I Wish I Understood…

Why people like places like MacAllister’s so much. If I’m going to go out somewhere and pay someone else to prepare my food, why, it had better be food I cannot prepare for myself. I can make a sandwich with deli meat any day of the week. I can make soup. I can make a salad. I can make any of that stuff a lot less expensively than they do.

When I go out to eat, I want real, good food.

For example. Last night I went to a new restaurant called River Oaks. The executive chef is John Bragg. I had wild mushroom and goat cheese crepes with a raspberry coulis as an appetizer, followed by artichokes barigoule as a salad. My entree was a 10 oz filet of beef tenderloin, accompanied by steamed asparagus. (I could have had mashed potatoes as well, but I asked them to hold the spuds.) For dessert, I had a multi-layered cake of praline dacquoise with coffee buttercream and chocolate ganache, and a very strong espresso. It was marvellous. It was filling and satisfying. It was exactly the right amount of food — when I left (with part of the dessert in a box), I was satisfied, but not stuffed. Yeah, it was pricey. But it was worth every penny.

Today, a group of us met at MacAllister’s. I spent about a tenth of what I spent on last night’s meal, and got a French Dip sandwich with coleslaw. It was bland and boring. I was not full when I finished, and my taste buds were asking me “what’s with this %^&?” It was SO not satisfying.

But no one wants to go with me to the fancy restaurant — even if it’s my treat. But everyone wants to go to places like MacAllister’s. I don’t get it.

Tags: Entertainment, food, restaurants