Greetings from Tennessee

[LMNO]

Also, I'm gonna state that NOT ALL American restaurants are shit.

Yes, especially the ones that have ECH for a chef.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Also, I'm gonna state that NOT ALL American restaurants are shit.

Yes, especially the ones that have ECH for a chef.

Roger:  "Hot damn, ECH is cooking."

LMNO:  "He probably peed in it."

ECH:  "Actually, I did."

Roger (eyeballing LMNO's plate):  "So, LMNO...You aren't going to be eating yours, then?" 

[LMNO]

Hands off, chief.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

It's marketing to the American middle class; suburbanites who consider Olive Garden a nice restaurant simply because that's what's available to them in their area, that's what they know.

This is so true and upsetting.  I am now sad and angry.

Welcome to America.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

For me, it's a non-franchised place that doesn't cook like a production line, and doesn't rely on pre-processed, HFCS-laden ingredients.  And has a point of view, culinarily.  This could either be a greasy spoon that makes the best hash browns in the world, or it could be a place that has a $200 pre-fixe menu.

I second this. It's a place where the ingredients are fresh and preservative-free (unless it's something that requires being preserved by nature of what it is, like prosciutto) and prepared carefully, from scratch, by people who know how to cook well.

I also make a distinction between a "good" restaurant, which has the above qualities, from the subset of "good" that I would call a "nice" restaurant, which has the above qualities AND is a place with a semiformal-to-formal ambience, where you might take a date for a romantic dinner or celebrate an achievement.

[LMNO]

It's marketing to the American middle class; suburbanites who consider Olive Garden a nice restaurant simply because that's what's available to them in their area, that's what they know.

This is so true and upsetting.  I am now sad and angry.

Welcome to America.

Please take me back to Argentina.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

A 'nice restaurant' to me just means a place that serves something authentic, where the food isn't American or a clearly Americanized version of something that could have stood on its own. This means all actual American Food restaurants are shit, no matter how much they charge or how fine their china is.

I couldn't disagree more. America has a number of excellent cuisines that are authentic in their own right. Being "American" has nothing to do with whether food is "authentic".

[The Good Reverend Roger]

For me, it's a non-franchised place that doesn't cook like a production line, and doesn't rely on pre-processed, HFCS-laden ingredients.  And has a point of view, culinarily.  This could either be a greasy spoon that makes the best hash browns in the world, or it could be a place that has a $200 pre-fixe menu.

I second this. It's a place where the ingredients are fresh and preservative-free (unless it's something that requires being preserved by nature of what it is, like prosciutto) and prepared carefully, from scratch, by people who know how to cook well.

In Tucson, we refer to that as "ptomaine poisoning".

I also make a distinction between a "good" restaurant, which has the above qualities, from the subset of "good" that I would call a "nice" restaurant, which has the above qualities AND is a place with a semiformal-to-formal ambience, where you might take a date for a romantic dinner or celebrate an achievement.

All we have for THAT are pretentious steak houses in horrible awful theme park-esque "Western Towns" (ie, Pinnacle Peak in "Trail Dust Town") that cost a fucking fortune and give you un-planed planks to sit on.

The food is good, but not THAT good.  No food is THAT good.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Also, I'm gonna state that NOT ALL American restaurants are shit.

For their purpose, truck stop diners are usually pretty fucking good.

Tasty & Sons is one of several restaurants that serve really fucking good American food around here.

http://tastyntasty.com/

[LMNO]

I'm now tempted to use the Google machine to find something in Tucson I would consider "nice".

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

For me, it's a non-franchised place that doesn't cook like a production line, and doesn't rely on pre-processed, HFCS-laden ingredients.  And has a point of view, culinarily.  This could either be a greasy spoon that makes the best hash browns in the world, or it could be a place that has a $200 pre-fixe menu.

I second this. It's a place where the ingredients are fresh and preservative-free (unless it's something that requires being preserved by nature of what it is, like prosciutto) and prepared carefully, from scratch, by people who know how to cook well.

In Tucson, we refer to that as "ptomaine poisoning".

I also make a distinction between a "good" restaurant, which has the above qualities, from the subset of "good" that I would call a "nice" restaurant, which has the above qualities AND is a place with a semiformal-to-formal ambience, where you might take a date for a romantic dinner or celebrate an achievement.

All we have for THAT are pretentious steak houses in horrible awful theme park-esque "Western Towns" (ie, Pinnacle Peak in "Trail Dust Town") that cost a fucking fortune and give you un-planed planks to sit on.

The food is good, but not THAT good.  No food is THAT good.

Dear god. 

[Sita]

I will very greatly resist going anywhere that I can't wear a pair of jeans. I have no use for formal or semi-formal.

[LMNO]

That's kind of a shame, that you'd miss out on an experience because of clothing.

[The Good Reverend Roger]

Post removed because it was full of asshole.

[Sita]

That's kind of a shame, that you'd miss out on an experience because of clothing.

Perhaps. But I do like being comfortable though, also I don't have the money to spend on clothing that will be worn only once or twice.
Had to do that once for a christmas party the my husband's work was having. That was about 8 or so years ago and I haven't worn it since.