Really bad restaurant food that, for some unknown reason, people line up for.

M

michael-in-phoenix

Well-known member
We ate at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles in Los Angeles awhile back. We went to the original location. It was 9pm and people were lined up to get a seat. We waited nearly an hour for a table.

Waited nearly 20 minutes to give the waitress our order.

Waited another 30 minutes for the food to arrive. Half of us got served. The other half waited another 15 minutes for their food.

The chicken was tasteless, smallish and greasy. Ugh.

The "famous" waffles were pale, limp and rubbery. Nasty.

The "famous" onion gravy tasted like dishwater with a bit of collagen stirred in to make it viscous. Seriously bad.

The "famous" mac and cheese was $5 per side for less than 1/2 cup. It tasted bland, mushy and pasty. Oy.

They charged a FORTUNE, and since I wasn't paying and was there as a guest, I didn't say a thing.

What is up with that?

Michael

 
Michael, here is my observation. Some folks are like sheep (sheeple) and they go where the crowds

gather, especially for sales and food. I have also found that folks who do not cook, try all the new places where the crowds go, rather than waiting a few months to get reports on the food from friends, neighbors or on-line comments.
They also have no conception of good, home cooked food and how much better food made at home with love, can taste. I find it a very odd phenomenon.

Sorry your food experience was bad...I absolutely hate putting out money for food I can make better at home.

 
Another ripoff is Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken (The Cake Boss). I've observed people in lines..

that span several blocks---standing in the rain---for the most mediocre Italian pastry I've ever tasted.

I'm old enough to remember his father's product, and it was truly wonderful. The aroma in that bakery was intoxicating.

They are not using the great old recipes. Shame on them.

 
People have lined up for Roscoe's for years. It is a venerable place, and my host...

...won't eat "soul food" anywhere else. Online reviews are stellar. I know it wasn't a fluke because my host ate it up with glee.

Wow.

Michael

 
Guess So--He moved from a smaller location into the "City Hall Bakery" some time ago and

a great German Bakery ended its run.

Carlo's inherited all of Shoning's recipes, but promptly altered them. Or should I say bastardized them.

No more great NY crumb cake or apple strip. Lost memories.

 
This is a bit off topic but today I had an appointment with a lady who loves excellent food

she only cooks for herself now but the food is fresh, best she can get, yet cooked simply. She was asking me if I knew why folks were lined up at the In and Out Burger everyday of the week. "I tried it once, and it was the worst hamburger I have ever had," she said. I replied that I had tried it once in Sacramento, CA area, and once where we live. Both were less than bad.
Then I took two of our grandchildren there, they would not even eat the burgers. I have heard this before from other folks and yet, others love the place, and say...you have to know what to order. My son told me one time, he orders something not even on the menu....I forget the name, but it was something like a monster burger. Three meat patties, three cheeses, and he said it is delicious. I don't get it.

 
At the In-n-Outs down here, business is usually brisk. . .

Each order is cooked after ordering. The fries come to you too hot to eat. The buns don't fall apart (like the local 5 Guys we have in town). The single burger is a little wimpy, but dang, it is fresh and hot--something that stands out in the current fast food chain world. The Double-Double is two patties, two cheese and it is generally a mess, but it is hot. You can get all sorts of variations on the burger/cheese ratio: more patties, more cheese.

They have a small menu but they do it well and treat their employees well (from what I have heard).

In-n-Out's basic burger is what Mickey D's USED to be: fresh, hot, and tasty, though not a big, giant patty of meat on a bun. It's not a gigantor BURGER, it's more of a hamburget patty sandwich.

I don't eat there often, but given a choice between held-in-a-drawer, beg-to-have-it-cooked-fresh burgers and a burger that comes hot and fresh (without begging) every time, I will choose hot and fresh and this means In-n-Out.

 
Roscoe's is down the street from me...I could've warned you. Unfortunately,

it became popular because President Obama supposedly stops there sometimes for his southern food fix. It's so greasy and tasteless (and yes, expensive!), that I can't believe anyone actually chooses to go there.

 
But my fave is The Serving Spoon on Centinela in Inglewood. Not a place

you'd think of going in by the outside - not a great neighborhood, either - but it's family owned and they make it like I grew up on. Get dessert - peach cobbler.

 
We have a Roscoe's in Long Beach. It is hugely popular. I ate there once...

The chicken wasn't bad but I feel just like you did about the waffles. Plus, I've never quite understood the combination of chicken and waffles. When I was there, there were only a few other patrons. Most of them had obviously diabetic feet and forelegs, and used walkers. Depressing.

On Sundays though it is the place to see and be seen after church, a real institution! It's fun to watch the well-heeled crowd come and go. I think people go to Roscoes because people go to Roscoes.

 
You could be right. The place to go. I just felt like I was served a salt lick, and I LOVE salt smileys/frown.gif

 
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