Monday, September 12, 2005

Bitter Restaurant Banter

How long are you willing to wait for a table at a restaurant?
Yeah, I guess it depends on how much you want to eat there, like if you know it's going to be awesome and worth it, I guess I can see waiting for it.
We don't live in that small of a town, but not that large of one either. It appears that we have a decent amount and variety of restaurants in the area. But trying to go out on a Friday night is ridiculous. No one takes reservations and everywhere is packed. But still, we were in good spirits and felt like going out.
So we tried for probably the 5th time in the last couple years to go to the stupid Outback Steakhouse. Every time we go, there's a helluva long wait, people are lined up outside and shit. We figured it must be pretty good, considering it's always packed. This time there was a 20 minute wait, and we found that reasonable. We sat at the bar and observed the hokey boomerangs and koala bears stapled to the walls. He got an overpriced beer. It probably ended up being about a half hour before they set off our little pager thing to let us know we had a table. Then we go up to the hostess stand and the two hostesses are doing nothing but singing along with the music and are like "oh yeah, you're table's being bussed it'll just be a few more minutes" which is sort of like, why did you call us up here then, bitches? But anyways. They finally take us to one of those crap tables that has an uncomfortable chair on one side and a backless bench on the other. Fine. We're both quite hungry and start perusing our menus. After just a minute, he looks at me and says "I don't know about you, but I don't think I want to eat here." I figure he's overreacting, and we can find something but when I look at it - he's right. There are some really lame ass choices and WAY overpriced for what you get. Your choices are a steak for $12.99, a different steak for $15.99, another steak for $17.99 and some other lame crap like fettucine alfredo disguised under some aussie name. Wow, how authentico! No sandwich options either, all overpriced entrees. Yeah, we might sound cheap and in some ways we are, but you just get the sense of how much chain restaurant food is really worth and can't bring yourself to pay that much for food you could make better yourself and not have to be in a craptacular environment. So he finished his beer and we told the waiter we were leaving. He didn't seem surprised at all like this must happen a lot. I guess it just wasn't meant to be.
Unfortunately, we went to 2 other restaurants that had 35-45 minute waits before finally going somewhere that we could actually get a table.
I don't even expect that much out of restaurants, but damnit, there's another one to cross off the list!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

You went to a place called Outback Steakhouse and you are complaining because "Your choices are a steak for $12.99, a different steak for $15.99, another steak for $17.99".
You were expecting sandwiches???
(In the voice of Governor Arnold)That's a good one. :)

Blush said...

dude, i totally know what you mean about eating out in a not-so-big, not-so-small town. i grew up in one. sucks.

Nervous said...

I see the point, but in this day and age, what family restaurant doesn't have any other acceptable options? It wasn't like I was expecting a vegetarian menu, or that I was surprised by the abundance steak, I was more upset at the price for a cheap cut of meat.
Yeah, I know it sounds crazy - but a lot of places have good things other than what they specialize in, like how people enjoy Chicken Coop for their fish and enjoy Long John Silvers for their chicken.

SD27 said...

Actually,if you like steak, theirs are very good. Their prices really aren't that bad. Of course you'll never pay LJS or Chicken Coop prices for a good steak dinner.
By the way, I really like your blog and no I don't work for or have any affiliation with Outback.
hehe :)

Lovely Lisa said...

I am not a fan of chain restaurants. I like the mom and pop family run hole in the walls that no one knows about...they are so much better, and usually cheaper, too.
My favorite place to eat is a sandwich shop run by these old sisters that have been doing this since 1968, and they always have a line, the food is cheap and good, and it closes at 7 pm. they don't work weekends, and they don't have to...they are always packed! and, its the best