Richard Periut wrote:
> Edwin Pawlowski wrote:
>> "Pete C." > wrote in message
>>
>>> None of the big chains generally qualify as five star, but they are
>>> usually consistently decent. A result of that corporate
>>> homogenization where all the brands in the chain end up pretty much
>>> identical except for their decor. Cracker Barrel and Outback are
>>> pretty typical in that you can usually count on being able to stop
>>> at one pretty much anywhere and get a reasonable meal that at least
>>> beats the fast food places.
>>>
>>> Pete C.
>>
>>
>> I don't disagree with you, and that "consistent sameness" is one of
>> the reasons the chains do so well. I have, however, become much more
>> adventurous in the past few years. I go out of my way to try local
>> places. I've found more winners than losers and sometimes you find a
>> real gem.
>
> IMO, Applebees, Olive Garden, and Red Lobster all fall into the same
> category: to fulfill the appetite of the hungry for crapa ratta.
> The only good thing in these places (for the most part,) is their
> freshly made salads and breadsticks. The rest is nuked, pressure
> cookec/heated, et cetera.
>
I don't know about now but when I worked at Red Lobster back in 1981 they
didn't have a microwave and there was nary a pressure cooker in sight. The
seafood was either run under a salamader (aka broiled) or deep fried,
depending on what was ordered. The crab legs were steamed; the whole
lobster was boiled. The baked potatoes went in to large ovens. The bread
(it was rolls back then, not those cheese biscuits I keep hearing about
which are, apparenly, nothing but glorified Bisquik biscuits) was by no
means freshly made; they were from frozen and popped in an oven.

> Do yourselves a favor and buy yourselves quality ingredients, learn
> the basics of cooking, and have fun and cook your own stuff.
>
What exactly do you think we do here?! The point the OP was making was if
you *want* to go out to dinner and wind up at a place like Applebees, for
whatever reason, the food could be mediocre, could be bad, could be decent
if not spectacular.

Jill