How do these places stay in business??

[Chris142]

GF and I were in a strange city around lunch time and we were getting hungry. I/we couldn't find any mom and pop food type of joints so we went to a Bakers.

My 1st time to a Bakers. Place was packed with customers! I figured it must be decient.

I ordered a grilled Chicken sandwich and a small Chili. These looked to be the 2 least deadly options on the menu.

The Chicken sandwich was so salty that I asked my GF if she had put any salt on it to mess with me. She didn't.

The beans in the Chili were refried beans! Must have been left over from someones Taco plate!

Absolute garbage! Worst than Mcdonalds and I hate Mcdonalds.

How do they stay in business and even have repeat customers when selling that garbage?

 

[rshunter]

A lifetime of being taught to have extremely low expectations...

 

[gathermewool]

Do you frequent fast food places? If not, then you don't understand, and there in lies your answer. Most people eat -- and like it.

 

[stodgey]

Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Do you frequent fast food places? If not, then you don't understand, and there in lies your answer. Most people eat and like it.


Ironically this IS true.


Agreed about accepting a lifetime of low expectations. Most folks are "programmed" to accept much less than adequate. I think this has been getting worse over the past couple of decades though at least in the USA.

 

[mongo161]

These places are like the "Quick Lube" joints. People go there to get a quick fill in their belly and leave with a cheap bill for their time.

It's only later on that they will regret what they ate at the Quick Meal joint.

 

[daves66nova]

I've tried the Bakers regular hamburger and it was actually good.

 

[RnR]

Originally Posted By: mongo161
It's only later on that they will regret what they ate at the Quick Meal joint.
And misery loves company.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Do you frequent fast food places? If not, then you don't understand, and there in lies your answer. Most people eat -- and like it.
Not as much as most I guess. I like Wendy's Chili and KFC. Other than that you will usually find me at the privatly owned sandwich shop near my work or Sizzler.

 

[Spazdog]

I don't understand how Waffle House stays in business either. I like it when the "W" is out on the sign. It makes it a phonetically spelled AFFLE (awful) HOUSE. There's some truth in advertising.

Or Panda Express. How in the [heck] does anyone eat that stuff? Do they not have a decent Chinese restaurant? I've had acceptable Chinese food in a small town in Oklahoma. Surely most towns have better fare than Panda.

I've gotten to the point where I don't like the chain restaurants. Exception would be Smashburger. It's not as good as Al's, an Arlington institution with a grill that has been seasoned since 1957. But I don't have to go past Cowboys Stadium, Ballpark, and Six Flags traffic to get there.

My kid still gets a McGriddles as a special treat once in awhile. I'm of the belief that if you never let them have something like that, they will go insane on their freshman year of college and eat nothing but garbage...but thank goodness that he only likes the breakfast food at McDonalds.

 

[mpvue]

you develop a taste for things. food has lots of salt and fat to make it taste good. I think w/ less people cooking real food at home and eating as a family, many people don't really know what food is supposed to taste like.
and to be fair, some cultures use a lot of salt and fat in their home cooking, like South Louisiana, and that's what they like.

 

[greenjp]

Originally Posted By: mpvue
you develop a taste for things. food has lots of salt and fat to make it taste good. I think w/ less people cooking real food at home and eating as a family, many people don't really know what food is supposed to taste like.

I dunno, don't think you can generalize like this. My wife and I cook dinner almost every night, eat lunch with stuff from the grocery store, buy a lot of fresh ingredients, make baked goods from scratch, etc. We cook healthy most of the time (you have to indulge occasionally

) and stay fit. Our friends think we're gourmet chefs.

But man do I love Taco Bell chalupas, a quarter pounder, fries, all sorts of "bad" things. Don't eat it that often. But I'm living proof that you can appreciate "real" food as well as fast/junk food.

jeff

 

[123Saab]

Originally Posted By: mpvue
you develop a taste for things. food has lots of salt and fat to make it taste good. I think w/ less people cooking real food at home and eating as a family, many people don't really know what food is supposed to taste like.
and to be fair, some cultures use a lot of salt and fat in their home cooking, like South Louisiana, and that's what they like.


Agreed, I come from a high salt and fat type of Culture, but eventually had to change that due to Bloodpressure.

I have radically lowered my Salt intake and really have found a lot of stuff tastes way better these days. helps having your own Vegetable and herb garden too

And it didnt take long for me to be able to enjoy less salt at all, just a few months.

It also makes you VERY aware of how "oversalted" a lot of foods can be.......

 

[Cristobal]

Chris, I do not know what city you were in.

The funny ability I have, I can always find a great place to eat, at cheap prices, if the town has one. Word of mouth works, and various subtle cues.

Out in your area, I like the Grizzly in Wrightwood, Long John Silver's in Barstow, and the Crowbar in Shoshone. If you are in Bishop Jack's is the place you ought to be.

In Victorville or Apple Valley I have never looked for a place to eat.

 

[FloatingBrick]

Quote:
I don't understand how Waffle House stays in business either.

I like a waffle with a side of smothered and covered and two eggs over easy. Don't do it often because my waste line can't take it, but I think it's a great treat.

They are also open all hours and have pretty good locations - helps their business a lot.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: Cristobal
Chris, I do not know what city you were in.

The funny ability I have, I can always find a great place to eat, at cheap prices, if the town has one. Word of mouth works, and various subtle cues.

Out in your area, I like the Grizzly in Wrightwood, Long John Silver's in Barstow, and the Crowbar in Shoshone. If you are in Bishop Jack's is the place you ought to be.

In Victorville or Apple Valley I have never looked for a place to eat.
The Crowbar and The Nipton Oasis are the bomb! Unfortunately we were in Fontana and were not interested in Mexican food.

 

[morris]

i live in wichita ks. have lived here from dec 8 1948. in the last 20 years there has been very large growth in restaurants. some intersections have 12 to 24 restaurants within 1/2 mile. allso some say that 2 out of 3 meals are eaten out, i dont think its that high. but most people agree it is hard to get a bad meal in wichita.

 

[CROWNVIC4LIFE]

Originally Posted By: Chris142


How do they stay in business and even have repeat customers when selling that garbage?


In Florida I think the snowbirds and visitors keep all those really bad places alive..There is a Olive Garden north of me in Boca and just about everyone I know that went there got sick but the place is packed every single night..Most of the cars in the lot have out of state plates..There is another place in Miami Beach just as bad [The News Cafe] and the visitors pack that place every single night also.

I wish Gordon Ramsay would come back down here again and straighten some of these really bad places out..He is the only one on earth that can do it.

 

[CivicFan]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
Absolute garbage! Worst than Mcdonalds and I hate Mcdonalds.

How do they stay in business and even have repeat customers when selling that garbage?


What is garbage to you might be a delicious meal for someone else. Obviously, they have a niche in the market for salty food

 

[defektes]

Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: gathermewool
Do you frequent fast food places? If not, then you don't understand, and there in lies your answer. Most people eat -- and like it.
Not as much as most I guess. I like Wendy's Chili and KFC. Other than that you will usually find me at the privatly owned sandwich shop near my work or Sizzler.


Bakers has good burgers, but I learned a long time ago never to order chicken at a burger place.

That new revamped sizzler off of main is great.

 

[mechanicx]

Originally Posted By: mongo161
These places are like the "Quick Lube" joints. People go there to get a quick fill in their belly and leave with a cheap bill for their time.

It's only later on that they will regret what they ate at the Quick Meal joint.


It's kind of like how some will go to the bar and fill up on cheap beer because it taste OK and makes them feel good at the time. Later on they feel like garbage.