Author Topic: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price  (Read 10603 times)

Chesleygirl

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Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« on: October 20, 2017, 01:14:41 PM »
http://abc7.com/food/long-beach-restaurant-under-fire-for-serving-popeyes-chicken/2548021/
LONG BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- A Long Beach restaurant is under fire after customers found out the restaurant was re-serving Popeyes Louisiana Chicken.

For the last four years, Kimberly Sanchez has been serving up breakfast and lunch at her restaurant, Sweet Dixie Kitchen.

"Most of my stuff from here is made from scratch," she said.

The restaurant's troubles started after a customer allegedly saw Sweet Dixie employees carrying Popeyes boxes into the kitchen. The customer then wrote a Yelp review relaying his dissatisfaction with having to pay a premium for fast food fried chicken.

A Sweet Dixie employee confirmed they source the fast food chain for their chicken and waffles, which sells for about $15. You can buy chicken at Popeyes for much less without the fixings, Sanchez adds, but she's not apologizing.

Sanchez responded directly to the Yelp review, and later explained further on the restaurant's Facebook page, defending their use of Popeyes spicy tenders.

"We PROUDLY SERVE Popeyes spicy tenders - the best fried chicken anywhere and from New Orleans - which are delivered twice a day," she wrote in her reply.

Sanchez wrote they have always used ready-made chicken, even before deciding to go with a certain chain as opposed to food distribution brand chicken.

"My kitchen is not set up for frying. We're an old building. I don't actually have a proper kitchen back there," she said to ABC7. "I love Popeyes chicken. I love it. I think it's the best chicken out there."

Sanchez says she's reached out to Popeye's for approval to officially add them to her menu and hasn't heard back. Meantime, as tough and transparent as she's tried to be, the criticism has been tough to handle.

"I'm in tears at my house, like inconsolable," she said. "We didn't do anything wrong. I did something I thought was the best product I could bring in. You don't want to eat it, don't eat it."


MgoSam

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #1 on: October 20, 2017, 01:20:24 PM »
I don't get the outrage. Many restaurants don't cook their desserts in-house and most restaurant nowadays just serve Tyson chicken. If the customer was happy with the chicken and waffles without knowing they were Popeyes then I don't get what the big deal is. Unless the restaurant lied and said that they cook everything in house.
« Last Edit: October 20, 2017, 01:26:42 PM by MgoSam »

Chesleygirl

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #2 on: October 20, 2017, 01:44:57 PM »
The problem appears to be two things: the price markup. From $3.00 to $12.00. Also, they didn't advertise that it was Popeye's Chicken they were serving. Although they admit it now.

Megma

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #3 on: October 20, 2017, 02:04:58 PM »
I'm sorry that is hilarious - a restaurant which doesn't have a kitchen? And kind of gross that they only pick up twice a day, imagine how long that chicken was being kept warm. I think that's a food safety issue.

Chesleygirl

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #4 on: October 20, 2017, 02:13:50 PM »
I'm sorry that is hilarious - a restaurant which doesn't have a kitchen? And kind of gross that they only pick up twice a day, imagine how long that chicken was being kept warm. I think that's a food safety issue.

I was thinking the same. How can someone run a restaurant without a kitchen?

I'm going to think twice about dining out from now on. Not that food itself is the only reason to dine out, but I'd prefer to know where the food comes from.

vivophoenix

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #5 on: October 20, 2017, 02:50:42 PM »
The problem appears to be two things: the price markup. From $3.00 to $12.00. Also, they didn't advertise that it was Popeye's Chicken they were serving. Although they admit it now.

restaurant mark up is not because of the food. she has to pay servers and rent
i am betting this guy went to her and not popeyes for servants and ambiance, and that is what he paid for.

i see no issue. he asked for fried chicken and she provided it. sounds like he enjoyed it. if you are worried about fried chicken mark up, slaughter and fry your own

Indexer

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #6 on: October 20, 2017, 05:14:30 PM »
On the one hand... how many sit down restaurants have better fried chicken than Chic-fil-A or Zaxbys? Can't really speak for popeyes, but I imagine it tastes good. Most sit down restaurants have better burgers than McDonalds, but when it comes to fried chicken the fast food places that specialize in that tend to do well. I very rarely eat fast food, but when I do it's Chic-fil-A or Zaxbys.

