# Restaurants that can't do a specific thing well **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [May 30, 2022, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335 "2022-05-30T02:25:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2022, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/141 "2022-06-15T11:33:47Z")
Same at the places I worked. It doesn’t make sense really for someone to order a plain cheeseburger and get a burger with no cheese - but maybe it’s that way at the McDonald’s locations where I have to order a “cheeseburger with no cheese” or better yet, “Quarter pounder with cheese with no cheese” \* because for some reason, “hamburger” and "quarter pounder are no longer on the menu. \* For some reason, they don’t understand Quarter pounder no cheese - might have to do with the buttons on the cash register. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2022, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/142 "2022-06-15T11:49:48Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > Even if you’re a regular. There’s a butter chicken dinner at my local pub, that comes with rice and naan. I always get it without the rice, because I just can’t eat that much these days. So the cooks substitute extra naan, so I still end up leaving a lot uneaten. I’ve given up trying to explain it to them. It’s a special order so they have to switch up their routine and it doesn’t actually save them any money. It doesn’t matter to them if you leave most of the rice uneaten. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2022, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/143 "2022-06-15T12:06:59Z")
Not specific thing but a consistent ability to cock something up each time. This was a restaurant in Ottawa that could have been fantastic - great decor in a lively, colourful interior, excellent menu, great atmosphere - but every time my wife and I went there they would screw something up. And it would always be something stupid and easily preventable; one time I had a really nice pizza but their entire pot of coffee was cold, another time it was cool soup. It was always something of that nature. They crapped out a year or two later and it was a bloody shame. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2022, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/144 "2022-06-15T12:20:00Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > one time I had a really nice pizza but their entire pot of coffee was cold This just raises the question of how you came to be consuming pizza and coffee in the same meal. ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2022, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/145 "2022-06-15T12:22:16Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > This just raises the question of how you came to be consuming pizza and coffee in the same meal An important question to be sure, however, the coffee probably followed a couple of Peroni beers and a glass or two of hearty, dry red wine. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2022, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/146 "2022-06-15T17:36:50Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > What a great country you must live in! I’m confused as to what this means, whether it’s sarcasm or a genuine acclaim of a country where you can get a good indian meal. In case it’s the former, “butter chicken” is a (probably British style) Indian curry, which can be as mild as Korma, but not always. Heavy on the butter. Just in case you thought it was chicken covered in butter. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2022, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/147 "2022-06-15T18:08:05Z")
I meant that in a very positive sense. The idea of a pub serving up Indian food as a signature dish is a dream for people on this side of the pond. It’s like when we landed in London (c 1999) after a red-eye checked into our hotel and were ravenously hungry, walked into a random non-Indian eatery and one of the offerings was Lamb Rogan Josh in a naan! But then at our town’s summer festival we had a food truck serving Irish food including curry fries that my wife really enjoyed. So all is not lost. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2022, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/148 "2022-06-15T20:15:05Z")
> [@velomont](#): > > Not specific thing but a consistent ability to cock something up each time. This was a restaurant in Ottawa that could have been fantastic - great decor in a lively, colourful interior, excellent menu, great atmosphere - but every time my wife and I went there they would screw something up. And it would always be something stupid and easily preventable; one time I had a really nice pizza but their entire pot of coffee was cold, another time it was cool soup. It was always something of that nature. They crapped out a year or two later and it was a bloody shame. When I worked night audit at a hotel in Wausau we used to order food sometimes. I favored a local pizza place because they never quite got orders right. A garden salad with raspberry vinaigrette? Surely I meant regular vinaigrette! A meatball sub no cheese extra onions? Well, that sounds like I really wanted a meatball sub no cheese, no sauce! Or maybe extra onions and no sauce! Pepperoni pizza with onions? Of course I wanted green peppers as well! And every time they interpreted it a little differently. I was delighted - it was like opening presents at Christmas. I’m not sure my co-workers were, though. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2022, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/149 "2022-06-15T20:17:48Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > Just in case you thought it was chicken covered in butter. Well, then. I’ve learned something today. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2022, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/150 "2022-06-15T21:38:29Z")
