• LastYearsPumpkin@feddit.ch
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    2 years ago

    People in here are missing the point. Yeah, Applebees, Olive Garden, IHOP, etc. aren’t “classy”, they’re cheap chain sit-down restaurants. They appeal to a wide audience, cause they are clean, the food is fine, they serve a variety of drinks, and you can go there semi-regularly as long as you have some disposable income.

    Sure, you’re not going to see multi-millionaires who grew up rich going there, those people go to the “fancy” chains, like Ruth’s Chris Steak House. But you’d probably see a 6 figure tech job family sitting in a both next to a plumber family sitting next to a doctor family. Which is something you don’t really see at most other places.

    • pohart@programming.dev
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      2 years ago

      Six figure tech job here. I no longer feel like I can afford Applebee’s, idk about olive garden because the food is gross. Certainly can’t afford drinks and dinner.

    • nicetriangle@kbin.social
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      2 years ago

      It’s not really the money, these places just seem like a terrible waste of . And if you’re getting the lower calorie healthier option on these menus the food is just totally depressing. Always something like “here’s a piece of lemon, some leaves, and a skinless chicken breast.” I’m not paying someone to prepare that for me.

  • TimewornTraveler@lemm.ee
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    2 years ago

    I wonder if this article is just an ad for those restaurants. “Eat here to mix with the elites!”

    • Hyperreality@kbin.social
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      2 years ago

      Risk reduction. Safe choice.

      The food will be ok, there’s a relatively small risk of food poisoning, or having an especially shit meal. You know what you’re getting.

      Same business model as chain hotels and blockbusters starring A-listers with name recognition. Customers know it will be just ok, but that’s enough.

      • bbkpr@lemmings.world
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        2 years ago

        This is exactly why I go to McDonald’s when I’m anywhere away from home. It’s almost always the same, and their corporate side is extremely serious about consistency and quality.

        • ivanafterall@kbin.socialBanned from community
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          2 years ago

          Cracker Barrel took this a step further, providing a generic “home-y” feel anywhere in the country.

          • EssentialCoffee@midwest.social
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            2 years ago

            Cracker Barrel is atrocious though. Absolutely flavorless. It’s the epitome of bland old white people food.

            I’d rather eat Applebee’s. At least they use salt.

  • Midnight Wolf@lemmy.world
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    2 years ago

    Lmfao Applebee’s isn’t classy at all, it’s like a step above Denny’s. Nobody with money is like ‘you know what I want tonight? some shitty microwaved food in a 90s setting where the service is meh and the cost is 3x what it’s actually worth’. People who think it’s high-class, are not actually high-income. Maybe to the social media influences, not people with real jobs.

    Or has the joint turned itself around massively in the last decade?

    • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
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      2 years ago

      My wife and I are high income but we used to be very poor. To this day Chili’s is a “go to” date night joint.

  • lolcatnip@reddthat.com
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    2 years ago

    Has the quality gone down at Applebee’s and Olive Garden? I haven’t been to either recently but I recall them being consistently ok, certainly better than “shitty microwaved food”, as one commenter put it. I’m sensing some big “I think it’s super cool to look down on things” energy in this thread.

    • EssentialCoffee@midwest.social
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      2 years ago

      Honestly, it’s just the cool thing to meme on on the Internet. Like saying the ice cream machine at McDonald’s is always down.

      They aren’t the greatest, but they’re ok.

      • bufordt@sh.itjust.works
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        2 years ago

        I’m sure I will curse myself by saying this, but I have never encountered a broken McDonald’s ice cream machine.

        However, I have encountered an El Pollo Loco that was out of chicken.