# What does "no substitutions" mean on a slow food menu. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 9, 2013, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562 "2013-06-09T16:54:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/121 "2013-06-13T01:28:16Z")
Well, most restaurants fail because you’re a baked potato hating fag. So take solace in that fact. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/122 "2013-06-13T01:34:21Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > I have no idea if they do provide free refills, but even if they don’t, it wouldn’t make them a bad restaurant as BigT claimed. If high end restaurants gave free drink refills I’d never be able to drive home. Or walk to the car, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/123 "2013-06-13T01:43:49Z")
I’m reminded of the time my aunt and uncle were out with some friends and they all decided to go to [Primanti’s](http://primantibros.com/home.html). Now, Primanti’s is known for its sandwiches, which come with fries and cole slaw – but they’re on the sandwiches themselves, not on the side. That’s their signature item. You can get fries or chili or soup, but the sandwiches are the main draw. And they’re made to order. You can add an egg or onions, but no special orders. So they go in, and my aunt, of course, asks them to leave the slaw and the fries on the side. :smack: Naturally, they tell her they don’t do that. So she’s bitching about it to my mom on the phone, who’s like, “Hello, why would you GO there? That’s what they make!!!” Now I don’t know if she got pissy at the restaurant, but knowing Auntie, she probably did. At the very least, she probably looked like a total n00b. And it’s not like she didn’t know this – she’s lived in this area her entire life. And no, Primanti’s is certainly not in any danger of going out of business – quite the opposite. So know your restaurant, people – if there’s a place that’s known for a certain type of cuisine, don’t go there and ask them to substitute. Or at the very least, don’t get all butthurt if they say no. Some places move like an assembly line. Why tell this story? Because it still makes me _facepalm_. (And yes I’ve eaten there and yes it’s good. Messy as hell, but good.) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/124 "2013-06-13T01:52:36Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Well, most restaurants fail because you’re a baked potato hating fag. So take solace in that fact. Say what now? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/125 "2013-06-13T01:54:06Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Say what now? Maybe some coffee for your friend? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/126 "2013-06-13T02:14:22Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I’m reminded of the time my aunt and uncle were out with some friends and they all decided to go to [Primanti’s](http://primantibros.com/home.html). Now, Primanti’s is known for its sandwiches, which come with fries and cole slaw – but they’re on the sandwiches themselves, not on the side. That’s their signature item. You can get fries or chili or soup, but the sandwiches are the main draw. And they’re made to order. You can add an egg or onions, but no special orders. > > So they go in, and my aunt, of course, asks them to leave the slaw and the fries on the side. :smack: Naturally, they tell her they don’t do that. So she’s bitching about it to my mom on the phone, who’s like, “Hello, why would you GO there? That’s what they make!!!” Now I don’t know if she got pissy at the restaurant, but knowing Auntie, she probably did. At the very least, she probably looked like a total n00b. And it’s not like she didn’t know this – she’s lived in this area her entire life. > > And no, Primanti’s is certainly not in any danger of going out of business – quite the opposite. So know your restaurant, people – if there’s a place that’s known for a certain type of cuisine, don’t go there and ask them to substitute. Or at the very least, don’t get all butthurt if they say no. Some places move like an assembly line. > > Why tell this story? Because it still makes me _facepalm_. > > (And yes I’ve eaten there and yes it’s good. Messy as hell, but good.) The funny thing abut Primanti’s is, they make a zillion different subs (hogies), but no matter what you order, you get a cheese-stake hogie. Serves you right, too - if you actually think that they are going to get your order right when they have hundreds of cheese-steaks begin assembled, well, you’ve got another think coming. (I might be exaggerating a bit, but I was never able to get them to serve me what I actually ordered. It didn’t matter though - the cheese-steaks were great!) ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/127 "2013-06-13T02:27:12Z")
Now I want Primanti’s. It’s been awhile. _pouts_ ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/128 "2013-06-13T02:49:21Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Yes, it is. Because, again, that’s what every restaurant that has both types of potato entree does. > > And a baked potato is much cheaper than fries, by a long shot. We’re not some idiots who don’t buy food. Potatoes themselves are dirt cheap. And if you serve fries, you will serve more than the average sized baked potato. So even if you make your own fries (which almost no restaurant does), it’s not reasonable. There is almost nothing in your post that is factual. Facts exist in the real world and are not just what you want them to be. > [@](#): > > And if that means you run out of baked potatoes, oh well. First come first serve is a basic concept of commerce in the U.S. It’s not entitlement to expect things to work the way they normally work. It’s entitlement to think you can buck the trend. ::shakes head:: ---
**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 13, 2013, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/129 "2013-06-13T03:01:27Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > The basic point still stands. When you go into “Blue” or “The French Laundry”, a key selling point is not “Bottomless refills on your Mr. Pibb”. I have no idea if they do provide free refills, but even if they don’t, it wouldn’t make them a bad restaurant as BigT claimed. Most of us plebes don’t eat at world class establishments. On the rare occasion I eat someplace more upscale like Fogo de Chao or III Forks I don’t recall them charging me soda by the glass. I’m just joking about that plebe comment. I’ve got no beef with someone who enjoys the gastronomic pleasures brought about by eating at world class establishments. ---
**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 13, 2013, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/130 "2013-06-13T03:02:32Z")
I think we’ve beaten, or mashed (ha ha), as it were, this potato thing enough. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/131 "2013-06-13T03:46:20Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Say what now? Why do you hate baked potatoes? Are you gay? ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/132 "2013-06-13T03:53:05Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > And if that means you run out of baked potatoes, oh well. First come first serve is a basic concept of commerce in the U.S. It’s not entitlement to expect things to work the way they normally work. It’s entitlement to think you can buck the trend. Actually, by asking for a substitution, aren’t you “bucking the trend”? The way things “normally work” is that you get what’s on the menu. So your argument is pretty much backwards. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/133 "2013-06-13T03:58:07Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Why do you hate baked potatoes? Are you gay? What is the purpose of these questions? Do we have some sort of problem, or am I just missing your point? ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/134 "2013-06-13T04:01:02Z")
