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You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Saturday Night Open Thread: Applebee’s, the Easiest Boycott Ever

Saturday Night Open Thread: Applebee’s, the Easiest Boycott Ever

by Anne Laurie|  March 26, 20227:32 pm| 108 Comments

This post is in: C.R.E.A.M., Food, Open Threads, Show Us on the Doll Where the Invisible Hand Touched You

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And this is why nobody wanted to go back to their shitty, low-paying jobs. https://t.co/OQ021StFzI

— The Hoarse Whisperer (@TheRealHoarse) March 25, 2022

Mine is the opposite of a sophisticated palate, but Applebee’s is one chain restaurant we don’t patronize, because the food is naaaaasty. I know that corners must be cut to serve the economic Golden Triangle (Fast, cheap, good: choose any two), but not every dish should taste like it’s been marinated in high-fructose corn syrup and then dressed with an entire shaker of salt. Also, if you’re gonna microwave entrees, make sure they don’t reach the customers still frozen in the center. (On the other hand, I always heard their cocktails praised as ‘generous pours’, so…)

Per the Kansas City Star:

… A spokesman for AFC said the email sent from Wayne Pankratz to other company officials does not reflect the company’s position. Pankratz’s LinkedIn page says he is executive director of operations for Applebee’s restaurants.

“Most of our employee base and potential employee base live paycheck to paycheck,” Pankratz wrote fellow executives on March 6. “Any increase in gas prices cuts into their disposable income. As inflation continues to climb and gas prices continue to go up, that means more hours employees will need to work to maintain their current level of living.”

He went on to say that those rising costs, and the fact that people have run out of government stimulus money and extended unemployment benefits, will work to the advantage of companies like AFC.

Furthermore, he wrote, the company’s small, mom-and-pop competitors are going to face some tough choices under the current business conditions and will either have to raise prices or pay employees less to hit their profit margins.

“Some businesses will not be able to hold on,” Pankratz wrote. “This is going to drive more potential employees into the hiring pool.”

As that happens, employees won’t be able to demand the $18 to $20 an hour many were getting when the demand for workers outstripped supply.

“The labor market is about to turn in our favor,” Pankratz concluded. “What can you do? Besides hiring employees in at a lower wage to decrease our labor (when able) make sure you have a pulse on the morale of your employees. …

Some pig pulse, Pankratz!

AFC, based in Atlanta with offices in Kansas City, owns more than 100 Applebee’s and Taco Bell restaurants in the Midwest.

AFC spokesman Scott Fischer said the email does not reflect the company’s policies or culture and that the author of the email has no authority to issue any company directives related to hiring.

“He doesn’t have the authority to create policy for our company for the brand or anything. … Maybe he wrote it in the middle of the night. I don’t know,” Fischer said. ”The main message here is that this in absolutely no way, shape, or form speaks to our policies or our culture, or anything like that with our brand.”…

American Franchise Capital owns and manages Taco Bell and Applebee’s restaurants in nine states with annual sales in excess of $200 million, according to its LinkedIn page. The company had 329 job openings on its webpage Wednesday.

It’s not clear if those openings included the jobs vacated by three out of the six managers at an Applebee’s in Lawrence who quit this week after seeing the Pankratz email, according to the Lawrence Journal-World. That restaurant was closed Tuesday as a result, but had reopened by Wednesday…

Tsk. These capitalists sometimes say the quiet part out loud. @Applebees doesn’t want to pay workers. It wants to pay executives and shareholders. #BoycottApplebees until they value employees as much as investors!https://t.co/d1XrXeBZLe

— Charlie Galvin ??? (@cxarli) March 26, 2022

… Applebee’s workers earn an average hourly wage of $11.76 an hour, according to Payscale. That’s far below the average hourly pay of $17.22 an hour earned by people working in the leisure and hospitality sector in February, according to the most recent government data. Wages in the sector have jumped by 14% from a year earlier…

The CEO of Dine Brands, which owns Applebee’s, took home an estimated $6.7 million in 2021.

The company increased weekly sales 12.6% from 2019 and reported $19.8 million in net income last quarter.

The CEO also told CNBC it’s looking to replace workers with robots: pic.twitter.com/yZUOX4Aubb

— More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) March 25, 2022

Notably, #Applebees was the vector of an E. coli outbreak in MN, and fought a case all the way to the NH Supreme Court from a man who suffered permanent, life-altering effects from a salmonella infection. They tried to blame his pet lizard.https://t.co/SFvLyjdgUP

— Devin Nunes' Alt-Mom (@NunesAlt) March 26, 2022

Now onto the working conditions and employees. If you work for #Applebees or #IHop, you should know that they have been sued numerous times for sexual harassment, discrimination, and shady wage practices. They won't tell you this.https://t.co/qRxr19yO2R

— Devin Nunes' Alt-Mom (@NunesAlt) March 26, 2022

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Reader Interactions

108Comments

  1. 1.

    germy

    March 26, 2022 at 7:55 pm

    https://www.houseofnames.com/pankratz-family-crest

  2. 2.

