# The Unsatisfactory Meal thread



## Dromond (Aug 12, 2010)

Jackie and I went to IHOP to meet a friend for dinner. As is typical for me at a place like IHOP, I ordered breakfast food. My dish this time was a turkey bacon omelet with swiss cheese and fruit on the side. Very healthy.

It was also very "bleah." The egg was overdone, being somewhat leathery. The Swiss cheese tasted like off white plastic. The omelet itself was rather flavorless. The bacon was laid across the top in complete strips, rather than being crumbled into the omelet. My friend suggested I send it back, but I shrugged and said "the cook would probably spit in it if I did that."

I had some of the omelet, which was really just overdone hard scramble egg, and ended up eating mainly the strips of turkey bacon.

A most unsatisfactory meal.


----------



## cinnamitch (Aug 13, 2010)

Hmm there have been a few

Perkins Restaurant and their Country Fried Steak Dinner. You do not put SAUSAGE gravy on a steak, that is just wrong.

5 Guys Burgers- To me just meh, nothing special and the fries were limp dishrags.


----------



## crayola box (Aug 13, 2010)

Agree about 5 guys, totally don't get the hype.


My unsatisfactory meal was homemade last week. Was craving Indian so bought all the ingredients but didn't feel like cooking, then when I finally made it...meh, it managed to be hot, spicy, juicy and creamy and yet bland and underwhelming


----------



## TraciJo67 (Aug 13, 2010)

I avoid Perkins/IHOP and restaurants of their ilk as much as possible. The food quality is right on par with the meal prices. My husband & son love the IHOP pancakes, so sometimes I have no choice but to cave and eat there. I stick to their multi-grain pancakes, with nothing else. I don't know if it's just me, but even their bacon/sausage tastes processed, cheap, and blah.


----------



## olwen (Aug 13, 2010)

I went down south about a month ago and one night there I was craving ice cream so my cousin suggested we go to the dairy queen since it was still open and I got excited cause I've never been to the dairy queen since there aren't any in new york city. During the drive over she started talking about how good their burgers were, so I got one. The cheeseburger I had was one of the worse cheeseburgers I've ever had. The patty was thin and tasteless, and the cheese was waxy. The whole thing tasted like mushy cardboard. And she looked at me like I was crazy still insisting the food there is "the bomb". I should have known better. The ice cream was okay tho.


----------



## mossystate (Aug 13, 2010)

TraciJo67 said:


> I avoid Perkins/IHOP and restaurants of their ilk as much as possible. The food quality is right on par with the meal prices. My husband & son love the IHOP pancakes, so sometimes I have no choice but to cave and eat there. I stick to their multi-grain pancakes, with nothing else. I don't know if it's just me, but even their bacon/sausage tastes processed, cheap, and blah.



Yeah, I used to go to IHOP every now and then with my Mom. She liked a few of the breakfasts, but I thought it just wasn't good, and I am not a snobby eater. The pancakes were thin and almost rubbery- the ham...well, as much as I adore ham, theirs made me want to weep. I do remember liking their cheeseburger - at least from the IHOP we went to. 

OK - California Kitchen pepperoni pizza...horrible...thin soggy crust with bland tomato sauce...horrible


----------



## PamelaLois (Aug 14, 2010)

mossystate said:


> Yeah, I used to go to IHOP every now and then with my Mom. She liked a few of the breakfasts, but I thought it just wasn't good, and I am not a snobby eater. The pancakes were thin and almost rubbery- the ham...well, as much as I adore ham, theirs made me want to weep. I do remember liking their cheeseburger - at least from the IHOP we went to.
> 
> OK - California Kitchen pepperoni pizza...horrible...thin soggy crust with bland tomato sauce...horrible



I was just at the local IHOP, had a spinach/mushroom/swiss cheese omelet and it was quite tasty, for realz! And the pancakes were very good, also. Not the best omelet or pancakes I've ever had, but certainly far far from the worst.

Have to agree on the California Pizza Kitchen, blech. I'm in Chicago, CPK is just blasphemy. I didn't want to go, but I was over-ruled but I was right, it was awful.


----------



## TraciJo67 (Aug 14, 2010)

Yeah, I don't get the crowd who thinks that California Pizza Kitchen -- or any chain restaurant -- equals fine dining.

And I'm part of the crowd that eats there, mostly because I can't afford truly "fine" dining but also because there's not a snoot on the planet who would put up with a 3-year-old's running commentary while they're focusing on devouring that plate of wood-fired and seared and nut-crusted fresh catch of the day basted in truffle oil. Or whatever the uppercrust eats. *

But still. I don't understand who could think that mass-produced platters chock full 'o the fried and the char-grilled could equate to really good eats. I guess, underneath it all, I'm a fine-tuned foodie living by necessity on an IHOP budget.

