I know I'm a whiny bitch, but I have to say a few words here. I remember going to restaurants a few years ago. Even if the food was crap, most places above the fast food level had some sort of atmosphere. A lot of places even offered a little privacy for you and your whoever. You could get a nice booth, with some partition sides or some other kind of blind, and really talk shit. You could get to know your date, plan a hit, or anything else. Italian joints were the best, followed closely by Red Lobster. Now, they throw your ass in with everyone else. Your back touches the back of the guy behind you, even if the place has twelve people in it. You get the kid that screams, until his sorry ass parents let him free range, and put his mucus crusted hands on your table. They put high watt light in your face, and a TV in your ear. They have turned your favorite restaurant into HI FI Buys. The picture above is not a sports bar. Its Red Lobster, or whats left of it. Here's how you finish a restaurant chain. Increase the size of the bar to at least half the size of the space. Bring in thirty seven flat screen TVs, and put at least twenty of them on CNN or FOX news. Nothing makes me hungry like bleeding Iraqis! Now, shrink the food menu to half the size of the drink menu, and make the appetizer menu bigger than both of them together. Viola! You got yourself a Chilli's! And as you know, Chilli's ain't no place you go to eat.
I agree with your comments. My family has been going to a small, family owned Italian resturant since 2000. This winter they decided to divide the already small dining room into half to install a huge Martini Bar.The big Cappuchino maker, brought over from Italy was taken out to make room for the bar. The tables are crammed into each other so if you have to get up for any reason you have to be careful not to bump into the person sitting behind you at the next table..The absolute worse addition is (you've guessed it I am sure) a big ole flatscreen TV that faces out into the entire room. This place used to play italian music, lots of Andrea Bocelli, and two old guys were alway's there on Wednesday nights with a bottle of some sort of italian after dinner liquor(can't remember the name of that stuff, but it was good).. and they would pour shot's for anyone who wanted one and then launch into a "sing along" with whatever selection of Bocelli that was playing at the time as they left....These two characters have not been there the past two time's we went for dinner, probably looking for a place with no TV. Now you can hear the TV over the music and I cannot stop glancing at that damn TV as I eat. The people sitting at the bar all look depressed and give an air of sadness to the entire room. I guess the owners have to augment their income with booze sales, but a TV?? The art of conversation during a meal is gone from most homes and now I find I am paying $22.00 a pop, per entree, for a nice italian meal, and the conversation has been replaced with everyone glancing up at the TV and forgetting what they wanted to say, or missing what is being said to them..It seem's the only place now to enjoy a nice meal is at home, I can turn my TV off and put some Bocelli on the stereo and save my money...Much is being lost, favorite neighborhood restaurants are all turning into Sport's bars, Martini bars,etc...Makes me sad...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the hit-back. My family has taken to eating at the table, TV off. I go to business lunches and cant pay attention (even with massive doses of Aderall/ADD Meds) because of the "extreme motercycle jumps" going on ten feet from my head, on the big screen. These places are, as you said, driving the customers back to the house. maybe its a good thing.
ReplyDeleteI was in Las Vegas a couple of years ago in a casino. After a dozen free expensive import beers and an all you can eat prime rib buffet I had to use the restroom. As I closed the stall door to my stall this flat screen tv mounted on the stall door comes on and scares the hell out of me. At fist I was cool, I get to watch tv while I pinch a loaf. I soon realized that all the tv was showing was commercials to sell time shares and bullshit like that. It actually crossed my mind to wipe shit on the screen. Imagine that
ReplyDeleteIs nothing sacred?
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