    Ken

    March 26, 2022 at 7:57 pm

    If the executive director of operations “has no authority to issue any company directives related to hiring”, what is he responsible for? Ordering napkins? Reviewing the kerning in the menus?

  3. 3.

    germy

    March 26, 2022 at 7:58 pm

    @Ken:

    He oversees the salad bar of course

  4. 4.

    debbie

    March 26, 2022 at 8:02 pm

    Christ, that’s shameful.

  5. 5.

    zhena gogolia

    March 26, 2022 at 8:05 pm

    Well, I’ve never been in an Applebee’s, and I haven’t been in an IHop since about 1985, so I think I’m okay.

  6. 6.

    mrmoshpotato

    March 26, 2022 at 8:06 pm

    A spokesman for AFC said the email sent from Wayne Pankratz to other company officials does not reflect the company’s position. Pankratz’s LinkedIn page says he is executive director of operations for Applebee’s restaurants.

    Oh yes it does reflect the company’s position, you spokesshit.

    “Our executive director of operations doesn’t represent our company position” is one hell of a dumb, weaselly take.

  7. 7.

    Baud

    March 26, 2022 at 8:06 pm

    Most of our employee base and potential employee base live paycheck to paycheck,” …..

    He went on to say that those rising costs, and the fact that people have run out of government stimulus money and extended unemployment benefits, will work to the advantage of companies like AFC.

    That’s just smart economics.

  8. 8.

    Baud

    March 26, 2022 at 8:08 pm

    @mrmoshpotato:

    It’s like saying WaterGirl doesn’t speak for Balloon Juice.

  9. 9.

    dmsilev

    March 26, 2022 at 8:09 pm

    Any hints of morality aside, the unemployment rate is under four percent right now. He might find it a bit more difficult than expected to attract workers by cutting pay rates.

  10. 10.

    Almost Retired

    March 26, 2022 at 8:10 pm

    I already despised them for their ubiquitous country-music commercials.  Also, their food is too fatty, greasy and unhealthy to be served at the Iowa State Fair.

  11. 11.

    Suzanne

    March 26, 2022 at 8:11 pm

    Once again, another company I would boycott for being evil if I weren’t already boycotting them for sucking.

  12. 12.

    SiubhanDuinne

    March 26, 2022 at 8:12 pm

    Can’t read his words without hearing an evil chuckle and picturing his dry, leathery palms rubbing together.

  13. 13.

    Baud

    March 26, 2022 at 8:12 pm

    @Suzanne:

    Yeah, me too. I need Costco to do something evil.

  14. 14.

    mrmoshpotato

    March 26, 2022 at 8:14 pm

    @Suzanne: ​
     LOL!

  15. 15.

    James E Powell

    March 26, 2022 at 8:15 pm

    @mrmoshpotato:

    A spokesman for AFC said the email sent from Wayne Pankratz to other company officials does not reflect the company’s position.

    It reflects the position of pretty much every large corporate employer in the world.

  16. 16.

    Suzanne

    March 26, 2022 at 8:17 pm

    @Almost Retired:

    Also, their food is too fatty, greasy and unhealthy to be served at the Iowa State Fair. 

    Look, I am by no means a skinny person. But I truly do not understand how people eat this stuff on the regular. One thing that has been notable to me in Pittsburgh is that there are pizza-wings-hoagies places on nearly every block. Multiple shops per block! (Do not even get me started on the freedom fries ON THE SANDWICH. Fucking hell.) But, like, there are very few gyms or fitness studios, and people are eating too much crap. It really grosses me out.

  17. 17.

    Suzanne

    March 26, 2022 at 8:18 pm

    @Baud:

    I need Costco to do something evil. 

    NO.
    Costco is the only place I love to shop.

  18. 18.

    oatler

    March 26, 2022 at 8:19 pm

    “90% of all business is conducted at Applebee’s.”

    -Michael Scott

  19. 19.

    Jager

    March 26, 2022 at 8:20 pm

    @Baud:

    On a forced stop at IHop on a recent road trip (it was a choice between IHop and MacDonalds) we went in, I ordered waffles and got a long explanation from the server on why they no longer serve waffles. “Our waffle vendor who supplies the waffle cooker machine and the batter, said we didn’t sell enough of them, so they took the equipment away.” She was nice about it. but it left me thinking, who the hell is working in the kitchen that can’t whip up waffle batter and pour it in a waffle iron. I convinced my wife we should leave and walk across the lot to Micky Ds. I drove the rest of the way to Cambria with a lump in my stomach, at least the coffee was good. BTW, My wife called me an asshole on the walk across the lot.