*I lied. It's 100% because I can't afford it, otherwise I'd subject the King Himself to my son's whiny "but I want _Kraft_ mac 'n cheeeeeeese" rants.


----------



## Dr. Feelgood (Aug 14, 2010)

TraciJo67 said:


> But still. I don't understand who could think that mass-produced platters chock full 'o the fried and the char-grilled could equate to really good eats.



And somewhere in their ads is a phrase like "Why does our food taste so good? Because it's FRESH!" But you KNOW that when the waiter goes back to the kitchen with your order, he's going to say, "Nuke another Number Seventeen."


----------



## wtchmel (Aug 18, 2010)

cinnamitch said:


> Perkins Restaurant and their Country Fried Steak Dinner. You do not put SAUSAGE gravy on a steak, that is just wrong.



I guess I would beg to differ, i always use a sausage or bacon grease base to my gravy for chicken fried steak.
( also, got to stick up for the parent company,lol)


----------



## wtchmel (Aug 18, 2010)

Dr. Feelgood said:


> And somewhere in their ads is a phrase like "Why does our food taste so good? Because it's FRESH!" But you KNOW that when the waiter goes back to the kitchen with your order, he's going to say, "Nuke another Number Seventeen."



LMAO!!! I was rollin on this one!! I've worked for restaurants for years, and yes, for your chain restaurants, to create consistancy across the board, there is alot of 'premade' food from the commisary(sp). that is eventually micro-ed. TOo funny.


----------



## Wild Zero (Aug 19, 2010)

We went to a raw vegan restaurant for lunch a few weeks ago, I got a "pizza" that from the menu description and $12 price had me expecting a good sized pie topped with fresh tomatoes, sun-dried red peppers and basil plucked from an on-site garden. Instead I got a tiny triangular granola boat filled with a tasteless green paste topped with a handful of flaccid looking peppers.

The Yelp review: 
_"After eating here I want to burn entire forests to the ground, I want to butcher a cow with nothing more than a butter knife and malice, I want to blow up oil platforms and dump more crude into the world's oceans, I want to rape a horse and run down assorted woodland critters in a gas hogging V12-powered sports car.

But more than anything I want to go back in time and punch myself in the face for ever going here.

A meal so poor and overpriced I reconsidered my vegetarianism and support for animal rights."_


----------



## Rowan (Aug 19, 2010)

Wild Zero said:


> We went to a raw vegan restaurant for lunch a few weeks ago, I got a "pizza" that from the menu description and $12 price had me expecting a good sized pie topped with fresh tomatoes, sun-dried red peppers and basil plucked from an on-site garden. Instead I got a tiny triangular granola boat filled with a tasteless green paste topped with a handful of flaccid looking peppers.
> 
> The Yelp review:
> _"After eating here I want to burn entire forests to the ground, I want to butcher a cow with nothing more than a butter knife and malice, I want to blow up oil platforms and dump more crude into the world's oceans, I want to rape a horse and run down assorted woodland critters in a gas hogging V12-powered sports car.
> ...



That is so funny!


----------



## CastingPearls (Aug 19, 2010)

Wild Zero said:


> We went to a raw vegan restaurant for lunch a few weeks ago, I got a "pizza" that from the menu description and $12 price had me expecting a good sized pie topped with fresh tomatoes, sun-dried red peppers and basil plucked from an on-site garden. Instead I got a tiny triangular granola boat filled with a tasteless green paste topped with a handful of flaccid looking peppers.
> 
> The Yelp review:
> _"After eating here I want to burn entire forests to the ground, I want to butcher a cow with nothing more than a butter knife and malice, I want to blow up oil platforms and dump more crude into the world's oceans, I want to rape a horse and run down assorted woodland critters in a gas hogging V12-powered sports car.
> ...


Outstanding review, sir.


----------



## Wild Zero (Aug 19, 2010)

I checked the restaurant's website today just to confirm that I paid $12 for my disgusting pizza and saw that their "famous burrito" contained refried beans.

Refried beans at a raw food restaurant, pfft.


----------



## Dibaby35 (Aug 19, 2010)

Waffle house in Lexington Kentucky

Nastiest place ever. I was soooo excited too because my friends ranted and raved about Waffle house and I have never been to one. Well it looked like a real greasy spoon when I walked in..which is fine because I've been to a many of them. Except that I was with my friend who was in the upper crust if you know what I mean so I was a bit embarrased I dragged her there. Anyways I ordered a veggie egg white omelet like I always do for breakfast and it was just...nothing. Basically a square two inches by 4 inches and some cheese sprinkled on top and not even hot. I should have just went with the waffles and stayed safe. They had to have good waffles right? It is the waffles house! Anyways never will go back. Our greasy spoons in Illinois our three times as good as that..lol.


