As the cost of raw materials rises, its not just the food at the grocery store that’s getting smaller and more expensive—restaurants of all kinds are having to do more with less.
restaurants
NC Applebee's Can't Afford Breadsticks Or Candles Anymore
By 3.18.08
Glenn’s family went to Applebee’s last night and discovered that the restaurant is cutting back. Really cutting back. You have to bring your own candles now for their birthday cakes, because “Applebee’s doesn’t supply birthday candles anymore.”
Tip: Use One Catch-All Email Address To Collect Restaurant Offers
By 3.15.08
Tracy Ham and Eggs shared a great tip with other readers on our Pizza Hut spam post earlier today: My last decent sized company had a “food@company” email. They opted into everyone deals and menu emails and when we wanted to order something we hit that email and searched for what we wanted.
Select Jack In The Boxes Offering Free Wi-Fi
By 3.14.08
If you live in California or Arizona, your nearby recently-remodeled Jack in the Box restaurant might be offering free wi-fi, says Knowzy.com. “If you see a big screen TV, look for a 5 digit code in the bottom left corner. It’s your ticket to free Internet with your burger and fries.” So far the service isn’t being officially promoted and appears to be in a testing phase, but Knowzy’s editors were able to use the service at several Jack in the Boxes they visited.
Bennigan's Decides To Tip Itself $5
By 3.11.08
A little tale to remind you to keep an eye on your credit card statements from reader Rebecca. What you’re charged may not always be what you signed.
I was recently at the Bennigan’s on Route 22 in New Jersey for dinner with some friends. I had never been to this particular Bennigan’s but my friends had warned me that the service was extremely bad their last visit. I enjoy Bennigan’s the most out of the fast food chains and it was the closest one so we decided to give it a shot anyways.
6 Ways To Save Money When Dining Out
By 3.11.08
RacerX at “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Money” has posted the 6 ways he and his wife save money when they go out to eat. Following all of them would make for a noticeably different experience at your favorite restaurant—perhaps more than you’d like. But even adopting a couple of these tips could knock 10% or more off your next fancy meal with the significant other.
By 3.6.08
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Atlanta area restaurant scores a record-breaking 13 out of 100 in a health inspection. Anything below 70 is considered “unacceptable.” [WSBTVvia Fark]
Australian TV Investigates, Uncovers Pattern Of Abuse At "Rude Feedback" Restaurant
By 2.25.08
Apparently, the email has caused such an outpouring of similar customer service stories that the restaurant is actually closed.
Beware Dirty Lemon Wedges At Restaurants
By 2.21.08
The slightly alarmist HealthInspections.com has a story about dirty lemon wedges in restaurants—apparently they’re a “witch’s brew of bacteria,” to use the hilariously over-the-top language of the video narrator, who speaks in a parody of a newscaster voice. Our favorite trick of theirs: overlaying gigantic bacteria animations on everyday objects, as you can see in this screen capture. But anyway, the point is a microbiologist from New Jersey found various bacteria on three quarters of the lemons she tested from 21 different restaurants: “The very first sample that we took was loaded with fecal bacteria.”
I'm Sorry, But We Didn't Order The "Suck My Dick Fuck Face."
By 2.19.08
The BBC is reporting that a restaurant owner has apologized to some customers who received the above-pictured bill.
Court Rules "World Yacht" Can Be Sued For Not Distributing Gratuities To Its Servers
By 2.19.08
“Hold on,” you say to yourself—”If it’s a gratuity, doesn’t that by definition mean it goes to the wait staff?” Not if you’re a server for World Yacht, a “luxury dining fleet” in Manhattan that will now be sued by its employees for slapping automatic gratuities on diners’ bills, then keeping the extra money for itself. New York labor laws require “employers to pass on to workers any payments that customers understand to be tips,” but World Yacht argued that the banquet industry was exempt, and its servers should get nothing. Thanks to last week’s ruling, the employees can move forward with their suit.
By 2.16.08
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S.F. writes back in to let us know that another restaurant in the Bel Air area, Freddies, will accept those suddenly-worthless Crackpot gift cards at 50 cents on the dollar. Thanks, Freddies—your skull logo rocks.
Crackpot Restaurant Closes Abruptly After Selling Thousands In Gift Cards
By 2.15.08
Neil Smith, owner of two Crackpot Restaurants in Maryland, recently shut down one of them and left employees without pay and gift card holders without compensation.
Restaurant Gives Patron Feedback
By 2.11.08
Here’s proof that bad customer service, like haggling and buyer’s remorse, is a universal human condition. A woman in Brisbane, Australia saw an ad for 50% off the bill at Casa Flamenco, a local restaurant, so she and some friends went out for dinner. The experience wasn’t good—untrained waiter, mediocre food, small servings, long wait time, and despite the half-off coupon the meal was surprisingly expensive for the value. The woman—a restaurant marketer—wrote a polite email to the restaurant with some professional feedback and suggestions on how to improve service.
Legally Blind Woman Sues Fast Food Restaurants For Rudeness
By 2.11.08
A legally blind New York woman sued several fast food restaurants for ridiculing her when she asked for help reading their menus, but a federal judge threw out the suit on the grounds that “ADA laws don’t regulate ‘rudeness or insensitivity’ of workers.” Last week, however, an appeals court overturned that ruling and now the suit—” believed to be the first of its kind—could go before a jury this year.”
KFC Is Sneaking Extra Profit From Bigger Orders
By 2.7.08
If you’re planning on buying some Hot Wings from KFC in Colorado Springs, Colorado, your cheapest option is to buy them in sets of six no matter how many you want. KFC charges you slightly more per wing as you buy more—”Guess they just hope nobody’s good at quick math,” our reader Jay writes.
Pizza Hut Announces Nationwide Mobile Ordering
By 1.17.08
Pizza Hut may not be the world’s best pizza, but now that they’ve rolled out nationwide mobile ordering—via their website on any web-enabled phone, or text message on the rest—they’re certainly one of the easiest pizza joints to order from.
By 1.11.08
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Touch-screen ordering at restaurants is the new cool thing? We weren’t aware that WaWa was so cutting edge. [BuzzFeed]