On the other... ewww. How long was that chicken sitting out? If she likes Popeyes so much why doesn't she order the same chicken from the same distributor and put similar seasoning on it?

Her kitchen isn't set up for a fryer?  What?!?!?  Individual commercial fryers take up all of 4X2 feet and just need an electrical outlet. Now most restaurants that fry food will have 2-4 of them, not just one, but still.

Laura33

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #7 on: October 21, 2017, 09:25:04 AM »
She's not putting $3 worth of chicken on a plate and charging $12 for it -- she's using the Popeye's as the chicken in the chicken and waffles.  So I assume the waffles and other parts of the dish are freshly made.

I think the issue is largely disclosure.  I think most people have no idea how much is premade in a regular restaurant and expect everything to be freshly made (plus, you know, it's CA, home of the fresh/organic/local).  But they recognize Popeye's as "fast food" and so feel cheated.

Personally, ITA with the owner: Popeye's is far and away my favorite fast-food fried chicken, and in fact is far better than most fried chicken I've eaten at many generic restaurants.  I suspect if she put that on the menu directly, she'd have gotten less rancor (though she'd probably still be criticized for admitting to using premade stuff).

paddedhat

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #8 on: October 21, 2017, 03:20:55 PM »
There is a lot more "home cooking" going on in the customer's mind, than there is in the back of the house, in a lot of restaurants, especially when you are at first rung on the sit down to be served level, like a diner. My son spent a lot of his free time in high school busting his ass in a diner kitchen. The place had a few regulars that were very loyal to the soups. The diner never claimed that they made the soup, or really offered any info. at all, other than 3-4 regular offerings and a soup of the day. The waitresses frequently heard from customers that they had really good soup, and they come in just for for the soup. One of my kid's tasks was to keep the soup tureens full, on the warming table. He would grab another #10 can of Progresso brand soup and dump it in. He also did some cooking with "Chef Mike" and "the Ding Chef".  Mike as in microwave, and ding as in the noise the microwave makes when it's done heating.

I can't see the economics of buying a fast food fried chicken to resell, but "hand battered, home cooked fried chicken" that came out of a ten pound cardboard box marked "Cisco brand flash frozen fried chicken",  oh, hell yea.

Chesleygirl

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #9 on: October 21, 2017, 05:49:05 PM »
Well, all I know now is that she' s getting eaten alive on Yelp reviews.

slugline

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #10 on: October 23, 2017, 10:09:31 AM »
I can't see the economics of buying a fast food fried chicken to resell, but "hand battered, home cooked fried chicken" that came out of a ten pound cardboard box marked "Cisco brand flash frozen fried chicken",  oh, hell yea.

Man, if Cisco would pack in fried chicken with their equipment I'd never want to switch network vendors. . . .

Living near offices of both Cisco and Sysco, I can only imagine the endless entertainment provided by customers getting the two companies constantly mixed up. :)

paddedhat

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #11 on: October 23, 2017, 10:44:17 AM »
LMAO, I find their servers to be really dry, unless marinated for a few days in an EVO and Balsamic mix.

Davnasty

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #12 on: October 23, 2017, 12:43:17 PM »
Got a KFC ad at the bottom of this page. hmmm

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #13 on: October 23, 2017, 01:47:59 PM »
LMAO, I find their servers to be really dry, unless marinated for a few days in an EVO and Balsamic mix.
They make a tasty router, though.

Bumperpuff

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #14 on: October 26, 2017, 12:01:39 PM »
On the one hand... how many sit down restaurants have better fried chicken than Chic-fil-A or Zaxbys? Can't really speak for popeyes, but I imagine it tastes good. Most sit down restaurants have better burgers than McDonalds, but when it comes to fried chicken the fast food places that specialize in that tend to do well. I very rarely eat fast food, but when I do it's Chic-fil-A or Zaxbys.

