chain restaurants
Okay, I agree: the New York Times treating a visit to a chain restaurant like some sort of sociological safari is a pretty irritating premise for an article. And as a child of the DC suburbs whose family very, very rarely dined out, I'm not sure what kind of claim I have to this conversation. I eat a lot of arugula (it's good!), which I think probably at least partially disqualifies me.
But I do think we need to establish some reasonable limits on the anti-NYT populism that's currently pouring forth from the blogosphere. Because let's be honest: Outback Steakhouse is fucking disgusting. Admittedly, I've only been once. But what kind of steakhouse doesn't ask how you want your steak cooked? I honestly can't even tell you what kind of animal provided the steak I ate. It sure didn't seem like beef.
Now it's true that I'm a fan of the "big greasy fried onion thing" school of culinary thought. But others do it so much better. Add in Fosters' claim to the worst hangover:pleasing taste ratio in the beer industry, and you can see that the entire Fauxstralian concept has little to redeem it.
But the other chain restaurants in that article are fine. Alright, I admit to having a grudge against the Cheesecake Factory, largely on the basis of their strangely mosquelike Clarendon location (and the perpetual lines outside it) serving as a constant local reminder of the American Empire's impending collapse. And I find something a little off-putting about Olive Garden's explicitly stated promotional campaign: "Come fill up on bread!" But Chili's, Bertucci's, Friday's, P.F. Chang's and Applebee's are all fine (I've never eaten at a Red Lobster, but a recent Tivo subscription to "Deadliest Catch" is making me want to).
There's nothing wrong with these places' recipes, per se, other than their inability to power pretentious foodie smalltalk and their depressing implications re: our country's per capita alfredo sauce consumption. With the cost spread over millions of diners, I believe these chains are probably willing to invest seriously in coming up with dishes that are about as good as possible given the constraints of their supply chain, price range and varying levels of kitchen talent.
But I can understand why they have a bad reputation — and it isn't just snobbery. The difference is really just about which restaurant in the chain you visit. If you find one with a good manager, chances are you'll get decent service and decent food. If you go to one that isn't as well run — the Chili's I last visited comes to mind (it was located in some airport) — every bite will make you acutely aware of how little care went into your meal between the walk-in and your plate.
The power of the brand means that a bad restaurant that belongs to a franchise can stay in business much longer than a bad restaurant that belongs to a person could; which means that if you find a bad one it'll probably seem particularly bad. I think it's that phenomenon — our automatic capacity for mindless brand loyalty — that makes the chains seem unappealing rather than any designed aspect of the dining experiences on offer.
Comments
I dunno. Some of it's inherent. The steakhouses are going to be bad: a cheap steak is an oxymoron. The American cuisine places are going to be bad -- Applebees, Fridays, Ruby Tuesdays -- because their menus are full of disgusting combinations. Ethnic chains -- Olive Garden and Bertucci's -- are in a better position since their basic cuisine is cheap and good. Plus their size gives them an advantage over mom and pop Italian places. Chain Chinese, on the other hand, though the underlying cuisine is cheap and good, have a hard time out-costcutting individual Chinese restaurants. Plus the Chinese restaurant business is, in itself, almost a franchise.
But the steaks aren't *that* cheap. And Ray's the Steaks in Arlington has by all accounts defied the idea that a great steak meal has to be insanely expensive.
I'm surprised that you and so many commenters on other threads defend the Olive Garden. It's selling a fake idea of Italian culture (instead of the quality of its food) more than, say, P.F. Chang's is selling a fake idea of Asian culture. Bertucci's is fine (above a modest price point it's hard to screw up pizza that badly), but OG has always struck me as pretty bad.
It's actually the American chains that fare the best in my book. They're pushing a cuisine that's simple and that the country is set up to support. Making a decent burger or chicken sandwich is pretty easy to do.
I don't know that I'm defending OG. I'm just saying that just as it's difficult to screw pizza up that bad, so it's difficult to screw spaghetti up that bad.
Surely all (reasonably price-accessible) Italian restaurants sell a fake idea of Italian culture, along with the food.
And yes, the safe thing to order in an Applebees, say, is a burger. That, too, above a certain price point, is difficult to screw up that bad.
Ok, I can't believe I'm doing this, but I must rise in defense of Outback.
I generally hate chains but when I travel on business (alone and often in the middle of nowhere) I seek out Outback because of it's better quality and a bar I can eat at unselfconsciously. Of course, OB can't compete with any prime steakhouse, but it's not Ponderosa either. The ribeye steak and baked potato are just fine for the money.
I hate the blooming onion but love the coconut shrimp so I can't look down my nose at anyone.
Having eaten at OB literally all over the US, I've never not been asked how I want my steak cooked. OB has a policy of immediately describing back to you what medium rare means as soon as you request it. A practice I find annoying and a little humiliating -- eating in a restaurant where the normal clientèle is so dim-witted as to require such silly explanations. And it doesn't help that I'm getting the explanation by a 17 year old.
So while I would never suggest OB over any fine locally owned restaurant, I think you did have an uncommonly bad experience on your one visit and if you should find yourself in a town with no easily located decent non-chain, you should give OB a second try.
Well, I suppose I should take my own statements to heart and admit that the Outback I went to may have been unusually bad. But yeah -- I'm not a guy who goes to steakhouses all that often, so when I do I think I'll probably stick with the non-chains. The District Chophouse has excellent house beers, and I've heard nothing but good things about Ray's the Steaks.