NYT: TGI Fridays is taking an admirable new tack: smaller, healthier portions. American consumers equate quantity with value, and prior attempts at this (Ruby Tuesday in 2004) failed. It’s dumbfounding that the deadliest, most widespread disease in our nation is obesity; we have no idea of how to reign in our prosperity, so we’re literally eating ourselves to death. I hope that the odds of this new menu succeeding are marginally better than the odds of my ever eating at TGI Fridays, Ruby Tuesday or the like, which hover right around zero. See my June 2004 review of the “Banquet Hearty One Boneless Pork Rib with Mashed Potatoes and Corn” for more on gluttony.
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Just had a Jack Daniels Burger last night at TGI Friday’s…it was yummy. I try to portion control myself. For instance, I ate half my fries and 3/4 of my burger last night and still felt satisfied. Do you frequent any chain restaurants?
I very rarely eat at chain restaurants — I prefer to keep my money in town, and generally find that the food is of a higher quality and a lower price at local places.
Just an interesting observation about some chain restaurants. A lot of them are experimenting with square plates that make you feel that you are eating more because it fills up the plate. It’s still the same amount of food but maybe with a higher price.
I suppose I will no longer be able to get their 25-pound bucket of mini-burgers that I love so very much.
By the way, your Banquet Dinner review is one of the greatest blog entries of all time! I very seldom laugh out loud at things that I read on blogs, but I couldn’t help it when I read this:
“Upon comparing my meal to the picture on the box, I could not help but notice that the two weren’t terribly simlar.”
And this:
“The color was all wrong, and the two flaccid chunks were floating in a sea of ‘molasses, wheat starch, calcium sterate, soy flower, [and] hydroxylated soy lecithin.'”
I hope that means smaller prices too. If I’m spending 12 to 15 bucks on something I like having leftovers to take home. Since I’m on a budget it’s a whole second meal, of course since I’m on a budget going out to eat isn’t something I do often anyway.
As much as I hate Fridays, I ate there the other weekend with one of the brothers and had their “smaller portion” chicken parmesean imitation thing. It was still a good sized serving for four bucks less than anything else on their menu. Not bad. Serving and price wise. Still did a number on my stomach.
But I’m with Waldo, I avoid chains if I can anyway. Living in Richmond, there are a ton of places to eat that are privately owned, mom and pop enterprises that I’d much rather give my money to.