Author Topic: Restaurant Rants  (Read 11140 times)

Bob W

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Restaurant Rants
« on: May 21, 2015, 10:32:08 AM »
I generally avoid restaurants  ----

So yesterday I had a client meeting.  Our office is generous enough to let us take the debit card with no rules or limits.   It was a breakfast meeting, so off to Bob Evan's we go --

So for coffee and breakfast for two the bill came to $24 including tip!   WTF

I had eggs, bacon and hash browns.  My guest had pancakes.    I figured the cost of her ingredients were maybe 50 cents.   My ingredient cost was probably close to $1. 

Coffee was $2.40.  WTF!     What is the ingredient cost for coffee,  like 5 cents?     I'm pissed and it wasn't even my money.

I'm swearing off restaurants.

Anyone else want to rant?

1967mama

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #1 on: May 21, 2015, 10:35:39 AM »
My son took me out for lunch recently when I went to visit him and the food was TERRIBLE! I didn't say anything to him, of course, but it was seriously crappy and overpriced as well. Grrr!

ETA: I do enjoy a good restaurant meal once in a while and am a bit of a sukka for fast food when I need a quick meal for the kids :-/ (face punching self)
« Last Edit: May 21, 2015, 03:39:11 PM by 1967mama »

2lazy2retire

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #2 on: May 21, 2015, 10:36:10 AM »
But but but .. your paying for the service

RFAAOATB

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2015, 10:36:50 AM »
The ingredients may be cheap, but you got to pay the waitresses, the cooks, the lease, the overhead, and leave from what I hear a razor thin profit margin.  Unless every employee has a BMW, I'm guessing $12/person to not have to cook and clean a meal is a fair price.

forummm

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2015, 11:36:45 AM »
The cost of the bill is the rent on the table (the amount of time you spend there as a function of their overhead) plus raw materials plus energy plus wages plus profit. Coffee takes a lot of time to sit and drink, so it's more expensive relative to its raw material cost than a hamburger you can eat in about the same time you'd drink the coffee. That's part of why a desert at a restaurant costs about half as much as a meal.

But yes, restaurants are too expensive.

Fuman

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #5 on: May 21, 2015, 12:03:32 PM »
I like to cook.  So I get kinda pissed-off when I order a meal at a restaurant only to find that I could have - and would have - done it much better.  Paying a premium for an inferior meal really chaps my hide.  For that reason I mostly restrict my dining to restaurants that serve a cuisine that I don't usually prepare.  Mediocre Indian food still tastes great to me!

TheAnonOne

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #6 on: May 21, 2015, 12:14:04 PM »
When I go out to eat, I tend to go to higher end places (it's not very often)

At least I can get an experience there that I don't at home. (Yes, its more money but I would gladly pay $100 for a fantastic night vs $25 for a regular meal)

Johnez

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #7 on: May 21, 2015, 12:16:13 PM »
Every time I go get fast good, my eye twitches a little when I'm read the total price for the combo. Of course the give me two sizes-medium and large, neglecting the small. Of course leading with, "Would you like to try.....today?"

Had exactly the opposite reaction to my last restaurant meal however. New York steak, 6 big shrimp, plain salad, gumbo, veggies, and baked potato- $12. Granted the steak wasn't huge, but I think for a half hour's wage and being fed like a king-totally worth it. Being out on the town did me and my girl some good, we get tired of the cheap home thing sometimes.

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #8 on: May 21, 2015, 12:48:32 PM »
I LOVE restaurants. Love em. That's why I refuse to ever go out to eat except when called upon by social customs to do so. I don't step foot into a restaurant unless I'm with a party.

Eating out is a fun experience for me. I'm with a bunch of people so the table is covered with a variety of dishes. Even better if people don't mind swapping and sharing (family is great for this). Someone almost always orders an appetizer or desert, which are two things I never let into my house. We never go to fast food (what good would that be for a party?) so the atmosphere is always that kitschy sit-down ambiance, where the waiters obviously act happy but then usually get happy once they find out your table is stocked with people who are nice and cheerful and probably going to tip well. And because we can split the bill, I usually don't feel ripped off.

I like restaurants. I never spend a dime on them by myself or with someone I could just cook for, but when I do go, I enjoy them to the fullest.

