am I a peasant?

[johncomic]

For years, all I ever knew about IHOP was that it was an apparently easy punchline for standup comics, and “IHOP waitress” was a standup shorthand similar to “trailer trash”. Déclassé would appear to be one of the kinder terms for this place.

Then about a month ago, we went to Buffalo on a shopping trip, and Paisley's fella Kyle suggested we have lunch at IHOP. So I finally got to go there and see for myself.

For basic unpretentious food, we all found the quality perfectly satisfying and the prices very reasonable. Those of us who had never been there before were very pleasantly surprised and glad we had come. And, for the record, our waitress was attractive, personable, witty, and very good at her job.

Yesterday we did Buffalo again, and had pretty much decided on the way down that it would be IHOP for lunch again. This experience was a duplicate of last time, right down to the bright and lovely waitress. For my tastes, I can't see anything so wrong with this place.

In fact, yesterday we noticed that they were playing jazz (how many other places do that anymore, besides *$?), and one of those jazz tunes I caught was Thelonious Monk! I'm sorry, but that right there earns IHOP cool points that no one will ever be able to take away...

So is the problem simply my own tastes? Am I inherently some sort of lowbrow lowlife that can't distinguish trash from treasure? Or am I simply not cynical and elitist enough to pass for “truly cool”? I'm honestly not sure I care, nor really worried about whether I should care. I feel more like “What's supposed to be so wrong with this place? Or, what's wrong with people that need to put it down?”

Comments

[bevantor.livejournal.com]

Standardization is the key to the success of chains. People want to know what they're getting. I can understand that. With few exceptions, the only time we eat at fast food chains is when we're traveling. If we're staying somewhere, we'll seek out the local experience, but while we're on the road, there's something to be said for knowing exactly what you're getting. That's why the growth of chain restaurants parallels the growth of freeways.

The Internet and shows like Diners and Dives are a godsend to independent restaurants. Via Google or a Smartphone ap, we can look up restaurants along with sights, events, local weather and road construction. Thanks to shows like Diners and Dives, we'll try out those plainer looking places in hopes of finding the world's best pulled pork sandwich or jerk chicken.

[ginsu.livejournal.com]

That's why the growth of chain restaurants parallels the growth of freeways.

It also parallels the growth of suburbs. In suburbs, which are much newer to the world, there's often no established, go-to set of family restaurants. So the chains can simply expand into empty space.

The Internet and shows like Diners and Dives are a godsend to independent restaurants.

For marketing, sure.

But wouldn't it be great if I could actually get their offerings wherever I happen to be, the way I can a book or a guitar already?

Sadly, food spoils. So I would have to be able to teleport to the restaurant, or the food would have to teleport to me.

[bevantor.livejournal.com]

Sadly, food spoils. So I would have to be able to teleport to the restaurant, or the food would have to teleport to me.

Teleportation... my favourite fantasy (that doesn't involve - er never mind).

[ginsu.livejournal.com]

It actually occurred to me that in some cases, the Internet does almost fulfill this. Example:

http://www.tastesofchicago.com/category/Lou_Malnatis_Pizza/?utm_source=loushome&utm_medium=rnav&utm_campaign=dropdown

Almost. A dry-ice-frozen pizza, even from Lou's, is never gonna compete with the one that came out of the oven one minute ago. But it's still nice being able to get it in Austin.

I believe H&H bagels from NYC can be had this way as well.