Forum - View topicAnswerman - What Western Foods Are Popular In Japan?
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Top Gun
 Posts: 4575 |
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The Denny's around here were hideously-depressing places that served terrible food, which is probably why said Denny's have just about disappeared from this area. Perkins is far superior anyway. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18187 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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I'd be very curious to know what, specifically, this means. I worked as a prep cook for Olive Garden for a few months back in the mid-'90s (which means that I was the person who made the lasagnas, soups, and sauces, baked the breadsticks, etc.), so unless they've changed their methods dramatically over the years I have a better idea than most of what goes into their food. And I don't recall any of the ingredients being cut-rate. The methods certainly weren't, unless cooking in large batches at one time is considered cut-rate. About the only thing that wasn't made on-site was the breadsticks, as we even had an on-site pasta chef.
I can understand the appeal of that, but as someone who's not a particularly adventuresome eater (my week in Japan was by far the most adventuresome I've ever been on what I tried eating), I highly value reliability of taste, and that's something chain restaurants excel at. |
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jsevakis
Former ANN Editor in Chief
 Posts: 1684 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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Ohhh things have changed a LOT at Olive Garden since the 90s. It used to be halfway decent, but Darden Restaurants have instituted many cut-backs over the years, including banning putting salt in the water to boil pasta to make the pans last longer. Training also pretty much fell down a hole, to the point where an activist investor was able to completely take over the board of directors after producing a nearly 300-slide Powerpoint at what an epic fail their dishes had become (complete with comedic advertising-vs-actual serving photos). Olive Garden still preps most things from scratch, though, that comment wasn't about them. That was from when I was in middle school and we took a field trip to a Big Boy, where they proudly showed us the giant colostomy bags that the soups came from the factory in.
I have friends like you, and my usual practice is to force them to go to a bunch of wildly amazing ethnic and boutique restaurants until I break them. 
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Derek Wilson
Posts: 1 |
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I don't have much to give on Denny's but I agree it's sad. I've been to two different ones and was underwhelmed Everytime. The service, the completely unhealthy gross food, and the atmosphere are....sad. It felt like the place wasn't even trying. Believe me I spent 3 hours in one due to being locked out of my hotel room and waiting on my roommate. I don't care if I ever go to one again. Its not the worst place but it's not somewhere I plan on going to ever again.
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Key
Moderator
Posts: 18187 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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I shall remember this and be wary should I ever meet you in person.  My experiences with "wildly amazing" or otherwise high-class restaurants have rarely been satisfying ones. (For instance, give me good, toasted garlic bread over some fancy bread meant to be dipped in oil any day.)
On another note, I don't quite get the Denny's bashing (beyond its nasty - and I think now long past - track record with racism). Yeah, they're on the low end the scale as chain sit-down restaurants in the U.S. go, and it's not a place that I go to on a regular basis anymore, but I've rarely been disappointed with the quality of food or environment I'm getting there for the price I'm paying. If I want a cheap sit-down meal then I'd just as soon go there as anywhere. |
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jsevakis
Former ANN Editor in Chief
Posts: 1684 Location: Los Angeles, CA |
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Fixed.
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HeeroTX
Posts: 2046 Location: Austin, TX |
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WOW, like many anime shows this is yet ANOTHER thing we agree on, I wonder if we were related in a past life. :\ |
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Sloppy_Jimbo
 Posts: 98 |
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"Oh, if only something will break up this awkward moment." (Watches Krusty fly by weeping.) "That will do nicely!" On topic, I prefer my dead cow bleeding. Gotta agree with Japan on that. |
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GVman
 Posts: 729 |
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I have some friends whose dad is kind of like that. He believes that locally-owned restaurants aren't held to the same rigorous health codes standards as chains, and rarely eats anywhere else unless he knows the people running the joint himself. One thing about chain restaurants to remember, though, is that they tend to be pretty good in areas where there are fewer of them. In a city, there's less accountability when there's another one barely a mile away that a disgruntled customer can visit. In a small town, though, when the Whataburger sucks, it sucks, and there is no going elsewhere. It can't simply melt into the sea of other highly similar restaurants.
Woah woah woah woah woah. I'm nowhere near the food snob Justin is, but dipping bread in olive oil is too adventuresome for you??? Next you're going to tell me that you get your burgers and steaks well-done. |
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Sloppy_Jimbo
Posts: 98 |
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Okay, I have to share this story. My friend and I were at AX a few years ago and we hit up a Denny's at 1:00 a.m. Afterwards we staggered drunkenly back to our hotel and I immediately staked my claim on the bathroom. Upon emerging I looked my friend in the eye and deadpanned, "Well, there went Denny's." We still laugh about it to this day.
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Tenchi
 Posts: 4469 Location: Ottawa... now I'm an ex-Anglo Montrealer. |
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Yes, four patties. I used to eat the Double Big Mac all the time when I was a younger man. Now that I'm in my 40s and I have a more refined palate... I only eat the regular Big Mac. Or the Mighty Angus. Or sometimes the CBO (Chicken Bacon Onion), though I really wish McDonald's would bring back the McBistro Southwest Chicken sandwich in Canada. |
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zrnzle500
 Posts: 3767 |
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I'm a picky eater, and dipping bread in olive oil nowhere close to adventurous to me. You don't have to dip it in the olive oil if you don't want. Plus fancy bread is still bread just made better. It's not really exotic by any reasonable definition. I also hope like GVman that you don't have your steaks and burgers well done. That's tantamount to saying I don't like my steak to have flavor. |
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Fenrin
 Posts: 695 Location: SoCal |
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Wow now hate on people who like things well done
Sorry bloody meat disgusts me and who knows how well it's cooked, well this is coming from someone whose mother cooks things till practically burnt lol. I'm not much of a meat eater anyways, it's not healthy to eat too much of it. |
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zrnzle500
Posts: 3767 |
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Doesn't have to be bloody, just not well done. Anyone who cooks or eats professionally will tell you that cooking it well done will destroy most of the flavor. Also one generally checks a steak before they eat it to see if it's done well enough, so that's how you know. |
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omiya
 Posts: 1826 Location: Adelaide, South Australia |
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...and if you don't want to eat Japanese cuisine or western cuisine in Japan, there are great Indian and Turkish restaurants also, as well as the more Japanese "Korean BBQ" and Chinese restaurants.
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