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Which is better restaurant-wise?


RoseGoesToYale

Which is better restaurant-wise?  

100 members have voted

  1. 1. Where would you rather eat out? (if money were no object)

    • Fancy, high-end restaurant
      17
    • Franchise restaurant (i.e. Chilis, Carrabbas, Outback, I only know American ones...)
      33
    • Hole-in-the-wall, food truck, or mom'n'pop shop
      50


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RoseGoesToYale

My family went out today to a more high-end restaurant for my grandpa's birthday. I tried to order something cheap (and also because the portions they give you at these places is gaahh!) And honestly, the whole thing was meh. The coffee was meh. The rolls were good. I ate some of my mom's french fries and they had too much salt. And my french onion soup was meh. I've noticed that any time I've gone to an expensive restaurant, the food wasn't really that good. I've had much better from hole-in-the-wall places or food trucks. Dunno, maybe I just haven't been to a good high-end restaurant. I've always wondered if the prices make people think they're getting something tastier, when really it's just the same stuff you could get for much cheaper elsewhere, like the placebo effect. What do you think?

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For me it really depends on which place has the best food. Like you, I've been to holes in the wall with amazing food, and I've been to very fancy/ expensive places whose dishes underwhelmed me. Then again, I've also experienced great food at fancy places, and meh food at the holes in the wall. It depends on who is doing the cooking, really, as some nights are different dining experiences even at the same restaurant.

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definitely holes in the wall. i don’t have anything against how fancy/expensive food tastes, but i’ve found that the cheaper the food/restaurant is, the better. 

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Fancy restaurant food tends to be healthier, so I chose that. I generally don't go to restaurants because even the inexpensive places are still more expensive than a homemade meal, and they add a ton of oil and salt to everything to make it more stimulating.

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Food / Health / Meat Inspector here.

I chose option 2 the franchise restaurants.  

Generally, I don't eat out.  I can eat much healthier by preparing my own food. 

Restaurants are gross.

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I chose hole-in-the-wall, roach coach and mom and pops. 

 

The ones I go to grow their own veggies and make everything from scratch.

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6 minutes ago, Moony Lovegood said:

I do like the ones like that.

Their the bestest. This taco truck I go to actually makes their tortillas on the truck.

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I've never been a fan of really fancy foods. I have basic tastes. A big messy plate of Mexican food is ideal. A burrito that has exploded before its life began.

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Internetlionboy

I never had fancy food but I love franchise restaurants and that's usually the kind of place I'd go 😛

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For me it really depends on what is on the menu. If they have the sorts of dishes/foods that I like that's what tends to count for me

 

Franchise restaurants tend to be "safe", in that most of the restaurants in a given franchise are generally pretty much the same and you can usually count on what you will get (good or bad). Both fancy restaurants and hole in the wall places can have good food, bad food, or "meh" food, and there's usually no telling until you try it. Hole in the wall places also seem to tend to serve more genuine/homey versions of the foods they do, especially "ethnic" foods if the cooks are of the ethnicity. Fancy restaurants sometimes seem to try too hard to make everything fancy to justify the prices, and that can mean making stuff in ways that doesn't appeal to my simpler tastes.

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Hole in the wall restaurants are often better.

There's also a mom and pop restaurant that sells the best catfish and porkchops down the road.

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Void_Screamer_907

Hole in the wall places is where it's at.

Not only do they got the best food, in my opinion, but they also always have like....just the chillest vibe to them. Like it's down to earth, everyone here is just having a good time just being here, having a good time catching up with people. It's like coming home, but with better food.

 

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I think it just depends. You can find great or awful food at any. The moderate/chain ones are the safest bet to get decent food for a decent price though.

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Family restaurants are usually best, they have freedom to make their own menus, and no pre-packaged "chef-du-ping" blandness as found in chains. Never been in a "high-end" restaurant, but I'm not a sophisticated foodie so silly terminologies and weird mixes are wasted. 

Food vans are hit and miss, chiefly depending on the quality of the ingredients. 

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Not really any of those. The franchise restaurant would probably be closest in terms of atmosphere or whatever, but not the actual "franchise" part of it wouldn't come into play at all. My answer would be places that are roughly a brewery/bar/pub type of place.

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If quality were all the same, I think mom-and-pop or smaller, more local places is better because it supports smaler businesses and the owners are a lot more conscious of their clients. I've never been to high-end places, but I've found the chain restaurants that are sit-down places like Olive Garden or Chiles at least have fairly consistent quality. Going to a new place you've never heard before or tried can end up being god-awful, but chains will generally go for middle-of-the-road level quality to maximize profit and client satisfaction. Some hole-in-the-wall places will be amazing, some will be crap, and some have such small menu options you don't find something you like. 

 

Basically, smaller local, lesser known places is best but risky. Middle is safer but maybe not amazing. You play it safe or roll the dice. 

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I don't care where I get my favorite food assuming the quality remains the same. If I have access to all, I will likely choose the cheaper one even when I have loads of money.

 

1) Should be a busy restaurant. There should be other patrons. I feel very self conscious if I am the only one dining, feels like all the staff eyes are on me.