On the other... ewww. How long was that chicken sitting out? If she likes Popeyes so much why doesn't she order the same chicken from the same distributor and put similar seasoning on it?

Her kitchen isn't set up for a fryer?  What?!?!?  Individual commercial fryers take up all of 4X2 feet and just need an electrical outlet. Now most restaurants that fry food will have 2-4 of them, not just one, but still.

My understanding (since i don't work in the industry) is that along with the floor space and outlet, you also need to have an approved hood/exhaust system for the kitchen.  Not knowing what else they make or the size of their kitchen, it may be that they don't have the space easily install a deep fryer for a single element of a a single dish.

Chesleygirl

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #15 on: October 26, 2017, 05:17:03 PM »
On the one hand... how many sit down restaurants have better fried chicken than Chic-fil-A or Zaxbys? Can't really speak for popeyes, but I imagine it tastes good. Most sit down restaurants have better burgers than McDonalds, but when it comes to fried chicken the fast food places that specialize in that tend to do well. I very rarely eat fast food, but when I do it's Chic-fil-A or Zaxbys.

On the other... ewww. How long was that chicken sitting out? If she likes Popeyes so much why doesn't she order the same chicken from the same distributor and put similar seasoning on it?

Her kitchen isn't set up for a fryer?  What?!?!?  Individual commercial fryers take up all of 4X2 feet and just need an electrical outlet. Now most restaurants that fry food will have 2-4 of them, not just one, but still.

My understanding (since i don't work in the industry) is that along with the floor space and outlet, you also need to have an approved hood/exhaust system for the kitchen.  Not knowing what else they make or the size of their kitchen, it may be that they don't have the space easily install a deep fryer for a single element of a a single dish.

I probably would not run a restaurant if that were the case. Perhaps I'd open up a sandwich cafe instead.

Ramblin' Ma'am

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #16 on: October 30, 2017, 02:04:00 PM »
The problem appears to be two things: the price markup. From $3.00 to $12.00. Also, they didn't advertise that it was Popeye's Chicken they were serving. Although they admit it now.

Yeah, the owner was actually Instagramming photos of the chicken sandwiches with hashtags like #scratch and #homemade. And the Facebook page said everything was made in house. If she'd been upfront about it and had some type of arrangement with Popeye's, it would be different.

What's even worse is that she was reheating the chicken in her oven. I can't imagine old, reheated fried chicken tasted great or was worth $12.

SavingIsForSuckers

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #17 on: October 30, 2017, 04:04:22 PM »
There is really no issue here. If you're hungry, go to popeyes, taco bell, or cook your own meal. People don't typically go to sit-down restaurants because they need subsistence, they're going for the ambiance and to socialize with their family/friends. The people who feel "conned" into paying a mark-up for popeyes chicken pay the same type of mark-ups anywhere else whether they know it or not. 30-35% is a typical food cost at a mid-range sit-down restaurant.

This woman just dropped the ball on Damage Control. She should have just made up some situation like her deep fryer went kaput or something so in order to fill orders she just sourced the food from Popeyes for a day or two until the new fryer arrived, she was just trying to keep her customers happy and the business going and didn't mean any harm. She probably could have even collected some money from a GoFundMe or something for a new fryer. She could have even relayed to local media that she chose to use Popeyes "for a day or two" because of their strict QA protocols and also, it tastes good, to keep her customers safe and satisfied. Many ways to have spun this into a story into a positive PR event.
« Last Edit: October 30, 2017, 04:15:27 PM by SavingIsForSuckers »

Chesleygirl

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #18 on: October 30, 2017, 04:09:30 PM »
I don't think it's an issue for people who decide not to dine there anymore. It remains an issue for the restaurant owner though if she loses business.

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #19 on: October 31, 2017, 02:06:51 PM »
The problem appears to be two things: the price markup. From $3.00 to $12.00. Also, they didn't advertise that it was Popeye's Chicken they were serving. Although they admit it now.

Yeah, the owner was actually Instagramming photos of the chicken sandwiches with hashtags like #scratch and #homemade. And the Facebook page said everything was made in house. If she'd been upfront about it and had some type of arrangement with Popeye's, it would be different.