Eh, lame joke. Nevermind. Not directed at you specifically. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/135 "2013-06-13T04:32:48Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Eh, lame joke. Nevermind. Not directed at you specifically. That’s ok. I mean I sort of get it, but it didn’t seem to match well with what I was saying. I’m off the mark with my sarcasm often, and I might be off the mark in reading it this time. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/136 "2013-06-13T07:22:30Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > This was a stunningly ignorant post, shocking in it’s utter…disconnect…at how things work in the real world. Well, you’ve gotta leave the basement first in order to be in the real world. ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/137 "2013-06-13T13:17:28Z")
> [@Mdcastle](#): > > OK, I might go to a slow food place once a month, (except on vacation where my foodie snob sister wants to try “local” cuisine constantly). **Screeches brakes** Hang on, hang on, I don’t get that bit about your sister. Slow Food restaurants are, by their very nature, champions of ‘local’ cuisine. That’s the whole point of the movement. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/138 "2013-06-13T13:34:46Z")
I don’t think the OP is using the term slow food to mean a locally sourced artisinal restaurant, but rather he is using slow food to mean not fast food. I could be mistaken though. There is a trend for many places to have smaller menus. They do a few things very well and don’t venture outside of that zone. I hesitate to even call it a trend because it is how a lot of places have been doing it for decades. Places like that often don’t do subsitutions because they keep smaller, fresher inventories and simply don’t have the resources to anticipate every possible subsitution request. If you are used to mass produced food from bigger kitchens, the attitude of smaller places might seem snobbish, but I don’t think that is their intent usually. ETA, there are even some places that offer one set menu for the night, everyone in the place is pretty much eating the exact same meal. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/139 "2013-06-13T13:36:20Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Most of us plebes don’t eat at world class establishments. On the rare occasion I eat someplace more upscale like Fogo de Chao or III Forks I don’t recall them charging me soda by the glass. > > I’m just joking about that plebe comment. I’ve got no beef with someone who enjoys the gastronomic pleasures brought about by eating at world class establishments. Hey… since it’s pretty clear you live in the Dallas area, watch out in the next month or so for KRLD Restaurant Week. As a fund-raiser for local food banks, a bunch of the high-end restaurants in the DFW area do $35 prix fixe menus for that week, and it’s a really good way to try out a lot of those places for a _relatively_ cheap price. And they usually have a few options for the appetizer, entree and dessert, so you’re not totally stuck. No substitutions within that though. 🙂 If you go somewhere like say… Al Biernat’s, Nick & Sam’s or even Chamberlains (I linked to above), you’ll find out that III Forks is kind of the low-end of the high-end places. I mean, they call your name out over the PA when your table is ready, while the rest of them have a hostess/host come find you personally, among other things. Oh, and if the OP wasn’t meaning “slow food” to mean actual [Slow Food](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Food), then that’s probably the major cause for confusion in the thread; almost nobody would realistically expect a legitimate Slow Food place to allow much in the way of substitutions- it wouldn’t be profitable because they’d have to stock and source alternatives for everything, which wouldn’t be profitable. ---
**Author:** ![brad\_d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@brad\_d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brad_d)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562/140 "2013-06-13T15:47:58Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > I’m reminded of the time my aunt and uncle were out with some friends and they all decided to go to [Primanti’s](http://primantibros.com/home.html). Now, Primanti’s is known for its sandwiches, which come with fries and cole slaw – but they’re on the sandwiches themselves, not on the side. That’s their signature item. You can get fries or chili or soup, but the sandwiches are the main draw. And they’re made to order. You can add an egg or onions, but no special orders. > > So they go in, and my aunt, of course, asks them to leave the slaw and the fries on the side. :smack: Naturally, they tell her they don’t do that. Obviously, that model works for them, but it seems a bit odd. Their [menu](http://primantibros.com/assets/pdf/PrimantisSuburbanMenu.pdf) (PDF) lists quite a few variations that one can get on a sandwich:[ul] [li]Extra egg - $0.50[/li][li]Extra cheese - $0.50[/li][li]Onions by request[/li][li]Double meat available (for additional cost) on most sandwiches[/li][/ul]Given that degree of customization offered, it seems strange that leaving off french fries and/or cole slaw would be that much of logistical problem - although **beowulff** ’s account makes it sound like what you order is only loosely related to what you get, anyway. My hunch is that they regard them as fundamental to the character of their sandwiches and they ain’t giving 'em to you any other way. Which is fine - a customer can take it or leave it. Or… If for some reason I decided that I wanted a Primanti’s Jumbo Baloney and Cheese with fries and cole slaw on the side, one quick swipe of a fork after lifting the bun would be an expedient after-market modification. I employ something similar often against tomatoes. There’s only so much a chef can do to prevent me from “spoiling” his creation once he’s handed it over to me. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-does-no-substitutions-mean-on-a-slow-food-menu/660562.md?page=8)