  20. 20.

    Baud

    March 26, 2022 at 8:24 pm

    @Jager:

    You don’t mess with Big Waffle.

  21. 21.

    NotMax

    March 26, 2022 at 8:24 pm

    @zhena gogolia

    So old can remember when IHOP’s menu listed pancake choices by country.

    Anyone else remember La Crepe? Hundreds of choices of fillings. The bleu cheese and apple was to die for.

  22. 22.

    Mike in NC

    March 26, 2022 at 8:25 pm

    Not a patron of this chain and its competition. Probably last ate at Applebee’s when in Savannah and one was next to our hotel. The weather was awful and late at night, so we took a gamble.

  23. 23.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    March 26, 2022 at 8:25 pm

    @Jager: that’s my Applebee’s experience, road trip and the other option was McD’s. Given that choice again, I’d flip a coin, I think. I’ve heard McDonald new chicken sandwiches– they had to upgrade them to compete with Chick Fil-A and I think Popeye’s?– are pretty good.

  24. 24.

    zhena gogolia

    March 26, 2022 at 8:26 pm

    @NotMax: they used to be good

  25. 25.

    scav

    March 26, 2022 at 8:26 pm

    A spokesman for AFC said the email sent from Wayne Pankratz to other company officials does not reflect the company’s position.

    Nor do the fawning comments hanging about the top of the email either, one must suppose.  Words of Wisdom!

  26. 26.

    Miss Bianca

    March 26, 2022 at 8:26 pm

    @Suzanne:

    Once again, another company I would boycott for being evil if I weren’t already boycotting them for sucking.

    LOL, too true!

  27. 27.

    Mike E

    March 26, 2022 at 8:26 pm

    Battle of the Cats in the Elite 8 was a grinder of a game but Villanova prevailed, 50-44. Their star guard Justin Moore suffered a very visible achilles injury at the conclusion though, tough break.

  28. 28.

    zhena gogolia

    March 26, 2022 at 8:27 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: get filet o fish and you’re okay

  29. 29.

    surfk9

    March 26, 2022 at 8:29 pm

    @Suzanne: ​
      You lived in Arizona too long.

  30. 30.

    SiubhanDuinne

    March 26, 2022 at 8:29 pm

    @NotMax:

    Adored them. I think Quaker Oats eventually took over the brand, and the quality … changed.

    Bleu cheese and apple was my favourite, too.

  31. 31.

    trollhattan

    March 26, 2022 at 8:29 pm

    My in-laws favorite place during the RV phase. Never been. Retaining that streak.

  32. 32.

    Miss Bianca

    March 26, 2022 at 8:31 pm

    btw, apropos of absolutely nothing…finally decided to crack The Hunt for Red October, and have been stopped dead on page 2 by the revelation that the Red October‘s “Political Officer” (whom I already feel sure I’m supposed to despise) is…a Captain Putin.

    Tom Clancy wrote this in…*checks publication date*…1984. Huh.

  33. 33.

    brettvk

    March 26, 2022 at 8:32 pm

    @Suzanne: One of the things I’ve noticed over my lifetime is how many people grew up eating fast food. Not surprising considering how women had to enter the workforce after the 70s-80s, I doubt if I would have learned to cook if my mother hadn’t been SAH for most of my childhood. I seldom eat out at all from penury and misanthropy, but I know from the blowing trash in my neighborhood that I’m much in the minority for not buying a lot of my meals from either franchises or convenience stores.

  34. 34.

    Alison Rose ???

    March 26, 2022 at 8:33 pm

    I am now going to blame everything on my pet lizard. I don’t happen to have one, but it still makes as much sense as Applebee’s claim.

    I didn’t know about any of this, but it’s decidedly unsurprising. I always hated the place because they seemed to have no idea that vegetarians existed. The last time I went to an Applebee’s was probably at least 15 years ago, but like, vegetarianism was a well-know thing in the mid-to-late 2000s, and what I recall is that literally every entree salad had meat on it, and aside from a Gardenburger (which I’m 100% sure they cooked on the same surface as the beef ones, like every damn restaurant does), the only thing they had for veggie types was a plate of roasted vegetables, which, the one time I ordered it, was fucking drowning in melted butter. Like, I could’ve refilled my water glass with all the damn butter on that plate.

    Not as bad as, you know, jilting workers and sexually harassing them. But still annoying.

  35. 35.

    NotMax

    March 26, 2022 at 8:33 pm

    @zhena gogolia

    Only reason I would have for going to IHOP is they serve up a generous plate of liver and onions.

