I have a love for good homemade Italian and Southern cooking, both of which my wife does as good as any eatery. Neither of us care for the fancy "New Wave" shops out there....we prefer a place that can make good gnocchis or country fried steaks (or anything in a cast iron skillet)
That is good eating and usually much less expensive!
Carrabas here in TX is Italian with a southern flair. I have only eaten there once, but I have a cookbook from them. A new look (for me) at cooking Italian.
Maybe I should say a southern Texas flair....
What makes Red Hen more egregious was that after Ms. Sanders’ family left, the liberal bully organized a group to harass her at the SECOND eatery she entered.
She wasn’t just refused service. The liberal bullies then continued to disturb her after she moved on. That’s assault.
They pushed her out a window?
The only place we go anymore is the Olive Garden.
We are there because the food is acceptable for Italian. The key reason we go back is the service. It is uniformly excellent. I have NEVER had lousy service in the Olive Garden.
I grew up in an Italian city (Syracuse/Utica/Rome) where you couldn’t throw a rock without hitting one. Back in the day, the food was sensational for traditional Italian, and the service was magnificent.
Now, restaurant service is uniformly lousy (excepting OG) and even worse if you have kids. It’s to the point where we won’t go out with the kids, and without the kids, we’re not going out.
A place like the Red Whore in VA. is not a place I would consider going with my kids.
I travel for business a lot and so eat out a lot too. Seems like almost once a week I get some upset stomach from it. Don’t get me wrong there’s all of good eats out there but much of it is not and overpriced. When I’m home I rarely eat out. Recently I brought out the old 1985 electric Wok and experimenting some with various stir fry. That, my little electric grill and the gas one out back I’m enjoying eating homemade meals. A little more work but less cost and I know what goes into the food preparation and sanitary. Plus I can fix up an adult mixed drink without getting ripped off in price or content of ingredients.
The problem is you can’t get a good pepperoni anywhere south of New Jersey.
Cooking in a modern kitchen with all the right ingredients for your meal, isn’t difficult.
The art comes in with finding the best ingredients, as some brands are superior in taste and flavor, and often fresh beats canned. And also knowing how to tweak a recipe, and in some cases knowing what might be an acceptable substitute for something.
“That is good eating and usually much less expensive!”
yeah, i quit eating out a lot because my cooking tastes better and is healthier than most restaurant food. exceptions are restaurants that prepare dishes that are a pain to make at home well or, say, Indian buffets that have a dozen different dishes that would take a few days to make at home ...
I think the popularity of cooking shows and advent of so-called celebrity chefs has given some restaurant people an uppity attitude, instead of remembering they are in a service industry.
Good thread to note: at Olive Garden, I ordered salad/soup to save money at dinner. Small amount of salad, crummy soup. Price jacked up to 12 dollars for supper! I never plan to go back.
Good article but this statement is not true.
I’ve never been a big fan of eating out. Doesn’t matter if a 4 star, restaurant, gas station bbq or State Fair.
Maybe I can’t get past the memory of nearly spray painting the inside of an airplane with explosive diarrhea because of bad New Orleans oysters..??..
A properly made gnocchi approaches art!
I’m visualizing Sarah Sanders, ass-over-tea kettle, somersaulting from a second-story window. Really, she was defenestrated? Someone wasn’t paying attention in Latin class.