What's even worse is that she was reheating the chicken in her oven. I can't imagine old, reheated fried chicken tasted great or was worth $12.

Advertising something as made from scratch or homemade (generally understood to mean "in-house" in the context of a restaurant) and then providing something that blatantly isn't either of those things is a pretty clear case of deceptive advertising. She ought to get her butt chewed for that.

Khaetra

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #20 on: November 01, 2017, 04:39:15 AM »
Advertising something as made from scratch or homemade (generally understood to mean "in-house" in the context of a restaurant) and then providing something that blatantly isn't either of those things is a pretty clear case of deceptive advertising. She ought to get her butt chewed for that.

Sadly there are places that do this (advertise cooked fresh/made here when it's clearly not) and it's very deceptive.  Cooking in a restaurant is hard work and long hours, I know because I did it for many years (no 'Chef Mike's'!) and customers put their trust in you to be honest.  Stories like this make the industry as a whole look bad, which is a shame and I hope the negative press forces her to close.

MgoSam

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #21 on: November 01, 2017, 08:48:18 AM »
The problem appears to be two things: the price markup. From $3.00 to $12.00. Also, they didn't advertise that it was Popeye's Chicken they were serving. Although they admit it now.

Yeah, the owner was actually Instagramming photos of the chicken sandwiches with hashtags like #scratch and #homemade. And the Facebook page said everything was made in house. If she'd been upfront about it and had some type of arrangement with Popeye's, it would be different.

What's even worse is that she was reheating the chicken in her oven. I can't imagine old, reheated fried chicken tasted great or was worth $12.

I didn't realize that and agree with you that saying that they are "homemade" is a flat out lie when she's buying them from somewhere else. Though I suppose she may claim that they were 'homemade' at Popeye's.

With warming up the fried chicken in the oven I don't think it would taste very good. I sometimes buy fried chicken and reheat leftovers in the oven and the quality is nowhere near fresh, but with eating out and so many more things it is perception that helps dictate the customer's satisfaction (or lack thereof).

GuitarStv

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #22 on: November 01, 2017, 09:05:01 AM »
Kinda don't understand the fervor.

Sure, she implied that she made the chicken in house.  That wasn't true.  But she gets a single ingredient for a single menu item from somewhere else because her kitchen isn't set up to do the prep for it.  There have been no complaints or issues related to any sort of health concern.  If it tasted good before you knew it was Popeye's chicken, it should taste as good now.

I guess you would be upset if you're buying some kinda 'food image' . . . but if you actually care about the taste/quality of the food there's no difference before or after.

TheGrimSqueaker

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #23 on: November 01, 2017, 09:11:33 AM »
Kinda don't understand the fervor.

Sure, she implied that she made the chicken in house.  That wasn't true.  But she gets a single ingredient for a single menu item from somewhere else because her kitchen isn't set up to do the prep for it.  There have been no complaints or issues related to any sort of health concern.  If it tasted good before you knew it was Popeye's chicken, it should taste as good now.

I guess you would be upset if you're buying some kinda 'food image' . . . but if you actually care about the taste/quality of the food there's no difference before or after.

It seems to me that the people who were upset are indeed buying the "food image". Which is a stupid thing to pay extra for in the first place from a Mustachian perspective, and that's why you don't see many of us in restaurants. I can speak only for myself on this matter, but if I were disposed to go into a restaurant and pay a marked up price to eat, say, unicorn veal or whatever else I ordered from the menu as advertised, I'd expect to get actual unicorn veal and would feel pretty ripped off if that wasn't what I got.

GuitarStv

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #24 on: November 01, 2017, 10:10:23 AM »
Kinda don't understand the fervor.

Sure, she implied that she made the chicken in house.  That wasn't true.  But she gets a single ingredient for a single menu item from somewhere else because her kitchen isn't set up to do the prep for it.  There have been no complaints or issues related to any sort of health concern.  If it tasted good before you knew it was Popeye's chicken, it should taste as good now.