    Dunno if that’s chain-wide, only at select locations or just here.

  36. 36.

    zhena gogolia

    March 26, 2022 at 8:35 pm

    @NotMax: mmm

  37. 37.

    surfk9

    March 26, 2022 at 8:36 pm

    @trollhattan: My wife and I RV. We almost never eat out while on the road. We actually save money when on the road. My wife draws up menus and we take the food. We control the fat the salt and the carbs.

    RV’s: My food, my kitchen, my bathroom, my bed, no bedbugs!

  38. 38.

    Suzanne

    March 26, 2022 at 8:38 pm

    @surfk9: That must be true. Not that AZ is a bastion of healthful living by any means — plenty of fast food and RESTAURANTS THAT END IN -BERTOS — but I was able to get a pretty good salad with relative ease.

    l’ve learned long ago never to talk about my job in casual conversation, so my go-to small talk topic was always activity. Sports or workouts or lifting or whatever. I’ve had multiple instances here where I bring it up and the person I’m talking to has said that they don’t do anything active at all. I didn’t realize that was apparently a regional thing.

    I am not a gym rat at all, but I get angsty from sitting at a desk all day and I do not like it.

  39. 39.

    SpaceUnit

    March 26, 2022 at 8:38 pm

    @Suzanne:

    As someone raised in the burgh, I get quite nostalgic for those Primanti Bros sandwiches.  They have a great history.

  40. 40.

    MagdaInBlack

    March 26, 2022 at 8:38 pm

    @James E Powell: Thank You. Truth.

  41. 41.

    surfk9

    March 26, 2022 at 8:44 pm

    @Suzanne: I go to Arizona several times a year. There is a big difference between say Scotsdale and Show Low where I go visit my In-laws. The remark was meant somewhat tongue in cheek. BTW my FIL complains bitterly how the Valley has gone to hell in a hand-basket due all the libs moving in from California.

  42. 42.

    Suzanne

    March 26, 2022 at 8:44 pm

    @brettvk:

    One of the things I’ve noticed over my lifetime is how many people grew up eating fast food. 

    So 16-year-old Suzanne’s first job was at a McDonald’s that was on the edge of some very poor areas. Like people would have no childcare and so they would leave their kids at the playland for hours. Often without shoes. For a while, we had a special on Monday nights where the hamburgers were 29 cents, and on Wednesday nights, the cheeseburgers were 39 cents. Limit 12. People would bring family members with them so that each individual could buy 12 and that was how they would eat for days.

    I was vegetarian for a few years (but, like, the broke kind of vegetarian). I am grateful for those years, because those were my prime learning-to-cook-and-feed-myself years and I really like vegetables, because I learned how to make healthy food I like and do so pretty cheaply. Tomorrow will involve a crockpot of tomato soup that will be a week’s worth of lunches.

  43. 43.

    debbie

    March 26, 2022 at 8:45 pm

    @NotMax:

    I do.

  44. 44.

    JR

    March 26, 2022 at 8:45 pm

    I have wide tastes. I can truly appreciate oft-derided fast food like McDonalds or even Taco Bell. When I was younger and could afford to scarf a 2000-calorie meal, I even liked “casual dining” establishments like Chili’s or Pizzeria Uno. The food tastes good, otherwise it wouldn’t be successful. I could even understand Old Country Buffet or the like, even though their food is atrocious, because it’s cheap.

    I could never, for the life of me, understand Applebee’s. Even as a high school/college kid the stuff was unpalatable. Just downright terrible.

  45. 45.

    Suzanne

    March 26, 2022 at 8:46 pm

    @SpaceUnit: I tried one once and I can’t do Primanti’s.

    I miss Filiberto’s and Salad and Go.

  46. 46.

    Suzanne

    March 26, 2022 at 8:49 pm

    @surfk9: Soooo the new hospital in Show Low was done by my former firm. It’s really nice.

    The Valley was headed to hell in a handbasket long before the Californians showed up. Scottsdale is the worst. All the orange groves are gone and it’s too big, too hot, and too full of assholes.

  47. 47.

    Frankensteinbeck

    March 26, 2022 at 8:50 pm

    @brettvk:

    One of the things I’ve noticed over my lifetime is how many people grew up eating fast food.

    A tradition as old as civilization.  Cities are not great places for home cooking, and like a lot of ‘family values’ that whole ‘the wife cooks dinner every day’ thing is a tradition made up out of whole cloth in the 50s.​

  48. 48.

    Ken

    March 26, 2022 at 8:54 pm

    @Suzanne: But I truly do not understand how people eat this stuff on the regular. […] But, like, there are very few gyms or fitness studios, and people are eating too much crap.

