Every family and group of friends has that one person who whines about whatever restaurant everyone else agrees on. Red Lobster, the restaurant that brought a vaguely Maine-like experience to the nation, is often a subject of such disputes. That’s why the company has been testing more lower-priced and fish-free entrees meant to appeal to people who don’t actually want to eat at Red Lobster. The new menu launches nationwide on October 15. [More]
restaurants
Some Residents Claim Pay-What-You-Can Panera Is Hurting Neighborhood
By 10.3.12
Over the last couple years, the folks at Panera have slowly been expanding their pay-what-you-can Panera Cares eateries beyond the initial experiment in Missouri. But the latest Panera Cares, located in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood, is drawing some jeers from local residents who say the restaurant is attracting an undesirable element. [More]
Chinese Restaurant Closed Because Roadkill Wasn’t On The Menu
By 10.2.12
It’s one thing for a restaurant to serve up a nice plate of venison that comes from a legally hunted deer that’s been dressed and butchered properly. It’s another to simply chop up some roadkill in the kitchen and pass it off to your customers, and that is why a Chinese food restaurant in Kentucky is now closed. [More]
Why Don't More Women Dine At Hooters?
By 9.13.12
The new leadership at Hooters — long deemed a restaurant for people who are afraid to be seen at a strip club, and who haven’t figured out it’s cheaper to just eat at home and watch cable TV — says it’s tired of being a mostly-men joint and wants to make the eatery more appealing to those not drawn in by the allure of women wearing tight T-shirts. [More]
Those Italians Are Onto Something With Produce-As-Payment Method At Florence Restaurant
By 9.13.12
Would you give your right arm for a decent meal? If you’re in Florence, Italy you can keep all your limbs intact and just hand over some fruits and vegetables in exchange for a restaurant-quality meal. The restaurant is opening later this month, and is using the barter idea to help out customers who might be feeling like they can’t dine out in the current cranky economy. And yes, an economy can be cranky. [More]
Potty Training Your Kids At The Restaurant Table Might Possibly Upset Nearby Diners
By 9.5.12
Whatever you might think of mom’s breastfeeding their young children in public, there are generally laws protecting those women. The same can’t be said for potty training your kids in the middle of a restaurant. [More]
Who Dares Visit A Restaurant Without Reading Online Reviews First?
By 8.31.12
The best satire is deeply rooted in reality. That’s why an article from this week’s issue of the Onion shook us to the core. “Brave Woman Enters Restaurant Without First Looking It Up Online,” the headline blared. At Consumerist HQ, we asked each other: is there really anyone out there who is so bold and reckless that they would do such a thing? [More]
No One At Buffalo Wings & Rings Knows How To Give A Refund
By 8.23.12
Michael had a gift card to Buffalo Wings & Rings to use up. His balance was less than a dollar under what he spent on his meal, but he put the remainder on a debit card anyway. Sure, handing over a dollar would have saved him some time in the end, but he had no way to know in advance that the employees of this particular outpost of the chain were all incompetent. When the waitress accidentally ran the entire balance on a credit card, she shrugged and made it Michael’s problem. She didn’t know how to reverse a charge. Guess he’d have to come back and use the gift card another time. [More]
Do Not Throw Unwanted Water Refills On Your Red Lobster Waitress
By 8.21.12
There are many ways to tell the restaurant employee who is currently serving your table that you are satisfied with your present quantity of ice water and would not care for a refill. “I don’t need any water, thanks,” you could say when they approach with pitcher in hand. You could shake your head “no” at them if your mouth is crammed full of breaded shrimp. In an informal establishment, you could put a paper napkin on top of your glass. We do not recommend that you follow the lead of three Illinois women, who were charged with attacking their Red Lobster waitress. A witness told the media that the trio expressed their displeasure at too-frequent refills by tossing their ice water on their waitress, then striking her with their hands. And their menus. [More]
Would You Agree To Put Your Phone Away At A Restaurant For A Discount?
By 8.16.12
Yes, yes, we know: You just need to check the score of the game really quickly or maybe your sister-in-law finally put up some new pictures of the baby. And oh, let’s just take a second to Instagram this artfully designed plate! But come on, do you really need to have your phone out at the restaurant? Perhaps a little incentive would convince you to put it away, like the 5% discount an L.A. eatery is offering to diners for not using digital devices at the table. [More]
It's Time To Get Our Discount Back On At Fast Food Restaurants After A Lackluster Summer
By 8.10.12
The restaurant business, particularly fast food and casual dining, is feeling some heat after putting the kibosh on offering customers sales this summer, and it seems set to bring back discounts and other offers to lure in patrons again. This, at a time when food costs are set to rise. But hey, whatever gets those golden customers coming through the door, right? [More]
Who The &^#* Does This Restaurant Customer Think He Is?
By 7.24.12
There are many ways to encourage, or even demand, quality service while out for a nice meal. Telling your waiter in advance that you’re going to be a dick about the tip is most certainly not a good method for doing so. [More]
Bar Owner Buys Entire Texas Town, Renames It “Bikinis, TX”
By 7.18.12
The man behind the Texas-based Bikinis Sports Bar & Grill chain of eateries — so named for its servers’ barely-there attire — has purchased an entire abandoned town off Craigslist and named it after the restaurant, all with the goal of transforming the ghost town into a tourist destination. [More]
Restaurant Gets Around Foie Gras Ban By “Gifting” It To Customers
By 7.16.12
The list of clever end runs around California’s recent ban on the sale of foie gras continues to grow. First it was the restaurant that claimed exemption from the law because it’s in a national park. Now comes an eatery that says the ban doesn’t stop a business from giving foie gras away to customers. [More]
NYC Movie Theaters Fight Back Against Mayor’s Big Soda Ban
By 7.6.12
While hit new movies might make millionaires out of actors, directors and key grips, movie theaters often make little to no money on the actual ticket sales of high-profile, first-run movies. Instead, they depend on those movies to bring in customers to pay big bucks for huge drinks and buckets of popcorn. Thus, you can imagine why theater owners in New York City aren’t exactly doing somersaults in celebration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s proposed ban of large sodas. [More]
Hooters, Hard Rock, Friendly’s Score Low Marks On Chain Restaurant Survey
By 7.2.12
The idea behind chain restaurants is — or at least it should be — to provide customers with dependable, consistent food and service at multiple locations. And many chains succeed in at least trying to fulfill these goals. But according to a recent survey of nearly 48,000 Consumer Reports readers, some chains are struggling to maintain a mediocre level of service and quality. [More]
How Far Would You Go To Tip Your Server?
By 6.29.12
Many, many pixels have been on this site over the subject of tipping in restaurants, but how far out of your way would you go to give a tip? -Joe and his wife had dinner at Red Robin, paid for with a few free entrée coupons and a gift card. Only the gift card receipt didn’t have a line to authorize a tip, and the couple only had a dollar in cash between them. In a culture where we often don’t talk about tips, should they just leave the dollar that they had in their wallets and feel guilty about it, or actually address the problem and talk to the server about it directly? [More]
Waitress Says She Was Fired For Balking At Skimpy New Outfits
By 6.26.12
After several years of working at an L.A.-area bar, a woman says she was fired when she refused to wear the skimpy outfits that the new manager said were now required for female employees. [More]