A local supermarket was offering a Chicago hot dog. Now there is a specific recipe. But they didn’t know it. So… Instead of an all-beef hotdog, they used Oscar Meyer Instead of fresh relish, they used jarred. Instead of sport peppers, they used banana peppers. Instead of a poppy seed roll, they used a regular hot dog roll. The dill pickle was from a jar. The tomato, onions, and mustard were fine, but calling this a Chicago hot dog was false advertising. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2022, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/151 "2022-06-15T22:02:40Z")
Supermarket offering is not quality. You’re funny. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2022, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/152 "2022-06-15T23:43:37Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Instead of fresh relish, they used jarred. The Vienna Beef co. sells their bright green, Chicago-style relish in a jar. I reckon that hot dog joints that sell Vienna Beef based Chicago dogs use industrial size containers of the stuff, not fresh. [4 Pack of Vienna Chicago Style Relish | Vienna Beef](https://www.viennabeef.com/shop/vienna-chicago-style-relish-4-pack/) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/153 "2022-06-16T00:57:05Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Supermarket offering is not quality. You’re funny. This was a food court within the supermarket. Their other offerings were generally fine. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/154 "2022-06-16T01:00:11Z")
You’ll also see it as “chicken makhani” on menus, although I think some places may maintain a difference between the two names (someone can help me on this. “Makhan” means “butter” in Hindi.) It’s basically what would be described as a mild, creamy, buttery “curry” to the average non-South Asian person. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/155 "2022-06-16T02:16:39Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The dill pickle was from a jar. What on earth are your dill pickles coming out of? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/156 "2022-06-16T03:37:07Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I feel your pain. I can’t stand cheese on burgers, with two exceptions - bleu cheese crumbles are good, and so is shredded cheddar on an open-faced chili burger (a “chili size” if you’re in the know). American cheese absolutely ruins a burger for me, and any time I order a burger from a fast food place, I will pull it out of the bag and unwrap it at the counter to make sure they haven’t put cheese on it in spite of my “no cheese” request. Slapping cheese on the burger is so automatic for fast food cooks (and I should know, I used to be one) that I’ve even had it happen with burgers that don’t come with cheese by default, like the Jumbo Jack or the Whopper. I went to Five Guys tonight. Guess what I found on my hamburger. The thing is, I don’t hate cheeseburgers when they’re done properly. Put the cheese of the burger while it’s cooking, let it come up to temperature and even melt a little bit, and it can be good. Fast food places are a different story, though. They take the burger off the grill, and as they assemble the burger they slip on a cold slice of American cheese. It brings down the temperature of the whole burger. I can’t understand why this is so hard. Beef, ketchup, lettuce, pickles, onion; no cheese, it’s not rocket science. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/157 "2022-06-16T04:13:01Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Instead of fresh relish, they used jarred. The Oscar Meyer is pretty bad but I can’t visualize fresh relish on a hot dog. I don’t really care about poppy seed buns, I guess they add some texture. If I’m making dogs at home, I seek plain buns since the seeds don’t add enough to justify the escapees. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/158 "2022-06-16T04:14:38Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > A burger or an omelette with that instead of the standard American “cheese product” is a whole different thing. By the way, am I the only person who finds the term, “cheese product”, somewhat unsettling? “Pasteurized Process Cheese food” which seems to me to be the stuff you feed _real_ cheese! > [@Horatius](#): > > So the cooks substitute extra naan, so I still end up leaving a lot uneaten. I’ve given up trying to explain it to them. “extra naan”? I understand each word individually, but I don;t seem how they could be used together, except “Please give me extra naan, thanks!” 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/159 "2022-06-16T12:02:37Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > I meant that in a very positive sense. The idea of a pub serving up Indian food as a signature dish is a dream for people on this side of the pond. It’s a weird situation. The butter chicken (which is the Indian dish, in case people were still wondering) is actually made by some off-site company, and served at the pub (this is a local chain with about 20 pubs, and as far as I know, they all offer it). And yet, it’s the best butter chicken in the city. I’ve ordered butter chicken from several local Indian restaurants, and it just doesn’t compare. The naan isn’t so great, but the butter sauce makes up for a lot. I tried it on a whim for my birthday about 10 years ago, and it’s become one of my go-to meals there. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2022, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335/160 "2022-06-16T13:06:35Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > > [@RealityChuck](#): > > > > The dill pickle was from a jar. > > What on earth are your dill pickles coming out of? A plastic tub. > **[Dill Spears | Grillo's Pickles](https://www.grillos.com/product/dill-spears/)** > > This is the OG. The original 100-year-old recipe first made straight from the backyard garden and now available nationwide. The classic Chicago hot dog pickle is made fresh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-that-cant-do-a-specific-thing-well/965335.md?page=9)