25 January 2009
Crappy chain restaurants
Last night, some friends and I dined at Logan’s Roadhouse. It reminded me of everything I hate about chains. Especially chains that try to be better than they are. I mean, the clientele weren’t anything to mess with, either. When I was in the bathroom, I watched a woman go into a stall with her half-finished beer and emerge with the cup empty. And then she walked out without evening glancing at the sink to wash her hands. That in itself was unappetizing.
But anyway, my thought is that if you’re going to serve crappy, unhealthy food, at least own it. Logan’s tries to make it seem like have amazing, down-home cooking. NOPE. Everything I had tasted like it had been frozen and then heated up. HELLO, GORDON RAMSEY, WHERE ARE YOU?
Also, just ONE of their dinner rolls has 227 calories (I ate two). A 12 oz. steak at Logan’s has 974 calories. WTF! There’s no reason a 12 oz. steak should have that many calories unless you literally marinate it in butter (which they probably do to make up for the fact that it’s crappy meat to begin with).
I’m no food snob. In fact, I probably like junk food more than you. I love pizza, deep-fried bar food (mozzarella sticks, anyone?), and nachos. But here’s my philosophy: if you’re going to eat out and indulge, do it right. Pick a hole-in-the-wall Thai or Mexican place, a really upscale new American restaurant, or your local bar and grill. Don’t waste your calories or money on crappy chain restaurant food. It’s unhealthy and it just doesn’t taste all that great. Plus, it’s really not THAT cheap.
Alright, alright, sometimes chains are unavoidable. And I’ll admit, there are two guilty pleasure chains that I’ll eat at every now and then: Champps and the Cheesecake Factory. Both of them have menus as long as some novels, which I think is usually a red flag at any restaurant, but they do bar and grill food right. Do you have a guilty pleasure chain (besides fast food) that you like? Tell me about it, kids: yournutritionista@gmail.com.
