Bad cooking in restaurants

[357 MAX]

I used to like Elmers but their menu needs an upgrade. the salads are terrible, new types of salad greens make me gag. like chewing and swallowing a used Brillo pad. a stack of pancakes, 15.99 ???? their hash browns are terrible, dehydrated potatoes, just add water soak overnite. they can do better! Panera bread uses the same greens. look like the weeds we used to throw away.

 

[Xmark1]

Starting cooking bout 6 years ago, I was getting fed up with being burned at restaurants. High prices & declining food quality. Tip tactics.

I started to cook, a lot! I watch endless YouTube videos on cooking. I practiced. I got good.

My home cooking is now so good (and very affordable) that I seldom eat out anymore, and when I do, I'm disappointed because my cooking is better.

Problem solved.

I honestly don't know why I didn't become a gourmet cook sooner.

A lot of the yummy dishes I love cannot even be had at any Portland restaurant.

 

[gmerkt]

I got a response from a recruiter that I've been working with that said a company she sent my info to that literally told her they were looking for someone straight out of college….

I wouldn't like to be in the job market the way it's done so often now.

So much paperwork and boiler plate before the interview process begins. Then it might involve multiple interviews. The "online curtain."

Back when I was applying for jobs, there was a basic initial paperwork hurdle but the interview was everything. Where the true measure of the person came out early in the process. Now, the person who actually gives the thumbs up never sees many good people. They live by algorithms.

 

[gmerkt]

Mrs. Merkt and I used to dine out with some frequency. The Covid era curtailed that practice. Since then, selection of restaurants has declined, and those that survived have increased prices significantly. We can afford to dine out, but we don't particularly like to throw money away. So these days, we are infrequent diners out. Our son is a part-time musician, so we like to attend venues where he's performing. But I won't eat festival food, which is a real rip-off.

 

[Old Dog]

Count me in with those proclaiming a steep decline in quality in restaurant food. I'm to the point where I refuse to even pick up McDonalds or Burger King, and all the major pizza franchises now are sorely pathetic. $18-20 an hour and these kids can't even put together decent pizzas?

Fortunately, I have a nearby Family Pancake House that provides me a decent breakfast (depending on which cook is working, I can get a great omelet), and when the wife and I go out for dinner, it's always at the El Gaucho in Tacoma (for which we pay dearly, I doubt we've ever gotten out of there paying less than $300 for the two of us) but I will vouch for El Gaucho as the one restaurant in the greater Pugetropolis that's maintained a very high level of quality since before and after the (alleged) pandemic. Yes, I will pay a major premium for expertly cooked beef.

There's a restaurant up in Silverdale called the Oak Table that also serves awesome breakfast, and their corned beef hash is the best I've ever had. Downside, their parking purely sucks and ya gotta wait at least 30 minutes to get in for breakfast (they don't take reservations) unless you're there when they open at 0800.

And why TF am I gonna tip a Starbucks counter person for handing me my double-tall latte and a croissant out of the counter?

 

[L84Cabo]

Cook your own.

Tonight was smoked birria taco night. I might have $25 into the whole meal and have a bubblegumload of leftovers.

Dammit! Now I want tacos! *pouts*

 

[P7M13]

A lot of the yummy dishes I love cannot even be had at any Portland restaurant

Yeah, but your epicurean delight doesn't come with a steaming pile of pretension.
On resumes, I cut mine down to two pages, and it could really be only one - covering the last 15 years.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I used to like Elmers but their menu needs an upgrade. the salads are terrible, new types of salad greens make me gag. like chewing and swallowing a used Brillo pad. a stack of pancakes, 15.99 ???? their hash browns are terrible, dehydrated potatoes, just add water soak overnite. they can do better! Panera bread uses the same greens. look like the weeds we used to throw away.

The only reason Elmer's is in business is they have a liquor license.

 

[NobullSKS]

Being in light commercial refrigeration…. Restaurants.

More and more places get crossed off the list anyway. Because of what I see back of house.

Cook at home…. Like the other guy said

 

[mrblond]

Best food I have had that was not at home..or Roakes or Padingtons pizza.. was this tiny place that fit maybe 15 people and had a waiting area that held 4.. In Stockholm.

 

[Caveman Jim]

I got a response from a recruiter that I've been working with that said a company she sent my info to that literally told her they were looking for someone straight out of college….


