# Restaurants you don't like **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 2, 2007, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419 "2007-04-02T13:50:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/21 "2007-04-02T16:57:32Z")
Chinese restaurants in the U.S. are generally horrible. I’d love to go to one that served actual authentic Chinese cuisine sometime. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/22 "2007-04-02T16:58:32Z")
[QUOTE=Ravenman] Olive Garden gets my spite for advertising faux Italian-named dishes like “chicken _con_ broccoli” or “pasta _con_ mushrooms.” [/QUOTE] Is that a joke? I’ve never been to the place (heard horrible things), but you’ve got to be kidding me. They really name things like that? ---
**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:** [April 2, 2007, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/23 "2007-04-02T17:01:24Z")
Cheesecake Factory. Decent cheesecake, but not worth the wait. Bennigan’s has nothing interesting on the menu at all. Bob Evans is second-rate diner food; you get better stuff in any independent diner anywhere. AFAIK, Steak and Ale has gone under (as a chain – there may be individual restaurants). ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/24 "2007-04-02T17:11:38Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] This thread strikes me as a bit odd, naming restaurants that everyone seems to recognise. Is American dining really that dominated by chain restaurants? Personally I’d only visit a chain restaurant at moments of dire need… [/QUOTE] I think it depends on where you are. Boston has tons of excellent independant restaurants (and a good handful of terrible ones). In fact, except for the major fast food places, it’s hard to find chains in the city limits. Except Sbarro. And I’m not a fan. They once advertized a breakfast sandwich. It was basically an english muffin with a greasy egg, mozzerella, and pepperoni. And it tasted like bad pizza. And I think it cost $6. Never. Again. ---
**Author:** ![Whiteknight](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whiteknight/32/4962_2.png) [@Whiteknight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whiteknight)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/25 "2007-04-02T17:12:46Z")
[QUOTE=Scuba\_Ben] I learned the hard way that Olive Garden should be called Bland Garden. [/QUOTE] Are you kidding me? We go there whenever my cousin Vinny is in town visiting from Sicily and he wants a taste of home. ---
**Author:** ![susan\_foster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@susan\_foster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan_foster)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/26 "2007-04-02T17:25:54Z")
I’ve been to Lonestar once (not to be confused with Longhorn). Had the most disgusting babyback ribs ever. I couldn’t even eat them - I started to cut into them, and the top peeled off to reveal a massive layer of fat on top! Eeeew. My date asked me if I wanted to get something else - I didn’t want to risk it. Susan ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/27 "2007-04-02T17:34:23Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Never heard of it, but the name reminds me of the Hilltop Steakhouse. Locals will probably hang me for saying this, but I hate that place. It’s family-style dining for the morbidly obese. Most of the children I’ve seen in there seem to weigh more than I do, and I’m pretty big. Their idea of a salad is two leaves of iceberg lettuce, while their idea of an entree is a steak the size of a toilet seat. And the steak is of an unnatural color. It’s almost neon pink. I mean, I’m a meat lover, but that place just gives me the willies. [/QUOTE] Sacrilege! My yearly visit to the Temple of the Plastic Cow is this Friday. I used to get the Frank’s cut Prime Rib (24 oz), but I’ve cut back to the King cut (16 oz) in recent years. One time a vegetarian friend came with us to the Hilltop. The only thing he could eat safely was the steamed carrots. Even then he had to make a special request that they hold the 1/2 lb. of butter they put on. I’d have to vote for Applebee’s for nasty. On my single visit there, I was served chicken tartare. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/28 "2007-04-02T17:36:54Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Is that a joke? I’ve never been to the place (heard horrible things), but you’ve got to be kidding me. They really name things like that? [/QUOTE] Chicken con broccoli is real. [Here](http://www.thatsmyhome.com/venettos/chicken-con-broccoli.htm) is the recipe that Olive Garden supposedly uses. Pasta con mushrooms may be something I did not remember correctly, but rest assured that there have been ads for other similarly silly names. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/29 "2007-04-02T17:39:59Z")
> [@](#): > > _Joe’s Crab Shack is hit or miss._ I deeply hate Joe’s Crab Shack. The food is okay, but when the waiters all get together and do their little song and dance routine? Dear God. I just want you people to bring me my molluscs. There’s no need to debase yourself for my amusement. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/30 "2007-04-02T17:41:40Z")
We have an Outback in Bangkok, but it suffers from none of the horror stories I read here. There are no televisions. I’ve never seen it very crowded, so always a table, no waiting. And really, sometimes I just want a hunk of meat, and steakhouses are precious few here. The only other one I can think of offhand is called Neil’s Tavern – it opened on July 20, 1969, so take a wild guess the Neil it was named after. Neil’s Tavern is good but very high end. I just don’t like paying that much. Outback is very reasonably priced and so far no problems with the steak itself. The wife likes it, too. As for other places, I don’t like McDonald’s and never go there. ---
**Author:** ![TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/51bf81/32.png) [@TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TLDRIDKJKLOLFTW)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/31 "2007-04-02T17:42:20Z")
I had the most horrible meal at **Max and Erma’s** recently. First and last time I’ll ever go there. I don’t even know how to articulate how bad the food was, but it was equally bad for everyone. Bland, weird, just BAD. ---