That said....

I've never found a single restaurant with chairs that are honestly comfortable.

Remben

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #9 on: May 21, 2015, 01:45:58 PM »
I figured the cost of her ingredients were maybe 50 cents.   My ingredient cost was probably close to $1. 

Coffee was $2.40.  WTF!     What is the ingredient cost for coffee,  like 5 cents?

When you start calculating it this way, I can see how this seems to be outrageous, Bob :) In the end you're paying for the whole experience. But according to your reaction the overall experience might have not been that great... Or was it?

trailrated

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #10 on: May 21, 2015, 02:14:16 PM »
Went to Benihana earlier in the week for a family members bday and the strangest restaurant experience happened.

My brother (Caucasian) was sitting between my fathers girlfriend (Asian) and my sister (half Asian) and the server who was Asian comes to take the first round of orders. When she comes back  to serve drinks she accused my brother of calling her a fob (fresh off the boat) which is derogatory towards Asians and she told him it hurt her feelings. He was bewildered because not only did he not say anything like that and had no idea what she may have misheard to make her think that but he is sitting between two other people of Asian decent at the table.

Needless to say it was incredibly awkward and unprofessional. As a server I think she should have kept to herself... and she was obviously in the wrong because nothing was said in the first place. But it got me thinking and wondering if that would have been an appropriate way to handle the situation if say for instance something derogatory was actually said.

Bajadoc

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #11 on: May 21, 2015, 03:10:33 PM »
I go to restaurants once in a blue moon just to make the wife happy. I can't enjoy it because I think just like Bob W. Even worse, I love to cook and can create a more tasty healthy meal for a ton less cost. "But you are paying for the atmosphere and the service." But I don't like the restaurant atmosphere and the service is usually so so at best. I live by the credo "happy wife, happy life," so I will hold my nose and "dine" out once in a while and pretend to like it. I am happy to sacrifice occasionally for the dear wife. That makes it worth it, I guess.

Retire-Canada

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #12 on: May 21, 2015, 03:26:30 PM »

Anyone else want to rant?

Sure. Stop complaining about a reasonable breakfast bill. It's not a charity and unless everyone there is just keen on making your day sitting down and eating breakfasts costs money.

Time to get over it or stay away from restaurants.

-- Vik

LiveLean

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #13 on: May 21, 2015, 03:35:31 PM »
Could not agree more, Bob W.

1. Hate waiting for food. I eat six small meals a day, very conscious of health and nutrition. I don't want to wait for your schedule.
2. Friends/business associates look at meals as entertainment. I don't. Let's go run, walk, bike, paddle together.
3. Service usually sucks. And yet server thinks of anything less than 25 percent as being stiffed.
4. Food is usually processed or a poor value, either financially or nutritionally. We've really lowered the bar for expectations when Outback and its stable of mediocre restaurants -- Carrabas, Bonefish -- continue to be wildly popular.
5. I love Chipotle. Quality food served quickly, good value nutritionally and financially. There's a reason CMG stock is $700. Steve Ells is a freakin' genius. Burrito bowl with a cup of water for as little as $7. That's because I have them pile on the lettuce and half the time the cashier doesn't notice the guacamole buried underneath. I figure I'm a shareholder and frequent customer. I deserve free guac every few visits.

firewalker

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #14 on: May 21, 2015, 05:51:14 PM »
Eating out, for me, is usually when I've been working way too long that day and I need to eat, shower, and go to bed. How much would I pay someone to cook off a menu of 20 or so items (and pretty quick), wash the dishes, and let me go home and collapse? 

okits

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #15 on: May 21, 2015, 06:36:11 PM »
Sigh, yeah, breakfast out costs about that around here.  I think it's a bit too much but that's because I can and will make bacon and eggs, pancakes, etc. at home.  Sometimes eating out is simply for convenience but I feel it's more worth it for something I don't make at home and is of reasonable quality.

Elbata

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #16 on: May 21, 2015, 06:50:20 PM »
Just wait until minimum wage is $15.

Add in the SOS (excess salt, oil and sugar), you might enjoy the convenience, but certainly can't look at it as being anywhere near healthy.

