make.  I once walked out of one and went to taco bell across the street.  Now it has been over ten years since going to any of them. 

Who hurt you as a child? 

[Hook1997 5422]

2 hours ago, The Ace of Aces said:

Who hurt you as a child? 

My parents by never telling me as a child how shitty Ryan’s was?   Googled them all gone now after their third bankruptcy filing a few years back.  

Edited August 24, 2021 by Hook1997