I could teach college level classes on multiple things I've done for work in 30 years - and I guess that's the rub…. They want teenagers that regurgitated the curriculum, have excuses for being late or not following what used to be common curiosity and they expect they will be there for 1-2 years tops vs some of us in our older-younger years that always show up early and have enough life experience to handle most problems that weren't in the text books.

Maybe I should dump 15 years off my resume…

Isn't that age discrimination?
After I injured my back and got retrained, I was told that I was overqualified for many jobs that I applied for. FML

Oh, and to prove that I am not derailing this thread, like any in the past.
There is an excellent diner in Rochester, Wa named Highway Diner. Excellent place to eat when we head south.

 

[Old Dog]

My favorite place to eat...is local...the :La Conner Tavern.
Great food and drinks. , good sized portions , excellent service...nice view and affordable

Since you're up that way, Andy - that restaurant on a farm off Hwy 20 between Burlington and Anacortes (can't remember the name, "The Farmhouse?") - that had the awesomest breakfasts with huge portions, is it still in existence? Used to love stopping there in the mornings on expeditions with the kids from Whidbey Island to Mt Vernon, Bellingham, Mt Baker or wherever... incredible omelets.

 

[dangerranger60]

We live far enough out that a trip into town almost always includes a meal. If we are in a hurry its drive through, but we prefer a sit-down meal. But a $50 sit down, $45 take out, or $35 drive through bill has us just going home. Even I am learning to cook something I can eat! DR

 

[WillNaught]

Chef John from Food Wishes dot com always has great recipes.

Food Wishes

Hello this is Chef John, and welcome to the Food Wishes channel, where the food is the star. Watch these fun-to-make, and easy-to-follow recipes, and you'll improve your culinary skills dramatically! I post new videos on Tuesdays and Fridays (usually), so keep checking back! Even better, join...

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[ktgee]

Many years ago Wife got one of the high end mixers. Bought an attachment grind meat. Often buy Top Sirloin at the bulk buy place. Grind that and it makes great hamburger.

Good idea. My use of sirloin steak is usually as a steak or sliced as a stir-fry. For grinding hamburgers, use the cheaper beef. However, sirloin steaks are sometimes cheaper than say ground beef, chuck roast, round steak, or top round. I have to say that grinding your own beef is top-quality and safer to eat coming from one source. Compared to ground beef combines all the scraps from say 100s of cows.

 

[Aero Denezol]

That's what the middle class gets these days: expensive, low quality product, made by amateurs.

Expert run companies where the experts are hands-on (and take pride) are rapidly disappearing. Gunsmiths are a great example of this. Gunsmiths are few and far between, and most are booked out months.

 

[Certaindeaf]

That's what the middle class gets these days: expensive, low quality product, made by amateurs.

Expert run companies where the experts are hands-on (and take pride) are rapidly disappearing. Gunsmiths are a great example of this. Gunsmiths are few and far between, and most are booked out months.

Now you're cooking with homily grits!

 

[po18guy]

Time for the fed's printing press to take a vacation.

 

[GWS]

My best meals out...
Have been from smaller "Mom and Pop " owned / operated restaurants...not in any sort of chain type place.

My favorite place to eat...is local...the :La Conner Tavern.
Great food and drinks. , good sized portions , excellent service...nice view and affordable
Andy

Agreed. Here in Vancouver we have the Stardust Diner. Great food and service with good prices. Plus… The best chocolate malt in the PNW!!!

 

[Lazyfaire]

I got a response from a recruiter that I've been working with that said a company she sent my info to that literally told her they were looking for someone straight out of college….


I could teach college level classes on multiple things I've done for work in 30 years - and I guess that's the rub…. They want teenagers that regurgitated the curriculum, have excuses for being late or not following what used to be common curiosity and they expect they will be there for 1-2 years tops vs some of us in our older-younger years that always show up early and have enough life experience to handle most problems that weren't in the text books.

Maybe I should dump 15 years off my resume…

Tell him that there are a bunch of people 'straight out of college' at Columbia and the other ivies. Experience is worth 3x what the young bring to the table these days. I used to call those kids the 'white shirts'. They knew nothing of the beer business but could make a useless spreadsheet to give to the bosses.