Went to a bar the other day. My son had two beers and I had water. Bar tab was $11.50. I gave the waitress $50 and I said just give me back $35. While I was putting my visa back in my wallet, she walked away before I took the $35 off her tray.

I didn't realize the mistake till I got home. Went back the next day and she didn't give me back my money. I'm pretty sure I'll be getting it back.

Daisy

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #17 on: May 21, 2015, 06:53:06 PM »
I think breakfast out is a waste of money. Scrambled eggs are the easiest thing to make. Or yogurt, granola, and fruit. Easy peasy. Even on trips, I prefer to eat breakfast in the room or condo because it also allows me to sleep in a little longer. ;-)

I eat a ton of salads and other healthy stuff at home. I don't even buy bread at home. However, at restaurants I binge on bread and butter and order all of the "unhealthy" stuff. I can't bring myself to pay $12-15 for a friggin salad which is so easy to make.

I always tell my restaurant dining mates that I eat healthy at home, but not sure if they believe me. I become fanatical over restaurant bread, especially when it's a warmly served bread. Yum.

iris lily

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #18 on: May 21, 2015, 07:17:33 PM »
Only tangentially related, but I've never had this happen:

A few days ago my credit card company sent email to me, asking if I had really added a tip of 45% to the bill. haha, yes I did. But it was cool that they contacted me to check up on it.

forummm

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #19 on: May 21, 2015, 07:40:19 PM »
Only tangentially related, but I've never had this happen:

A few days ago my credit card company sent email to me, asking if I had really added a tip of 45% to the bill. haha, yes I did. But it was cool that they contacted me to check up on it.

I got an email of the same kind once. It was because I used a 50% off coupon, and my tip was on the prediscounted value of the meal.

Insanity

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #20 on: May 21, 2015, 07:57:42 PM »
Only tangentially related, but I've never had this happen:

A few days ago my credit card company sent email to me, asking if I had really added a tip of 45% to the bill. haha, yes I did. But it was cool that they contacted me to check up on it.

We went out with a group of friends for a dinner.  I always pay by credit card, they paid by cash.  I told the waitress to put the difference on the card.  She wound up taking the cash as tip and charged it all.  I noticed before we left.  But yeah, that was almost a 75% tip.

As for restaurants, we go out once a week.  And occasionally for breakfast, we will go out to a restaurant near us that has a buy one breakfast get one free.  We eat there for a family of four for the $25-$30 and it is fresh food, not Bob Evans food.  I eat out during the week way too much.  I'm too lazy to get things together the night before and I don't have time in the morning.  So I wind up grabbing a bagel and then getting a salad, Chipolte, Subway, or Pizza for lunch.  Not exactly the healthiest.

galliver

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #21 on: May 21, 2015, 08:41:53 PM »

Anyone else want to rant?

Sure. Stop complaining about a reasonable breakfast bill. It's not a charity and unless everyone there is just keen on making your day sitting down and eating breakfasts costs money.

Time to get over it or stay away from restaurants.

-- Vik

The ingredients may be cheap, but you got to pay the waitresses, the cooks, the lease, the overhead, and leave from what I hear a razor thin profit margin.  Unless every employee has a BMW, I'm guessing $12/person to not have to cook and clean a meal is a fair price.

Both of these.

However, I do wonder if the perception of prices for people in their 50s and 60s are vastly different from those of us in our 20s. After all, they remember when they were starting out and $25 then (1985) was what $55 is worth today. Having only observed 5-10 years of inflation (at ages when I was paying attention), I don't actually know how much of the sense of the "value of a dollar" stays with you over several decades... I can see myself being offended at being charged $55 for a simple breakfast, though.

Bob W

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #22 on: May 21, 2015, 09:13:04 PM »
I figured the cost of her ingredients were maybe 50 cents.   My ingredient cost was probably close to $1. 

Coffee was $2.40.  WTF!     What is the ingredient cost for coffee,  like 5 cents?

When you start calculating it this way, I can see how this seems to be outrageous, Bob :) In the end you're paying for the whole experience. But according to your reaction the overall experience might have not been that great... Or was it?
from the time we ordered it was 45 minutes.   So no, the service sucked.

Insanity

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #23 on: May 22, 2015, 06:25:41 AM »
I figured the cost of her ingredients were maybe 50 cents.   My ingredient cost was probably close to $1. 