I guess you would be upset if you're buying some kinda 'food image' . . . but if you actually care about the taste/quality of the food there's no difference before or after.

It seems to me that the people who were upset are indeed buying the "food image". Which is a stupid thing to pay extra for in the first place from a Mustachian perspective, and that's why you don't see many of us in restaurants. I can speak only for myself on this matter, but if I were disposed to go into a restaurant and pay a marked up price to eat, say, unicorn veal or whatever else I ordered from the menu as advertised, I'd expect to get actual unicorn veal and would feel pretty ripped off if that wasn't what I got.

Weird.  See, I'd be happy to get good food or upset to get bad food.  Because that's what I'm eating.

Khaetra

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #25 on: November 01, 2017, 11:26:32 AM »
Kinda don't understand the fervor.

Sure, she implied that she made the chicken in house.  That wasn't true.  But she gets a single ingredient for a single menu item from somewhere else because her kitchen isn't set up to do the prep for it.  There have been no complaints or issues related to any sort of health concern.  If it tasted good before you knew it was Popeye's chicken, it should taste as good now.

I guess you would be upset if you're buying some kinda 'food image' . . . but if you actually care about the taste/quality of the food there's no difference before or after.

It seems to me that the people who were upset are indeed buying the "food image". Which is a stupid thing to pay extra for in the first place from a Mustachian perspective, and that's why you don't see many of us in restaurants. I can speak only for myself on this matter, but if I were disposed to go into a restaurant and pay a marked up price to eat, say, unicorn veal or whatever else I ordered from the menu as advertised, I'd expect to get actual unicorn veal and would feel pretty ripped off if that wasn't what I got.

"As Advertised" is the big thing.  If you say something is "Made From Scratch" or "Homemade Daily" then that what I expect to be served.  I once worked in an Italian restaurant where we made pasta fresh everyday.  We even had a window where you could watch us make it (kids loved it!).  You knew that when you ordered pasta, it was indeed made fresh daily and it didn't come from a box.  Trying to pass off food as 'made from scratch' or 'homemade' when it isn't is very deceptive and wrong. 

partgypsy

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #26 on: November 01, 2017, 11:34:02 AM »
I am also in the camp they should be slammed for deceptive marketing. If the soup is marketed as being made in-house, it should be made in-house. When I worked at my Dad's restaurant there were few pre-packaged items being used. It does cost more and is more labor-intensive. Those kind of restaurants should be rewarded over those that cheat (obviously, as long as the food tastes good), and this is an egregious example.

GuitarStv

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #27 on: November 01, 2017, 02:51:26 PM »
OK, so we've established that the most important thing regarding eating out for most of you is not the food, it's what we think happens in the kitchen.  Serious question for you . . . at what point is something not considered home made?

- Can you use pre-ground flour, or do you need to go to town on some wheat with a mortar and pestle every morning?
- Can you use commercially purchased mixes of spices as part of a dish?
- Is ice cream that's purchased from a store and then used as part of a dessert or on some breakfast waffles OK, or no?
- How about cherry pie filling from a store?
- What about using pre-made filo pastry dough for a dish, or a pre-made pie crust?

I'm just trying to figure out where the line between home cooking and store bought begins.  I don't run a commercial restaurant . . . and cook almost everything out of my home, but do all of the above and still consider what I make "home cooking".

Travis

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #28 on: November 01, 2017, 03:16:55 PM »
OK, so we've established that the most important thing regarding eating out for most of you is not the food, it's what we think happens in the kitchen.  Serious question for you . . . at what point is something not considered home made?

- Can you use pre-ground flour, or do you need to go to town on some wheat with a mortar and pestle every morning?
- Can you use commercially purchased mixes of spices as part of a dish?
- Is ice cream that's purchased from a store and then used as part of a dessert or on some breakfast waffles OK, or no?
- How about cherry pie filling from a store?
- What about using pre-made filo pastry dough for a dish, or a pre-made pie crust?

I'm just trying to figure out where the line between home cooking and store bought begins.  I don't run a commercial restaurant . . . and cook almost everything out of my home, but do all of the above and still consider what I make "home cooking".