    I’m not saying it’s aliens, but… “It’s a cookbook!” is a long-running theme. H. G. Wells even used it in The War of the Worlds.

  49. 49.

    J R in WV

    March 26, 2022 at 8:54 pm

    I somehow got an upset stomach, worst in years … bad enough that I resorted to the pink bismuth treatment. And the thread is about greasy food — yuck!

    ETA, don’t worry, I forgive you all  — ARGHGHRSNTGH !!!

  50. 50.

    Starfish

    March 26, 2022 at 8:58 pm

    @Jager: It almost sounds like they were using that pre-mix batter and the machines where you make your own waffles in some hotels? How is an IHOP not owning its own waffle maker?

  51. 51.

    Baud

    March 26, 2022 at 9:01 pm

    OT

    It’s Joe Manchin’s time to shine.

    President Joe Biden is expected to propose a new minimum tax that would largely target billionaires when he unveils his 2023 budget, according to a document obtained by CNBC.

    Called the “Billionaire Minimum Income Tax,” it would assess a 20% minimum tax rate on U.S. households worth more than $100 million. Over half the revenue could come from those worth more than $1 billion

  52. 52.

    surfk9

    March 26, 2022 at 9:03 pm

    @Suzanne: As a visitor, I actually liked Scotsdale for its amenities. We go there in January to visit the in-laws as part of our twice-yearly Sand Diego visit. I don’t have enough history there to know what’s been lost. I am a sucker for upscale food and there is lots of it there.

  53. 53.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 26, 2022 at 9:04 pm

    @Starfish: It’s fucking Belgians’ fault.

  54. 54.

    TonyG

    March 26, 2022 at 9:08 pm

    @zhena gogolia: I’ve managed to live my life so far without setting foot in an Applebees.  Apparently I’ve been boycotting the place all these years!

  55. 55.

    Starfish

    March 26, 2022 at 9:13 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Do they own all the waffle makers like the diamond cartel, except for waffles?

  56. 56.

    Starfish

    March 26, 2022 at 9:14 pm

    @TonyG: Imagine going into a restaurant and pay them money for the stuff that you can buy in the frozen food aisle of your supermarket and put in the microwave yourself.

  57. 57.

    Suzanne

    March 26, 2022 at 9:14 pm

    @surfk9: There’s some nice restaurants in Scottsdale, for sure, but there’s some gems in midtown Phoenix. Barrio Cafe on 16th Street and Thomas is…. oh my, I miss it.

  58. 58.

    SpaceUnit

    March 26, 2022 at 9:18 pm

    @Suzanne:

    I’m not sure Primanti’s is a good fit for casual / family dining.

    When I lived there one had to prepare to eat at Primanti’s by spending three or four hours knocking back shots and beers in Oakland or the South Side and then head to the Strip for sandwich and a couple more brews just before last call.

    Not sure the experience would be the same if one was sober.  Back then it was a rite of passage when one turned drinking age.

  59. 59.

    Omnes Omnibus

    March 26, 2022 at 9:18 pm

    @Starfish: It would be irresponsible not to speculate.

  60. 60.

    Geminid

    March 26, 2022 at 9:18 pm

    @Baud: I know very little about taxation as applied to higher incomes, but that sounds like an improvement on the current regime. What do you think of this as a matter of policy?

  61. 61.

    VeniceRiley

    March 26, 2022 at 9:21 pm

    I will continue my multi-decade girlcott of Applebees and IHOP. I didn’t even go when it was IHOB.

    In other news, I got an update email that the visa application is being prepped for assignment to an entry clearance officer. As I am not wanted by Interpol, I am hopeful it will arrive soon. Bummer bonus is I miss Anne Lister Birthday Week with my wife. I’m gutted because it would be an epic event to connect with people and create new or stronger friendships in my new home. But I have no real complaints because I’m not a refugee from a horrid war.

  62. 62.

    p.a.

    March 26, 2022 at 9:21 pm

    Can’t have people paid enough to only need one job; they might have time to cook healthy at home* and not rely on the processedfatsaltfructose ‘café’ for their family meals.

    *might have reasonable, healthy neighborhood market options available.

     

    Fuck Milton Friedman and the Chicago School of Economics.

  63. 63.

    Suzanne

    March 26, 2022 at 9:22 pm

    @SpaceUnit: I can see that. But I am not much of a drinker and greasy food makes me smell bad and now I actively like kale and yes, I am embarrassed by the boring middle-aged adult I have become.

  64. 64.

    cliosfanboy

    March 26, 2022 at 9:23 pm

    Damn. I like IHOPs Colorado Omlet. :(

  65. 65.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    March 26, 2022 at 9:23 pm

    @Baud: I wouldn’t trust Manchin on anything, but isn’t Sinema the one who has declared she won’t support any tax increases?

