I actually have a soft spot in my heart for casual dining restaurants such as Bennigans, TGI Fridays, and Chili's. While they oughtn't (!) be the cornerstone of one's diet, I can't explain the majesty of seeing the Hard Rock Cafe sign over the horizon while I was incredibly "drunk" in Amsterdam. "Drunk" from all the "beer".
However the security blanket of casual dining is quickly becoming infected with the smallpox of rapid expansion, brand extension, and franchising. No longer can I trust the Chili's at the airport to compare with my fond memories of bland fajitas and overpriced chocolate milkshakes during my childhood. The Chili's at the American Airlines terminal in LAX betrayed me with awful, overpriced food. Really. Just overpriced shit.
"Penn, it's an airport eatery. What did you expect?"
First of all, you don't know me well enough to ask me that. Secondly, I expected the reliability and quality (don't laugh) associated with the Chili's name to supersede the craptacular consequences of not allowing knives and intelligent people to work past the security gates at an airport (prove me wrong, dipshits!).
this is what sadness looks likeAnyway, it seems that, somewhat unsurprisingly, casual food chains reached market saturation and whored their names out like common whores. The effect? Instead of mocking the concepts in good nature a la "Office Space", people just stopped going. It's one thing when your giggling self spies a Dutch Hard Rock with squinty little eyes. it's another thing when Joe Eighteen-pack realizes that he doesn't need to eat at Chili's for lunch cause HE'S NOT TRAPPED IN TERMINAL E, AND HE HAS A CHOICE. By expanding their brand into airports, restaurant chains practically beg patrons to connote the chain with something they are relegated to, rather than something they choose. In the Venn Diagram of dining, the overlap between the "restaurants at which I dine in airports" and "restaurants at which I dine when not in airports", the overlap is pretty damn small. In fact, I'm gonna say that the two circles are on distant sides of a giant canyon, waving at each other like idiots. And you have to take off your fucking shoes to get from one circle to the other.
Goodbye, Bennigans. Death by Chocolate it sadly wasn't.
Coming soon: How Applebee's Went from Being America's Largest Restaurant Chain to America's Largest Chain of Bus Stop Shelters!
Fuck yourself, Applebees.
Stumble It!
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2 comments:
Ding dong the witch is dead! And by witch I mean Bennigans and by dead I mean going out of business.
Although I am not someone who frequents Bennigans or Applebees it is sad to see a cornerstone of America's reasonably priced gluttony troughs go under. America is fat, out of shape and loves to blame everyone but themselves for their obesity. Bennigans is the first of these chains to go down. Applebees started to take a dive after selling it's soul for some quality product placement in Talladaga Nights. Chili's is doing away with the Awesome Blossom! Are they serious? They must know that the death spiral is coming their way and they are changing things up before it is too late.
I wish no ill-will to anyone who works at these establishments. I understand, making a buck is what it is all about. These chains have driven American culinary ingenuity to a point of sameness. Where is the diversity in American cuisine? Where are all the reasonably priced LOCAL establishments that put their food on a pedestal while keeping the prices down? Have we gotten to the point where the only Americans who can truly eat an exceptional meal are the likes of our blog host and his Beverly Hills crowd? Whatever happened to a family of 4 going out for a steak that wasn't either a Lone Star food trough or some $50 steak from a restaurant so dark the guy in the next booth could be finger banging his date and no one would be the wiser.
America, stand up and demand more! We are the greatese nation on earth and the fall of Bennigans should signify the beginning of a new era! An era where the little guy can make a mean mac and cheese from scratch and not get put out of business by macaroni grill! Where homemade truly means homemade!
Good luck to all of those on this blog and I hope to see more posts in the future.
Thanks very much for the feedback and good wishes!
Though the blog is very young, the feedback has been great and your comments are certainly appreciated.
Speaking to your points, I think that this is simply the continued evolution of not only our culinary tastes, but our outlook on nutrition.
While Bennigans going under, I am sad for those that work for the establishment, but there will always be restaurants hiring in the US. Hopefully the restaurants taking Bennigans spot will take a little more pride in their food and concept than some of these casual dining dinosaurs.
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