I don't think we established that at all.  The last several comments were more concerned with the false advertising aspect than anything else.  If I'm paying a restaurant a mark-up for the purpose of eating there, I better get what is advertised on the menu.  If the menu says "chicken," then I shouldn't be upset if it turns out to be a complete meal reheated and ready to serve right out of the box.  I might be surprised and a bit annoyed, but I shouldn't cry foul.  If the menu says "cooked with our own hands with our propriety recipe" then you better well have put some effort into that meal because that's what I ordered.

To answer your question, if you sold something as "homemade," but the ingredients were the same store-bought materials I would get from the supermarket I'd be okay with that.  If you sold something as "homemade" or "fresh" and it turned out to be a microwaveable meal then I wouldn't be.  Assembly from parts is okay for "homemade," ready to go with no effort at all except heating it up is not.  One of those "save my restaurant" shows had an establishment that advertised "fresh pizza," but served it with the cardboard still underneath it from having unwrapped it and heated it up from the freezer. They were taken to task for that by the host.
« Last Edit: November 01, 2017, 03:24:36 PM by Travis »

sol

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #29 on: November 01, 2017, 03:22:16 PM »
Serious question for you . . . at what point is something not considered home made?

In our modern economy, I don't think "home made" and "from scratch" mean very much.

The owner could buy a cake from the grocery store and sell it on the restaurant menu, and I think most of us would argue that is not home made.  Or she could cook it in the kitchen, but use a cake mix that comes in a cardboard box.  Or she could use unmixed ingredients, each of which still comes in a cardboard box.  Unless she's literally shoveling the cow manure by hand onto the wheat fields that she will harvest by hand to get wheat she will grind into flour by hand, then she is benefiting from industrialized automation at every step of the process anyway.  I see no difference between those scenarios, up to and including having a robot bake the cake and another robot deliver it to the table.

Who cares where the fryer is located?  You wanted fried chicken, you got fried chicken, why aren't you happy?  It's not like fried chicken is an artisanal food product steeped in terroir.  Fried chicken is always deliciously shitty food, full of growth hormones and antibiotics and then boiled in liquefied fat.  Get off your pretentious high horses, American foodies.

Especially in this community, I would expect people to recognize the difference between high quality and high price.  Lots of the best consumer goods we have are the cheapest ones, not the hipster varieties.  CDs are better than vinyl records.  Blue Moon is an outstanding hef despite being mass produced by Coors.  The Honda Odyssey is a better minivan than the Mercedes Metris.

We should all be celebrating the miracle of volumetric production that makes outstanding quality goods available to us at cut rate prices.  If Popeye's makes the best fried chicken in the neighborhood, then we should be asking every restaurant to serve it.  Unless you like paying more for an inferior product.

sol

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #30 on: November 01, 2017, 04:54:39 PM »
changed nothing but the logo and sold it for $20k more

I believe you're referring to the Volkswagon Routan. 

sol

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #31 on: November 01, 2017, 06:48:37 PM »
The Mercedes Benz Metris is based on the Spanish-built Vito. Not the Routan.

The Routan is a  VW rebadge of the Dodge Caravan.  MSRP was about 50% higher than the mechanically identical Caravan.  It didn't sell well.

Laura33

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #32 on: November 02, 2017, 07:32:56 AM »
Blue Moon is an outstanding hef despite being mass produced by Coors.

This is an objectively true statement.

I didn't realize that she was affirmatively advertising the chicken as homemade -- that is deceptive to me, and she should get slammed for it.  Although she did choose far and away the best fast food chicken, so some credit for that.