Coffee was $2.40.  WTF!     What is the ingredient cost for coffee,  like 5 cents?

When you start calculating it this way, I can see how this seems to be outrageous, Bob :) In the end you're paying for the whole experience. But according to your reaction the overall experience might have not been that great... Or was it?
from the time we ordered it was 45 minutes.   So no, the service sucked.

Basing restaurant experiences off of a Bob Evans is like basing financial advice off of a spendthrift.

dude

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #24 on: May 22, 2015, 07:11:56 AM »
I LOVE restaurants. Love em. That's why I refuse to ever go out to eat except when called upon by social customs to do so. I don't step foot into a restaurant unless I'm with a party.

I'm the complete opposite - much prefer restaurants when it's just me and wife, or occasionally another couple.  Group dining experiences generally piss me off, because there's always those assholes who order the appetizer, most expensive entrée, dessert, and multiple rounds of expensive bourbon -- and then want to split the bill evenly.  Fuck them!  I'm the opposite -- I refuse to let others split evenly if I'm the guy who ordered the extra and/or high-end shit.  I don't want other people subsidizing me, I don't need it.

But I will say that I don't get the restaurant haters.  Sure, I get that frequent eating out is not a good strategy for building one's wealth.  But I'm not going to bitch about paying $12 for breakfast (provided it was good), since I consider it a bargain for (a) a good meal, that (b) I didn't have to cook, and (c) for which I sat on my ass and got waited on hand and foot, and (d) didn't have to clean a damn thing when it was all done!  Money well-spent (on occasion), if you ask me! 

golden1

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #25 on: May 22, 2015, 07:13:10 AM »
I think most people think certain things are too expensive until they actually work in that industry and get an understanding of what goes into the service or good provided.  Are some things over priced?  Absolutely!  However, $24 for a good breakfast for two people, from the standpoint of someone who has worked in a restaurant doesn't sound so horrible as a rare treat.  They have to provide the venue, the cooks, the servers, the dishwashers, the food etc....  It isn't just about the food, it is the experience and service you are paying for. 

Insanity

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #26 on: May 22, 2015, 07:14:06 AM »
Group dining experiences generally piss me off, because there's always those assholes who order the appetizer, most expensive entrée, dessert, and multiple rounds of expensive bourbon -- and then want to split the bill evenly.  Fuck them!  I'm the opposite -- I refuse to let others split evenly if I'm the guy who ordered the extra and/or high-end shit.  I don't want other people subsidizing me, I don't need it.

I'm completely the opposite.  I don't care chunking in more when I'm out with friends.  Over time it usually evens out.

GuitarStv

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #27 on: May 22, 2015, 07:33:21 AM »
My personal pet peeve is that I find it rare that a restaurant will ever provide me with adequate water.

This seems silly, but I drink a lot of water with meals.  Usually about a liter to liter and a half.  The glasses that restaurants choose to dispense water in are typically very small . . . 200 - 300 ml.  It's often 1/2 filled with ice.  If you're drinking plain water in most restaurants, you will get your glass refilled once during the meal maybe twice if you make a big deal about it.  Anyone have a secret technique to get enough water?

Insanity

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #28 on: May 22, 2015, 07:36:46 AM »
My personal pet peeve is that I find it rare that a restaurant will ever provide me with adequate water.

This seems silly, but I drink a lot of water with meals.  Usually about a liter to liter and a half.  The glasses that restaurants choose to dispense water in are typically very small . . . 200 - 300 ml.  It's often 1/2 filled with ice.  If you're drinking plain water in most restaurants, you will get your glass refilled once during the meal maybe twice if you make a big deal about it.  Anyone have a secret technique to get enough water?

Go to better restaurants and ask for no ice.

There are types that this happens (typically the Friday's, Chili's etc), but most family owned ones are great with keeping drinks refilled.

Chris22

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #29 on: May 22, 2015, 07:51:42 AM »
My personal pet peeve is that I find it rare that a restaurant will ever provide me with adequate water.

This seems silly, but I drink a lot of water with meals.  Usually about a liter to liter and a half.  The glasses that restaurants choose to dispense water in are typically very small . . . 200 - 300 ml.  It's often 1/2 filled with ice.  If you're drinking plain water in most restaurants, you will get your glass refilled once during the meal maybe twice if you make a big deal about it.  Anyone have a secret technique to get enough water?