----------



## Dromond (Aug 19, 2010)

Every Waffle House you will ever go to will be the same. It's a southern phenomenon that I just don't get. The food is nasty.

Edit: the waffles are not any better.


----------



## Dr. Feelgood (Aug 19, 2010)

Dromond said:


> Every Waffle House you will ever go to will be the same. It's a southern phenomenon that I just don't get. The food is nasty.
> 
> Edit: the waffles are not any better.



And the thin patina of grease and dirt on the floor is premixed and distributed to all outlets by the parent company.


----------



## Wild Zero (Aug 19, 2010)

Dromond said:


> Every Waffle House you will ever go to will be the same. It's a southern phenomenon that I just don't get. The food is nasty.
> 
> Edit: the waffles are not any better.



I firmly believe the phenomenon is only perpetuated by people who live far enough away to have never had Waffle House.


----------



## Dromond (Aug 19, 2010)

Dr. Feelgood said:


> And the thin patina of grease and dirt on the floor is premixed and distributed to all outlets by the parent company.



I believe this.


----------



## crayola box (Aug 20, 2010)

Dr. Feelgood said:


> And the thin patina of grease and dirt on the floor is premixed and distributed to all outlets by the parent company.



so so true, was there once on a drive from FL to NY and it was the only option, gross dirty and creepy to boot


----------



## Dibaby35 (Aug 20, 2010)

I feel relieved I wasn't the only one about the Waffle house thing. What really made me pissed was that I was walking out I realized there was a Cracker Barrel just down the street. Would have been so much better. Live and learn


----------



## Brenda (Aug 20, 2010)

On the road stopped and got Wendy's chili for dinner before checking into hotel. I dig my spoon in and pull out the most foul bunt chili. Totally inedible and I am just too tired to go get something else to eat. Damn you Wendy's.


----------



## thirtiesgirl (Aug 21, 2010)

Brenda said:


> On the road stopped and got Wendy's chili for dinner before checking into hotel. I dig my spoon in and pull out the most foul bunt chili. Totally inedible and I am just too tired to go get something else to eat. Damn you Wendy's.



Ugh. Sorry you had a bad experience there. I'm a big Wendy's fan. I don't eat much fast food, but when I'm in the mood for a burger, Wendy's is usually where I go. I've yet to have a bad food experience there.

Most of my unsatisfactory meals have less to do with the food and more to do with the atmosphere. I'm not a very picky eater, so I'm rarely disappointed by food. What gets to me more is the place and people in it. A few months ago, I was in the mood for Thai food and I know Pick-Up Stix makes a pretty good shrimp pad Thai. I decided to stay in the restaurant and eat, even though Pick-Up Stix is more of a take-out kind of place. The way my local Pick-Up Stix is set up, there's an open kitchen, not behind closed doors, which takes up one side of the restaurant, while the tables where you sit and eat are on the other side, across from the kitchen.

On the day I went there to fulfill my craving for pad Thai, the manager on duty was this Latino guy who was in a permanently good mood and happens to be one of the loudest talkers I've ever heard. Everything that comes out of his mouth is an exclamation. Woohoo! I wouldn't have minded his extreme joviality if he hadn't been such a damn loud talker, made even louder by the fact that he was trying to talk over the cooking noises from the kitchen. The whole time I was there to eat, he was in the kitchen area right across from me with his chefs and the two service girls, having extremely loud conversations in Spanish and English, translating things and joking around with one of the service girls who doesn't speak Spanish. I couldn't just sit, relax and enjoy my meal in relative silence, because I couldn't help but hear everything they said. It was extremely annoying, and I didn't visit Pick-Up Stix again for several months because I'd had such a bad experience. But that's how I am. The food wasn't bad, but the atmosphere was so awful, I didn't want to go back again until I was good and ready.

I will agree with those who've had a bad experience with IHOP breakfast, though. I don't much like their breakfast either. I much prefer Denny's. The only breakfast item I really love at IHOP is their stuffed French toast. It's so damn good, I have a hard time not shedding tears of joy when I eat it.


----------



## Dromond (Aug 21, 2010)

Jackie had planned to make a homemade spaghetti dinner tonight, but was out running errands until too late to make it. Her dad was with her and suggested KFC. So Jackie called, asking what she could bring me. Internally I went "bleh," but asked for chicken strips, thinking it would be a safe choice.

It was not a safe choice. The strips were past their prime, no doubt having sat on the warming rack way too long. Tough, leathery, greasy, utterly lacking in anything resembling flavor. I had asked for mashed potatoes on the side, and they were also dreadful. The strips didn't stay down long... :blink:


----------



## CastingPearls (Aug 23, 2010)

KFC has always been hit or miss with me, on everything. Sometimes, it's divine comfort food and sometimes it's a rubbery chewy waste of money. 
Honestly, I like their corn on the cob which I can buy frozen and make at home anyway. 