I would be pissed primarily because of food quality issues.  I'm just not going to be in the category of people who thought the food was delicious until it was revealed as Popeye's or Sysco or Chef Mike or whatever.  My version of eating out means "things I can't make myself."  That means I tend to go either very high-end (fresh, delicious stuff perfectly prepared by trained chefs and combined in ways I never would have thought of), or very low-end (grandma's agnolotti; the pizza guy who makes his own crust and serves Monument City brown ale on tap; the stuffed sopaipilla with green chile and a fried egg that I still haven't forgotten 20+ years after the place closed; and, yeah, Popeye's or the occasional Chick-fil-A chicken biscuit if I have a craving for deep-fried crapola).  If I want an overcooked chicken breast in a gloppy piccata sauce or on a generic ciabatta roll, hell, I can do that at home for a lot less money -- I get like one or two date nights a month, so no way in hell am I going to waste one of them on that.*  So if I think I am getting grandma's chicken-and-waffles, and it's reheated Popeye's, I'm probably going to think grandma kinda sucks, because reheated chicken is never as good as fresh out of the fryer, and I'm going to be disappointed and not go back. 

Which, come to think of it, may explain a bunch of small places that I haven't gone back to. 

*Unless the date night is at the local dive that has about 20 beers on tap and a 300-item scotch menu.  In which case I am getting a cheeseburger, because it's not about the food, and it's hard to screw up a greasy meat patty with delicious dripping cheese too badly.**

**Although Applebees did.  Which explains why I haven't been back in a decade.

GuitarStv

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #33 on: November 02, 2017, 08:21:25 AM »
OK, so we've established that the most important thing regarding eating out for most of you is not the food, it's what we think happens in the kitchen.  Serious question for you . . . at what point is something not considered home made?

- Can you use pre-ground flour, or do you need to go to town on some wheat with a mortar and pestle every morning?
- Can you use commercially purchased mixes of spices as part of a dish?
- Is ice cream that's purchased from a store and then used as part of a dessert or on some breakfast waffles OK, or no?
- How about cherry pie filling from a store?
- What about using pre-made filo pastry dough for a dish, or a pre-made pie crust?

I'm just trying to figure out where the line between home cooking and store bought begins.  I don't run a commercial restaurant . . . and cook almost everything out of my home, but do all of the above and still consider what I make "home cooking".

I don't think we established that at all.  The last several comments were more concerned with the false advertising aspect than anything else.  If I'm paying a restaurant a mark-up for the purpose of eating there, I better get what is advertised on the menu.  If the menu says "chicken," then I shouldn't be upset if it turns out to be a complete meal reheated and ready to serve right out of the box.  I might be surprised and a bit annoyed, but I shouldn't cry foul.  If the menu says "cooked with our own hands with our propriety recipe" then you better well have put some effort into that meal because that's what I ordered.

Hold up here.

I read the original article (maybe I'm misreading something?).  It says that the chicken from Popeyes is sold as a part of a menu item (chicken and waffles).  It's not like she was selling the chicken alone and saying she made it.  Everything but the chicken in the "chicken and waffles" menu item is home made.  When asked about the chicken, the owner of the restaurant lie about anything, she clearly explained what she was doing and why.

- What exactly is the lie that everyone's talking about?
- How is using chicken from one source or another to make a new dish any different from using any other ingredient?

ooeei

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #34 on: November 02, 2017, 09:01:35 AM »
I think it really comes down to common perception on what constitutes an ingredient/staple. If I went to a friend's place and they said they made chicken and waffles from scratch, I wouldn't be particularly impressed if they had a box of popeye's in the back. I'd still eat the hell out of it because it was great, but I'd also wonder why they said it was from scratch. I think of chicken as an ingredient, but not fried chicken.

Basically if I looked up recipes for "chicken and waffles from scratch" I wouldn't expect to find many that have "Fried Chicken" in the ingredients list rather than how to make it. If she'd had "Chicken and Waffles featuring Popeye's Fried Chicken" she would've been fine. As is she can make an argument that it's an ingredient, but I find it hard to believe she didn't know what she was doing with the marketing.

From a more "legal" type perspective I agree it gets tough to define. Does bread have to be homemade in every sandwich from scratch? What about mayo or ketchup that goes on it? Pickles? The vinegar to make the pickles?

I get that a lot of people only care about the end result, and that's fine. Some people care about the process as well. If I see "handmade carvings" at some art show or something, I think there's an expectation that a person actually used some artistic skill to make something. If it was found out they went and put it on an automated 3d cutting machine at their house, I'd expect a bit of backlash there as well, even if they could argue they put it on the machine with their hands, and turned on the machine with their hands.