**Author:** ![rhythmonly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@rhythmonly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhythmonly)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/32 "2007-04-02T17:50:48Z")
There’s a chain (well two resturants left, anyway) in these parts called Cattleman’s. It’s a steak house, and is open for dinner only. Everytime that I went there, the food was either cooked incorrectly, or screwed up even worse when it was sent back. I ordered a combo meal that consisted of two New York steaks, along with some crab legs. The steaks arrived, and although I ordered them medium rare, they were completely raw in the middle. I called the waitress over, and asked if the steaks could be cooked a little more. After a brisk 20 minute wait, the steaks were returned. At least, I think they were steaks once. They were burned completely black, with a nice brown interior. That was my last visit. I also used to have a problem with Taco Bell. I could not get a ground beef burrito. I’d always get beans instead. This always made a drive-thru visit aggravaiting, especially trying to find a parking spot after my order was screwed up again. Quit going to resturants/fast food joints; problem solved. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/33 "2007-04-02T17:57:31Z")
[QUOTE=romansperson] Chinese restaurants in the U.S. are generally horrible. I’d love to go to one that served actual authentic Chinese cuisine sometime. [/QUOTE] Try one in a Chinatown. We’ve been with a friend from Hong Kong both in New York and San Francisco, and some are pretty good. There are some good places, I think, near me in the Bay Area also, but those are in shopping centers 90% patronized by people from China. But authentic in a strip mall place, serving middle America? No way. ---
**Author:** ![vetbridge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5e925/32.png) [@vetbridge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vetbridge)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/34 "2007-04-02T17:59:23Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] This thread strikes me as a bit odd, naming restaurants that everyone seems to recognise. Is American dining really that dominated by chain restaurants? Personally I’d only visit a chain restaurant at moments of dire need… [/QUOTE] Thank you for pointing that out. I eat in a restaurant once or twice a week. Rarely is it a restaurant that anyone would recognize if they were not from my part of the world. I like Anna’s for Italian cuisine, Weng’s Garden for Chinese fare, Ibiza for tapas, etc. I give thumbs down to Gardas (good food but service problems). ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/35 "2007-04-02T18:02:35Z")
I’ve never had issues with Outback. Not worth the wait, though. I hate, hate hate Taco Hell, Burger Chef (if they’re still around) and In n Out Burger. (That will catch hell.) Burger King has never done it for me - crappy fries. I have an issue with Dead Lobster also - I’m not sure why. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/36 "2007-04-02T18:20:24Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] I have an issue with Dead Lobster also - I’m not sure why. [/QUOTE] I’ve heard terrible things about it. Never saw a need to go. Why anybody living in a coastal region needs to eat at a place where the fish is shipped in from a warehouse in Wichita is beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/37 "2007-04-02T18:35:14Z")
[QUOTE=VCO3] I had the most horrible meal at **Max and Erma’s** recently. First and last time I’ll ever go there. I don’t even know how to articulate how bad the food was, but it was equally bad for everyone. Bland, weird, just BAD. [/QUOTE] I had a bad service experience there recently. We were the only customers in the place, and it took them an hour to bring out our fucked up sandwich order. Nevah again. ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/38 "2007-04-02T18:43:29Z")
[QUOTE=Voyager] Try one in a Chinatown. We’ve been with a friend from Hong Kong both in New York and San Francisco, and some are pretty good. There are some good places, I think, near me in the Bay Area also, but those are in shopping centers 90% patronized by people from China. But authentic in a strip mall place, serving middle America? No way. [/QUOTE] If I ever find myself in a city with a Chinatown, I’ll give it a try. I do live in an area with a reasonable amount of actual Chinese people, and upon asking for a recommendation I’ve been told that DC is about the closest place I’ll find anything worth trying. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![abbeytxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@abbeytxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abbeytxs)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/39 "2007-04-02T18:54:47Z")
[QUOTE=tdn] Never heard of it, but the name reminds me of the Hilltop Steakhouse. Locals will probably hang me for saying this, but I hate that place. It’s family-style dining for the morbidly obese. Most of the children I’ve seen in there seem to weigh more than I do, and I’m pretty big. Their idea of a salad is two leaves of iceberg lettuce, while their idea of an entree is a steak the size of a toilet seat. And the steak is of an unnatural color. It’s almost neon pink. I mean, I’m a meat lover, but that place just gives me the willies. [/QUOTE] Years ago my father in law had an engagement party for us at that hideous place. There was a fake finger nail in my sister in law’s salad. Neither my husband nor I ate red meat and so were out of luck. I guess if you like eating huge slabs of raw meat it is a great place to go but my feeling is if that placed burned down it would be no great loss. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419/40 "2007-04-02T19:01:28Z")
Cheesecake Factory. Overpriced, lame food. The cheesecake is good but not heavenly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/restaurants-you-dont-like/398419.md?page=3)