  66. 66.

    SpaceUnit

    March 26, 2022 at 9:26 pm

    @Suzanne:

    I’ve grown out of it too, but those are still good memories.

     

    Sorta blurry but good.

  67. 67.

    E.

    March 26, 2022 at 9:27 pm

    Well, they are right about what this is going to do to their Mom and Pop competition anyway.

  68. 68.

    RSA

    March 26, 2022 at 9:27 pm

    @Suzanne:

    One thing that has been notable to me in Pittsburgh is that there are pizza-wings-hoagies places on nearly every block. Multiple shops per block! (Do not even get me started on the freedom fries ON THE SANDWICH. Fucking hell.)

    I worked in Pittsburgh for six months a few years ago, 2018-19.  On my own, living in a hotel, I ate more often from diners and delis than restaurants.  A funny discovery for me was the Pittsburgh salad, which was typically a pretty ordinary salad that you can find anywhere, but with a heap of fries on top.

  69. 69.

    schrodingers_cat

    March 26, 2022 at 9:28 pm

    When I lived in Maine Applebee’s was one of the few restaurants that would be open after 9pm. So we would go there when we ended up working late and didn’t want to go home and cook.  Haven’t been to one in years. Never been to IHOP.

  70. 70.

    NotMax

    March 26, 2022 at 9:29 pm

    If Apple develops a robotic kangaroo will they name it the iHop?

    :)

  71. 71.

    surfk9

    March 26, 2022 at 9:30 pm

    @Suzanne: Last August we were forced to spend the night in Phoenix because of a Southwest Airlines fuck-up. We stayed  at the Residence Inn Downtown. They had a little specialty restaurant and bar that had won a James Beard award for their bar program. I truly was the bomb!

  72. 72.

    geg6

    March 26, 2022 at 9:30 pm

    @Suzanne:
    I’ll agree that we have too many pizza/hoagie places, but a Primanti’s sandwich is delicious. The perfect ballpark and beer food. I get one every time I go to the ballpark.

  73. 73.

    James E Powell

    March 26, 2022 at 9:31 pm

    @surfk9:

    I’m in Scottsdale at this moment. Although it is Spring Training, the town is overrun with bachelorette parties. When did this become such a big thing?

  74. 74.

    Suzanne

    March 26, 2022 at 9:33 pm

    @RSA:

    A funny discovery for me was the Pittsburgh salad, which was typically a pretty ordinary salad that you can find anywhere, but with a heap of fries on top. 

    Yeah, I’ve encountered that. Dafuq. I like this city, but that is gross.

  75. 75.

    Jeffro

    March 26, 2022 at 9:33 pm

    @Frankensteinbeck:A tradition as old as civilization.  Cities are not great places for home cooking, and like a lot of ‘family values’ that whole ‘the wife cooks dinner every day’ thing is a tradition made up out of whole cloth in the 50s.​

    Truth – ancient Rome, medieval London, they both had lots of what we would call “grab and go”.

  76. 76.

    Another Scott

    March 26, 2022 at 9:35 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Dunno about any, but she’s drawn several red lines over the last few months. NYMag (from November):

    And now, Sinema reportedly told the administration that raising taxes — by a mere 3 percentage points! — on households earning more than $5 million is too onerous. Sinema would only accept a tax on the real rich people who earn $10 million a year or more, not the working schlubs pulling down a mere $8 or $9 million a year.

    FWIW.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  77. 77.

    SpaceUnit

    March 26, 2022 at 9:37 pm

    @RSA:

    Pittsburgh is just a world of its own.

  78. 78.

    SpaceUnit

    March 26, 2022 at 9:39 pm

    @geg6:

    Too many pizza & hoagie places?  Don’t you ever say that!

  79. 79.

    Suzanne

    March 26, 2022 at 9:39 pm

    @James E Powell: Ummmm it’s always been a big thing, especially there. Scottsdale is where the nice bars and clubs are. They get a lot of those kinds of events.

    So I used to go to this club in Scottsdale that had a nice interior, and the bathrooms were a bunch of individual rooms, each with a sink and toilet, and they were built in a circle facing a big center area where you could touch up your makeup and stuff. Anyway, the bathroom doors were full glass, and they were smart glass, activated by locking the door. So when you locked the door, no one could see you. HOWEV I am sure you can see what went wrong with this. So they had to keep the smart glass activated. Not as cool.

  80. 80.

    Gravenstone

    March 26, 2022 at 9:40 pm

    @Miss Bianca: If I remember correctly, you’ll appreciate what comes of the zampolit.

  81. 81.

    Suzanne

    March 26, 2022 at 9:41 pm

    @SpaceUnit: No, there’s definitely too many pizza and hoagie places. No one needs that much pizza.

