Props to Chili's for competing, but no way in hell would I compare any of their stuff to "actual" food.

Lately I've been getting coupons in the mail from places like BK, Carl's Jr., Popeye's, and some others that are very close to the house. They've been coming up with some pretty surprising deals on some of them. BK had one for 2 Jr. Whopper's and 2 medium fries for less than $7.

I don't eat at thes places often, but it still can be possible to get lunch for 2 for about $10 if you keep your eyes open.

Aside from deals like these, however, some fast food prices are definitely getting a bit silly....

When I was a kid, I remember my Dad complaining when we went to Gino’s and the order was just over $5.

And there were 5 of us!

Chilis requires you to use your phone to see the menu and order, especially when there's no cell service or available wifi. They supply you with a QR code to read.

They don't even have printed menus.

Will NEVER return to any one of them.

No printed menu, I'm gone!

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
Chilis requires you to use your phone to see the menu and order, especially when there's no cell service or available wifi. They supply you with a QR code to read.

They don't even have printed menus.

Will NEVER return to any one of them.

Wow. Fuck all that. I rarely go out to eat and I’m referring to sit down, get served by waiter, etc. But I remember during the pandemic, after the vaccine was out, what little family I have left, wanted to go out to eat at this Mexican place way out in the country. I get out there after over an hour drive. No menus. My cousin says “You have to look it up on your phone” and I said no, I’m not doing that. I got up to leave and the manager caved, and got a menu that they had “stored in the back.” Give me a break with this shit. Not every got damn thing needs to be on the pacifier. My goodness. I worked in many restaurants as a kid. Part of my job was cleaning and sanitizing the menu. They are reusable for fuksakes.

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:

Chilis requires you to use your phone to see the menu and order, especially when there's no cell service or available wifi. They supply you with a QR code to read.

They don't even have printed menus.

Will NEVER return to any one of them.

My response to that would be, "I don't have a phone. May I see a menu, please?"

quote:

Originally posted by Prefontaine:

quote:

Originally posted by Mars_Attacks:
Chilis requires you to use your phone to see the menu and order, especially when there's no cell service or available wifi. They supply you with a QR code to read.

They don't even have printed menus.

Will NEVER return to any one of them.

Wow. Fuck all that. I rarely go out to eat and I’m referring to sit down, get served by waiter, etc. But I remember during the pandemic, after the vaccine was out, what little family I have left, wanted to go out to eat at this Mexican place way out in the country. I get out there after over an hour drive. No menus. My cousin says “You have to look it up on your phone” and I said no, I’m not doing that. I got up to leave and the manager caved, and got a menu that they had “stored in the back.” Give me a break with this shit. Not every got damn thing needs to be on the pacifier. My goodness. I worked in many restaurants as a kid. Part of my job was cleaning and sanitizing the menu. They are reusable for fuksakes.

You summed it up for me. I leave my phone at home. You don't have a menu?..You better have a waitress who can recite it.
I've never paid for a meal with a credit card. Cash, you better tell me before I sit down.
I prepare my own meals for one tenth the price and they taste better.
The whole restaurant biz can go fuck themselves and take their tip with them.
I do go to Chik-fil-lay or get pizza, but for fast food or sit down, they can bite me!

We went to dinner recently to a place where they had no physical menus. I found it surprising, but it didn't bother me at all. And as a side bonus, they had a pay-kiosk-thing on the table and I was able to pay whenever I wanted without waiting for a check, or for my server to bring my card or change back. I thought the whole thing was great.

quote:

Originally posted by redwood25:
We went to dinner recently to a place where they had no physical menus. I found it surprising, but it didn't bother me at all. And as a side bonus, they had a pay-kiosk-thing on the table and I was able to pay whenever I wanted without waiting for a check, or for my server to bring my card or change back. I thought the whole thing was great.