2) The waiter should only talk to me when I catch their attention and ask something. I don't like it when they come and ask if everything's okay- I WILL LET YOU KNOW IF ITS NOT OKAY. I get mad when they do it, because I don't like people paying attention to me, it makes me very self conscious.

3) They should just leave the food on the table, I will serve it on my plate on my own- unless it already comes in a plate. I hate when they serve my plate, I don't eat much and if I have to get it packed, I rather pack the one in the pan. Not the food that I have half eaten in my plate.

4) They shouldn't clear the table unless I ask them to, or unless the table is full and there is no room to keep the next thing that I ordered. In some places, the waiters clear the table, every 10 minutes which is annoying. Feel like they are hurrying me up.

5) Quick serving. A lot of high end restaurants take like 30 min to bring my food which is very annoying. 10 min is a reasonable wait time.

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Overthinking my answer, because I feel like different places have different potential. At a franchise restaurant, you know what you get. They are usually acceptable but nothing special. Safe but boring. I think at high-end restaurants, there is also some more set expectation of what you're likely to get.

The hole-in-the-wall type places are the ones that have the potential to turn out absolutely amazing. But unless you're local and know what's what, or lucky, then you are just as likely to stumble on something complete garbage as to find a pearl.

I think for every amazing experience at a place like that, there are at least three that are completely forgettable. So while I think they have the potential to be the best, it isn't every one. Foodtrucks are a bit of a different thing, the way I think about it. More of a replacement for getting fastfood than sitting down in a restaurant.

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On 10/19/2019 at 1:35 AM, GhostGoesToWail said:

I've always wondered if the prices make people think they're getting something tastier, when really it's just the same stuff you could get for much cheaper elsewhere, like the placebo effect. What do you think?

I think that's a part of it. Another part is the environment. Part of being at a nice restaurant is also that it is comfortable, things are set up for you and served, and just generally a pretty looking and pleasant environment to be in. A food truck could have very good food, but it still wouldn't be the same. Fast food places are usually stressful on purpose, to get people to leave quickly so the next one can take their place. I care about stuff like that myself. Especially because I am sound sensitive, sitting down in a calm place to eat has a lot of value to me.

There is an entire bit about this in one of the Terry Pratchett books, where a restaurant owner had all his food stolen, and decided to make all the dishes out of things they had. Like dirt. And old shoes. Because what people really wanted was a restaurant experience where they felt taken care of, and could sit around and talk to eachother in a nice environment. Then they wouldn't notice the food was made out of old shoes x)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Usually I only have time for 1 or 2 dishes so chain restaurants are fine.

 

If you would offer me a meal and no time limit I would choose a fancy restaurant, preferably with organic or local products.

However I would tone it down to a reasonable number of dishes. I once got a voucher from my boss to get 'a fancy dinner'. I used it on a 6-course with wine pairing at a gastronomic restaurant. It took the whole evening and believe me my digestion almost went out of hand...

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I don't really care so long as the food is good and they have things that I can eat and want to eat, but it has mostly been my experience that higher end restaurants (to a point) have the better food. They also tend to have portions that I can actually eat all of, and I have not being able to eat all the food I'm given, so there's that. Higher end franchise restaurants, as opposed to the ones that are almost fast food, are also usually pretty safe bets.

 

So long as they don't have some kind of fancy dress code. Those places are right out.

 

I'm sure some of the hole-in-the-wall places are good, but my experience with them - the few times I've let myself be talked into it - has mostly been that they're really questionable. So I'd rather avoid them.

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  • 4 weeks later...
J. van Deijck

depends on occasion.

when it's something like a big birthday party or a business meeting or so, the fancy restaurant sounds like an option. but I personally just like "normal", more affordable restaurants. for example we have a set of restaurants called Lunch Garden, they are placed by every Carrefour store. I love them very much since they're fairly cheap and serve tasty food that is not a fast food.

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  • 2 weeks later...

It does depend on the occasion. I might prefer a fancy restaurant or a franchise joint on one particular day, but hole-in-the-walls are the best. They're all unique and full of surprises! There are a couple Korean places around here that I really want to go to, and there was a Thai place I fell in love with a while back. 😊

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Janus the Fox

I like to support local original businesses first, so local restaurants or other food places first, as long as their hygiene rating is good.  These often provide a unique food experience.  Nothing too fancy, nothing too cheap, no fast food unless no other choice.  A franchise like Weatherspoon's or Yates Is the second choice, Subways is the only 3rd Fast Food choice.  UK based or Welsh themed food places though.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I love little local ethnic places that are run by people who actually cooked for the family. There are locally wonderful Thai, Mexican, and Indian places where Mom does the cooking. When I used to be married and "rich" my ex only went to high end places with "atmosphere". Mostly that is what you pay for, and it was always uncomfortable for me. The chains are OK- at least you know what you are getting.

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  • 10 months later...

@LightningRose

 

This poll is being locked and moved to the read only Census archive for it's respective year. As part of ongoing Census organisation, and in an attempt to keep the demographics of the polls current with the active user base at the time, the polls will last for one year from now on. However, members are allowed and even encouraged to restart new polls similar to the archived ones if they like them.

  

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