    When we first got here in 2020, we rented a house. One of our neighbors, literally every time I saw him walk by, he was carrying a pizza from the place down the street. Every single time.

  82. 82.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    March 26, 2022 at 9:44 pm

    @James E Powell: I’ve Nashville is the unofficial capital of bachelorette parties. And my nephew recently went to a bachelor party weekend there.

  83. 83.

    catothedog

    March 26, 2022 at 9:44 pm

    Everywhere in the world, prosperity is not being shared with the working people. After the fall of communism, the rich everywhere have stopped giving a shit about the working class, and plutocrats rule.

    Plutocrats have carved up the world into their own fiefdoms in countries where most of the world’s  people live. In countries still standing, there are quislings ready to lead the transition to plutocracy, in return for being the king in their fief.  See Western Europe, where the wannabe rightwing savior is seeking alliances with other thugs across the world.

    Plutocrats cant win elections. For that they need scapegoats, a common enemy against which the plutocracy or its stooge is the savior . The minorities and the real politicians of the workers rights movements fulfill the scapegoat  need. Everywhere, minorities are being butchered.  Butchered as  the spineless middles decide that it’s best to suck up and be part of the  majority.  Rather have a piece of the pie rather even if it means they butcher  minorities.

    India is the next genocide in the making. It’s taking on Tsarist Russia overtones, and pogroms are not far. What’s going on there is atrocious.

    The latest is that Muslims can’t run retail businesses

    Muslims vendors were not allowed to trade at agriculture fair

    And spreading the poison is OK, as long as you do it with a happy face

    Hate speech case: If said with smile, no criminality, says Delhi HC

    All under the guise of Hinduism being most peaceful religion in the world.

    The  US lumpen right is  the same, scapegoating the black and Hispanic population. China, has its Uyghurs. The Chinese have already lebensraumed the Tibetians

    Everywhere. Neoliberal economics is producing its fruits everywhere. Milton Friedman and his economic children are the root of this evil.

    In short, this all looks exactly like fascism. Fascism is on the rise everywhere. I think one generation can go by on this cycle, where fascists amass more and more power, before going at each other and there is worldwide wars.

    I  don’t want to think that this all ends in catastrophe followed by  the Great Simplification (Canticles of Leibowitz) is on the cards.

  84. 84.

    Jeffro

    March 26, 2022 at 9:46 pm

    Faux already finding ways to kneecap the President after his historic speech today: here’s their top 3 stories

    • some Ukrainian lawmaker says his speech is not enough, UKR ‘needs more help’
    • White House targeting some Americans with new minimum tax: here’s what to know
    • ‘too little too late’: Biden cannot possibly walk back his ‘regime change’ comments

    They’re really reaching, but the usual themes are there.

  85. 85.

    Mousebumples

    March 26, 2022 at 9:46 pm

    @James E Powell: pretty sure this is spring break for lots of schools, so that’s probably why there are so many Bachelorette parties?

    My Bachelorette party was kayaking and a cookout at my house. But destination parties aren’t really my thing.

  86. 86.

    prostratedragon

    March 26, 2022 at 9:47 pm

    Coming at 11 Eastern on TCM: The Last Emperor. Hopefully the director’s cut where, among other things, we see a little of the story of Armo, PuYi’s nurse.

    Later, Dangerous Liasons, and for the true night owl, The LIfe and Times of Harvey Milk.

  87. 87.

    Kalakal

    March 26, 2022 at 9:47 pm

    @zhena gogolia: That’s what we do on road trips. Only time I eat fast food

  88. 88.

    NotMax

    March 26, 2022 at 9:49 pm

    @geg6

    Hot dogs and Cracker Jacks fallen out of fashion?

    :)

  89. 89.

    SpaceUnit

    March 26, 2022 at 9:53 pm

    @Suzanne:

    There’s no shortage of pizza and sandwich shops here in the Denver area, but most of them are chains.

    What was great about Pittsburgh was all the little authentically Italian mom & pop pizza and hoagie places with their unique crusts and breads and sauces and styles.  So much culinary treasure to explore!

    I miss that and hope it hasn’t changed.  Haven’t been back there in a while.

  90. 90.

    Jager

    March 26, 2022 at 10:02 pm

    @Suzanne:

    Durant’s, Atmosphere, leather booths, great cocktails, and food.

  91. 91.

    NotMax

    March 26, 2022 at 10:10 pm

    Just occurred to me (D’oh!) there’s an Italian place which does take-out not far from the homestead and I no longer have to fret about a 28-year-old car making the round trip without incident.

    ;)

  92. 92.

    bk

    March 26, 2022 at 10:15 pm

     

     

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist: Las Vegas here, and we are up near the top in both.