What your describing is so impersonable. So I left my phone in the car, I have no idea what to order. I'm the odd one that's not staring at my phone tapping away instead of conversing with my dinner guests.
Do you even see the waitress after you order? And you want how much of a tip? I'm sorry Redwood. I ramble.
I gave my wife an ultimatum, leave your phone at home or in the car, I'm not going to spend an hour looking at the top of your head.

I think much is an age thing, a real menu or the QR scan. I relate it some to the self checkout, no I don’t like either.

If it’s a Mexican restaurant, I just ask for a burrito, don’t need no stinking menu. Most any place I can rattle off a few suitable choices, no menu needed.

My very elderly Mom wouldn’t have a clue if they offered a QR scan.

My visits to fast food stops are WAY down. If I want something on the road, a well stocked gas station usually has enough.

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:

I think much is an age thing, a real menu or the QR scan. I relate it some to the self checkout, no I don’t like either.

I have a question about this: Is there any risk / exposure if you scan a QR code? Is it possible for A Bad Person to install any kind of malware on your phone if you scan a QR code? Or capture any of your data?

Yeah, the QR thing is good for a fake sticker and a quick headache.

My problem is when I go to Taco Bell and order four chicken soft tacos and a drink, it cost more than a four chicken soft tacos and a drink at the Mexican restaurant across the street.

It also cost more than lunch Cracker Barrel. I can't think of any other reason to go back to Taco Bell other than losing a bet.

Maybe the loss of customers will cause them to shut down and leave a place for Arby's to open up?

It would appear that people are shying away from McDonald’s now they jacked all their prices too high.

The one near me got recently renovated with a double drive-through and that thing would be backed up to the street at dinner time, went past there on Friday at 5:30 PM and it was deserted.

I hope they do not close. I do not eat fast food but it will create a real estate problem of unattractive ugly little buildings. There are plenty of other jobs for teens. I can see the teens taking the jobs held by migrants. Fast food restaurants were not a part of my youth.

McDonalds is only affordable when you use their app to receive their "Daily Deals".

quote:

Originally posted by Paten:

McDonalds is only affordable when you use their app to receive their "Daily Deals".

There is a BOGO deal every day for Big Mac or Quarter Pounder with Cheese (your choice), so effectively half price if you're getting two of these items. This makes McDonald's sandwiches very affordable if you really want to eat that stuff. Of course, they get you by the add-ons like fries, beverage, etc., so when I use this (pretty rare, but sometimes when I'm in a hurry and the location is convenient), I just order the sandwiches and no extras.

Using the app to order, gets this deal and also accrues "points" which can be used for free stuff.

quote:

Originally posted by Schmelby:

What your describing is so impersonable. So I left my phone in the car, I have no idea what to order. I'm the odd one that's not staring at my phone tapping away instead of conversing with my dinner guests.
Do you even see the waitress after you order? And you want how much of a tip? I'm sorry Redwood. I ramble.
I gave my wife an ultimatum, leave your phone at home or in the car, I'm not going to spend an hour looking at the top of your head.

Sorry, didn't realize I'd be called upon to explain myself. It wasn't impersonable at all. The waiter stood there with us the whole time, one of our party pulled up the menu and found what we all wanted pretty quickly (we pretty much all wanted cheeseburgers and fries). The phone then disappeared. The waiter brought us our food (much quicker than anticipated) and checked on us several times, bringing drink refills before we even asked. We spent more than an hour and a half talking and laughing. I gave the waiter a generous tip, and we all had an excellent evening.

My take is, there's much more to judge a restaurant experience by than just whether or not there's a menu at the table. I'm just not going to get angry and refuse to eat somewhere or enjoy a service provided just because they don't do things the way we always used to. And it's perfectly acceptable to have "no phone" rules during meals, outings, whatever. We do that all the time.

As stated on the first page of this thread, robots will soon do more and more work. The mexican place "Plaza Azteca" is already sending robots out with food with a human escort. The robot plays fiesta music and has lights flashing. Of course, the human sent the robot to the wrong table, so our food was not actually delivered by robot. I guess "good service" even with a robot will take a while to sort out.

Does Hooters have Robot servers? Asking for a friend.