quote:
I don't understand you Harry. You started the steakhouse thread and even commented about how ridiculous it was to talk about saltgrass and roadhouse as elite steakhouses. And now you defend the chain restaurant?
A chain restaurant mass produces crap. In no world does their quality compare to a single place or at the very least a local chain.
The Roadhouse thread was funny to me for a number of reasons. But I stopped being a chain snob a while back for a couple reasons.
-many, if not most, independent or "mom & pop" restaurants are serving defrosted, prepackaged food from Sysco or other large suppliers. There are, of course, great exceptions, but I'm not paying a local premium to eat fast food out of some independent spirit.
-I value customer service. A lot of chains have professional training programs that are just better than what you get from some surly mom's surly teenager who's pissed off about having to work after school.
-Health standards. These vary...wildly among mom & pops.
Having said that, I'm a native Houstonian and have my favorite local joints. But I'm not going to make a principled fight for "Johnny's Locally Sourced Thai-Fusion Sloppy Joe Hut" when my parents want to go to the Saltgrass in their neighborhood.
And, for the record, my dad took me for my first mufaletta at Central Grocery when I was a kid. Still like Jason's (which started as a local, family owned spot in Beaumont).