I've also had an order turned down twice because they ran out of chicken.
KFC ran out of chicken. <sigh>


----------



## Dibaby35 (Aug 25, 2010)

CastingPearls said:


> KFC has always been hit or miss with me, on everything. Sometimes, it's divine comfort food and sometimes it's a rubbery chewy waste of money.
> Honestly, I like their corn on the cob which I can buy frozen and make at home anyway.
> 
> I've also had an order turned down twice because they ran out of chicken.
> KFC ran out of chicken. <sigh>



That's like Taco Bell running out of beans...how is that possible? lol


----------



## Esther (Aug 25, 2010)

Ah, speaking of Taco Bell. That chain grosses me out big time. I have NEVER been to a location where the facilities were clean and twice in a ROW, at the local Taco Bell, there were hairs in my taco that actually looked like pubic hairs. Found them before I ate anything, thankfully, so I could just throw the whole bag in the trash... but I will never take my chances with that place again. You shouldn't have to inspect your food that closely at ANY restaurant.


----------



## TraciJo67 (Aug 25, 2010)

I can't handle the sodium in Taco Bell food. I don't think that there's one item on the menu that I'd eat.


----------



## Esther (Aug 25, 2010)

TraciJo67 said:


> I can't handle the sodium in Taco Bell food. I don't think that there's one item on the menu that I'd eat.



I used to eat the Fresco hard shell tacos with refried beans instead of meat... you get lettuce and salsa instead of all that cheese and sour cream. I feel like they were probably the best item on the menu, health-wise. But I won't go back because the facilities are so unclean.


----------



## TraciJo67 (Aug 25, 2010)

Esther said:


> I used to eat the Fresco hard shell tacos with refried beans instead of meat... you get lettuce and salsa instead of all that cheese and sour cream. I feel like they were probably the best item on the menu, health-wise. But I won't go back because the facilities are so unclean.


 
My favorite go-to comfort food is anything deep fried and on a stick, so I'm not overly worried about the healthy aspect  I just find that the high sodium content overpowers any other possible flavor. Which, depending on who you ask, could be a good thing!


----------



## LisaInNC (Aug 25, 2010)

Ok I feel as if I should explain something about Waffle House...the rave reviews are from people who ate there at 3am after a drunken night on the town. Usually they dont have any other food choices at that time. Any food is good to drunk people. Although, I love eating there. Their country ham and waffles are so good I could just pee my pants.
Now on to IHOP...I will not have you people speaking ill of IHOP. This is my all time favorite restaurant because they make grits perfect. Most places who offer grits just pour boiling hot water over a packet of grits and send em out. IHOP actually takes the time to cook em and they are awesome for that.


----------



## CleverBomb (Aug 26, 2010)

This is news I can use! For some reason IHOP's hash browns disagree with me. I didn't realize they had grits available -- and now it turns out that they have very good grits? 

Thanks!

-Rusty


----------



## FredtheFA (Mar 14, 2011)

I do love the waffle house hashbrowns. i still can't figure the right temperature to replicate them until then they get my three dollars. most of stuff you get at the waffle house can be made at your house and taste better. they must have special hashbrowns.


----------



## StormChaser68 (Mar 15, 2011)

The BFF and I had a late breakfast/early lunch at Bob Evans the other day...


Now..I am in food service...so I am a bit critical...but I digress...

the waitress NEVER made eye contact with us the entire time she was taking orders/delivering food/refilling drinks...

We ordered an appetizer and I got a salad and we each got an entree...the salad and app came at the same time...and then 2 minutes later the entrees came out...

I am a big stickler about being done with apps/salads BEFORE entrees get there and this really ticks me off...

but on top of that...the entrees came out missing the mashed potatoes, which appearntly wasn't noticed by the waitress...we had to actually point out to her that it appeared we were missing something on the plate..lol

The mashed potatoes came a bit later...all to the apparent surprise of the waitress...ugh...

all in all not my best experience at Bob Evans....


----------



## tonynyc (Mar 15, 2011)

Poppa Johns Pizza ... nasty stuff


----------



## Deven (Jun 16, 2012)

Necropost:

We went out to try a new steakhouse, as it's freshly opened and could possibly be a good find. It's only been open a month or two, and it's in a sort of remote location: I thought it might be a hidden gem.

Boy, was I wrong. We didn't even eat there.

The place can seat about 100-150 people but it had maybe about 30. They wouldn't give us a menu until *after* we looked at the buffet. The gravy on the buffet had about a 2 inch crust around the edge, and you could tell the gravy had evaporated below it about two inches. We turned around and walked out.

I won't even continue about the cleanliness of the place and how the rest of the food looked. We ended up at Hoss' Steakhouse.


----------