I'm a red panda

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #35 on: November 02, 2017, 09:37:53 AM »
It bothers me when I see ANYTHING advertised as "Homemade" at a restaurant.  I doubt any of it was made in a home, and hope it wasn't- as the health department requires it be made in a commercial kitchen.

"Fresh-made" and "Scratch-made daily" seem to be more common terms now than they used to be. 

I agree though- there is no definition for what "Handmade" means.  Why would buying pre-made chicken tenders be any different than buying pre-sliced bread, which many places do? Is pre-ground flour okay? What about stewed tomatoes from a can at the restaurant supply store?

sol

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #36 on: November 02, 2017, 10:25:26 AM »
What about stewed tomatoes from a can at the restaurant supply store?

Blasphemy!  So is using the can opener.  So is using a pre-made metal pot, which was probably mass produced by child labor in China. 

When I pay for a made-from-scratch meal, I expect everything to be cooked in a tortoise shell pot over a campfire fueled with wood foraged by the cook.  And the cook better have killed that tortoise with his bare hands.  And lit the fire by rubbing two sticks together.

Carl Sagan says https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s664NsLeFM

GuitarStv

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #37 on: November 02, 2017, 10:35:37 AM »
What about stewed tomatoes from a can at the restaurant supply store?

Blasphemy!  So is using the can opener.  So is using a pre-made metal pot, which was probably mass produced by child labor in China. 

When I pay for a made-from-scratch meal, I expect everything to be cooked in a tortoise shell pot over a campfire fueled with wood foraged by the cook.  And the cook better have killed that tortoise with his bare hands.  And lit the fire by rubbing two sticks together.

Carl Sagan says https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s664NsLeFM

Did you make the tortoise shell, or are you passing off one made by a turtle as your own?

sol

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #38 on: November 02, 2017, 11:50:03 AM »
What about stewed tomatoes from a can at the restaurant supply store?

Blasphemy!  So is using the can opener.  So is using a pre-made metal pot, which was probably mass produced by child labor in China. 

When I pay for a made-from-scratch meal, I expect everything to be cooked in a tortoise shell pot over a campfire fueled with wood foraged by the cook.  And the cook better have killed that tortoise with his bare hands.  And lit the fire by rubbing two sticks together.

Carl Sagan says https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7s664NsLeFM

Did you make the tortoise shell, or are you passing off one made by a turtle as your own?

I also cheated by not making the sticks, or discovering fire.  It's almost like it's impossible to do anything from scratch, without relying too heavily on the work of others.

At least I didn't serve fried chicken that was fried in a different kitchen.

LennStar

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #39 on: November 04, 2017, 06:08:21 AM »
I'm sorry that is hilarious - a restaurant which doesn't have a kitchen? And kind of gross that they only pick up twice a day, imagine how long that chicken was being kept warm. I think that's a food safety issue.
I think you would be surprised how many eating places don't have a proper kitchen.
Don't confuse the home kitchen with a single 4-flamer with a restaurant kitchen.

Several 4-flamers, several ovens, probably several dish washers, several working places, dish heaters, several cooling/freezing appliances and yes, several micro waves too.
That all takes space and there are also 2-4 people that have to move in there without running into each other constantly. You need a lot of stuff to make 30-50 meals in one hour.

LennStar

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Re: Restaurant served Popeye's Chicken & marks up the price
« Reply #40 on: November 04, 2017, 06:16:51 AM »
I didn't realize that and agree with you that saying that they are "homemade" is a flat out lie when she's buying them from somewhere else. Though I suppose she may claim that they were 'homemade' at Popeye's.

Actually that again is a problem of the customer. I mean they buy "US" beef. From livestock grown in Argentina with food from Brasilia, pumped with medics made in India and slaughtered in Mexico.
The only thing that happened in the US is the package. And this true for a lot of stuff.
(Disclaimer: I say that from EU perspective, but I cannot imagine the laws are stricter in the US)

 

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