Ask for a bigger glass, 2 glasses, or a pitcher.  I'm with you, I drink a ton of water, and I hate running out. 


On topic, I do think going to an expensive breakfast is generally a waste, because there's pretty much no difference between a $6 omlette and a $12 omlette.  OTOH, a $25 steak and a $50 steak are VERY different, the latter usually being my birthday present for the year. 

Tetsuya Hondo

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #30 on: May 22, 2015, 08:54:20 AM »
I love restaurants, but I hate most of the chains. They're almost always a terrible value and I cannot believe that they even exist given the crap they serve. Unless you're in a really small or backwater market, there's always a better option especially at any decent Thai, Vietnamese, taqueria, Indian, Chinese, dim-sum, etc. restaurants. I can eat pretty well for two with $24. Even some really nice restaurants will offer surprisingly good deals on lunches and brunches. You just have to do a little homework.

forummm

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #31 on: May 22, 2015, 09:03:16 AM »
My personal pet peeve is that I find it rare that a restaurant will ever provide me with adequate water.

This seems silly, but I drink a lot of water with meals.  Usually about a liter to liter and a half.  The glasses that restaurants choose to dispense water in are typically very small . . . 200 - 300 ml.  It's often 1/2 filled with ice.  If you're drinking plain water in most restaurants, you will get your glass refilled once during the meal maybe twice if you make a big deal about it.  Anyone have a secret technique to get enough water?

DW's technique is to bring me and to drink my water too.

I don't mind. I drink more slowly.

Ditchmonkey

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #32 on: May 22, 2015, 11:43:22 AM »
The ingredients may be cheap, but you got to pay the waitresses, the cooks, the lease, the overhead, and leave from what I hear a razor thin profit margin.  Unless every employee has a BMW, I'm guessing $12/person to not have to cook and clean a meal is a fair price.

This post sums it up. Stuff costs money. If you feel restaurants margins are sky-high, then maybe you should open one and enjoy the pile of money you'll sleep on at night.

SuperSaver

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #33 on: May 22, 2015, 12:03:58 PM »
My personal pet peeve is that I find it rare that a restaurant will ever provide me with adequate water.

This seems silly, but I drink a lot of water with meals.  Usually about a liter to liter and a half.  The glasses that restaurants choose to dispense water in are typically very small . . . 200 - 300 ml.  It's often 1/2 filled with ice.  If you're drinking plain water in most restaurants, you will get your glass refilled once during the meal maybe twice if you make a big deal about it.  Anyone have a secret technique to get enough water?

Ask for a bigger glass, 2 glasses, or a pitcher.  I'm with you, I drink a ton of water, and I hate running out. 



One of my best friends is 6 foot 5 and drinks a liter+ of iced tea, soda or water with his meals when we go out to eat. To be kind to our servers our table just smiles and asks that they drop a pitcher of whatever he is drinking off for him. He literally gets 5 or 6 refills otherwise. It saves the server a ton of time and effort since he drinks so much so fast. Since he drinks bottomless/free refill drinks and it costs about $0.02 a glass the labor to refill his glass is the most expensive component.

Daisy

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Re: Restaurant Rants
« Reply #34 on: May 23, 2015, 11:48:39 AM »
I love restaurants, but I hate most of the chains. They're almost always a terrible value and I cannot believe that they even exist given the crap they serve. Unless you're in a really small or backwater market, there's always a better option especially at any decent Thai, Vietnamese, taqueria, Indian, Chinese, dim-sum, etc. restaurants. I can eat pretty well for two with $24. Even some really nice restaurants will offer surprisingly good deals on lunches and brunches. You just have to do a little homework.

I agree. I like restaurants where I can have some good food I either don't know how to make or would be too much effort to make. Asian food, strombolis (don't do dough at home), deep fried Mexican stuff (too messy to do at home), and desserts are at the top of my list.

What I don't like is to order something I can easily make at home...such as salads, breakfast foods (most), roasted chicken...I mean give me some sauce or something I can rant and rave about. I tend to order the weird stuff at restaurants. The other stuff is just regular dinner at home.