  93. 93.

    RSA

    March 26, 2022 at 10:18 pm

    @Suzanne: @SpaceUnit: I like Pittsburgh. I live in Baltimore, a comparable (maybe the most comparable?) blue collar city just a few hours away. Lots of regional and historical differences in the details, but some basic similarities.

  94. 94.

    Suzanne

    March 26, 2022 at 10:19 pm

    @Jager: Durant’s is awesome. I used to work right down the street from there and it was a nice treat from time to time.

  95. 95.

    SpaceUnit

    March 26, 2022 at 10:31 pm

    @RSA:

    As a lifelong Steelers fan, I raise my glass to our most worthy opponent!

  96. 96.

    Steeplejack

    March 26, 2022 at 10:54 pm

    @NotMax:

    That new feeling of increased mobility is great, isn’t it? I remember when I got the doughty Kia after several years of no car at all.

  97. 97.

    Ruckus

    March 26, 2022 at 11:03 pm

    @oatler:

    I’ve owned 2 businesses and I’ve never done business at Applefarts. I worked a job that I traveled 8+ months a year and ate out more than at home. And still didn’t eat there. Although it might be because I have only eaten there twice, once to try it, once to confirm that the “food” is crap. It is. And I haven’t eaten at an IHOP in so many decades I can’t remember the last time. Unfortunately these are not the only crappy chain restaurants in this country.

  98. 98.

    Ruckus

    March 26, 2022 at 11:12 pm

    @TonyG:

    You have missed a lot. You lucky bastard…….

    And as I said, I’ve only been twice. Which my second visit confirmed was 3 times too many…..

  99. 99.

    Ruckus

    March 26, 2022 at 11:13 pm

    @Starfish:

    It’s not that good.

    Not even close.

  100. 100.

    Urza

    March 26, 2022 at 11:23 pm

    So, I went to Google American Franchise Capital.  The first link, their Linkedin page comes up with an error.  https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/115253-20  says they’re out of business.  Their own home page won’t load.
    There is news that the company placed the exec on leave.
    Seems like they might “reorg” under a new business name to get away from the bad PR.

  101. 101.

    JAFD

    March 26, 2022 at 11:28 pm

    There’s an IHOP across from University Hospital, here in Newark.

    Unfortunately, the hospital cafeteria has been closed to non-medical people, and patients, since the epidemic began

  102. 102.

    Gvg

    March 26, 2022 at 11:50 pm

    What gets me is he is so wrong on the economics. Rising gas prices means they will need to raise wages. Employees can’t work at a loss. They have to cover costs. Gas prices will raise food costs too. So the restaurant will have to raise prices and will loose some sales.

    I encountered a foolish businessman today who was stubbornly sure his problems getting employees were related to kids being lazy, because their were 25 kids around 17 in his neighborhood who didn’t want to work….I love gardening but I would not want to work in a nursery. It’s heavy labor for poor pay and my job pays better with benefits….he just doesn’t want to see that. I told him the demographics were long term labor shortages and he needed to plan for it.

    it seems to me that there is some instinct or society training to always blame the workers for being bad or at fault instead of looking at the job itself or the boss…

  103. 103.

    Ruckus

    March 27, 2022 at 1:27 am

    @Gvg:

    It is so very often that the person in charge will blame every possible other person for every single problem in their business before there will be any consideration whatsoever that there is a 1/10th of a percent chance that whatever the problem is they are in any way responsible. Now that same person will claim full responsibility for every dollar earned and that it must end up in their pocket even if there are 10,000 or more employees.

  104. 104.

    brantl

    March 27, 2022 at 9:22 am

    @Baud:  What the hell is wrong with Costco? They offer a decent wage, their workers look pretty happy, and their goods are way better than Walled-Mart, or Sam’s Shit? And they aren’t screwing over their suppliers, either.

  105. 105.

    Liminal Owl

    March 27, 2022 at 10:10 am

    @germy: I never trust a heraldry site that doesn’t know the meaning of “crest.”

  106. 106.

    Liminal Owl

    March 27, 2022 at 10:14 am

    @NotMax: I remember La Crepe! Though not specific fillings.

  107. 107.

    Liminal Owl

    March 27, 2022 at 10:25 am

    @NotMax: I want Kellogg’s to make Hopple Dopples.

  108. 108.

    geg6

    March 27, 2022 at 10:47 am

    @Suzanne:

    Again, I disagree.  Fries on a salad are great and I don’t even like fries much.  I like them on salad so much that if I’m forced to eat fries, I want salad dressing to dip them in to make them edible.  I’m not big on fried food but will make exceptions for Primanti’s, Pittsburgh steak salads and Lenten fish fries at local churches and VFDs.

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