Back on the Chain Gang

Wednesday Night of this week found our Dynamic Duo taking a small little excursion to take care of some very important business. Mother's Day was coming up this Sunday, and the pair of hero's needed be sure that the appropriate gifts were taken care of. The Captain's theme music played as the adventurer's crept into their local Crate and Barrel. Numerous gadgets and serving ware pounded at the Captain's senses causing him to start visualizing the possibilities he could create for the ultimate dinner party. But, our hero was not there to plan for his own dinner parties, he was there to pick out a Mother's Day present. Clearing his mind, the Captain got input from Kid Ketchup and they were quickly out of the store laden with Mother's Day presents. However, our hapless heroes walked into another trap pretty quickly. Vile, evil hunger had stricken, and they set out in search of the night's culinary delights.

The costumed crusaders opted to doff cape and cowl in favor of infiltrating the evening's restaurant in their civilian disguises. The restaurant? The Cheesecake Factory. Now, many foodies near and far would gasp in sheer desperation as their hero opted to partake of the delights of a chain restaurant. These, of course, would be the more close minded foodies. So, our Captain, being the hero he is, exercised his culinary powers again to begin to offer up some defense for at least a few chain restaurants.

It is true that one of the first questions our Captain asks himself when selecting a dining establishment is "Is this restaurant part of a chain?" It is also true that if the answer to that question is "yes", that he counts it as a solid strike against that establishment. "But, why?" wonders the true believer? The Captain offers up a single word to answer that question: Consistency. Why not quality? Well, the Captain has been to many restaurants the world over, and has found that you can find good food at some chain restaurants. Granted, your chances are diminished over a restaurant that is privately owned, but it is possible.

Why is that, though? The motivation behind running the restaurant is one. Chef owned and Mom-and-pop owned restaurants are more invested into the business than employees and managers of chain establishments. Attention to detail is going to be important to these owners as their reputation will be on the line and in some cases, their very ability to pay their home mortgages, too. These restaurants are not just a job for them, they are a source of enjoyment and livelihood. It would stand to reason that the effort they put forth will have a much more intense zeal than at a chain restaurant who is very likely to be under a more corporate mindset focusing entirely on the bottom line.

Then, there's just the size. Non chain restaurants are going to tend to be smaller. Chain types, well...larger....and many more of them. This gives the non chain restaurants a distinct advantage in being able to train their staff to do the job according to its vision. In order to even begin to establish the same level of quality, the chains have to institute processes and quality control measures that smaller businesses just don't need. Your Captain, himself, has seen some of the documents detailing these quality control processes. Quite honestly, they can sometimes be confusing. That mis-interpretation, true believer, is causing at least some of the inconsistency for you at chain restaurants. Plus, distance is actually a factor, too. Anyone who's been to a children's birthday party can attest to how hard it is to wrangle them together when it's time for an activity. Imagine if you had to do it with another group of kids who were in a different state.

Finally, there's the employees. It's the Captain's opinion that a non chain will take better care screening employees to hire. They'll also give them better training if needed. Larger chains having more positions to fill are more likely to fill positions with underexperience, under enthused employees. That's just simple probability and statistics right there, good citizen.

All of this is not to say that every chain is going to suffer from the pitfalls described by the Captain or other obstacles. There are quite a few chains out there that really do have their act in order. Our Captain can think of at least a few that he will frequent time and again. Cheesecake Factory, Fogo de Chao, and the Melting Pot just to name a few.

Our heroic Captain once again annotates some possible suggestions for those true believers trying to decide whether or not a new chain restaurant is worth investigating.

1) Do your research. With the good ole WWW, it doesn't take too long to hit a restaurant's website. That should give you an idea of who might be managing a given restaurant. The Captain asserts that chains who franchise are better than chains where the corporate office owns and manages the restaurant since there should hopefully be more investment and interest by the owner of the franchise rights.

2) The Captain, no matter how well he knows a chain, doesn't go to a grand opening. It's a rule that he follows for restaurants in general, but especially for a chain. Our Captain respects at least a 2 week period for the restaurant in question. This hopefully gives a good amount of time for the waitstaff and the kitchen staff to get broken in.

3) Solicit recommendations from your friends and other people. They can be a great source of information and perspective....and you don't have to guinea pig your own tastebuds.

4) The Captain knows that this idea sounds horrible awful, but keep your expectations low on your first visit to a new chain. That way, your opinion of the place has no where to go, but up.

5) Generally speaking, the more upscale chains will have much more quality than more average priced restaurants.

Remember that these tips are guidelines, and the Captain really presents them as such. As is always the case in visiting a restaurant, even one that you've had consistent service from in the past, your mileage may vary. Even the mom and pop owned shack outside of town that serves the most incredible BBQ you've ever had is still run by humans who have their off days.

Sensing the gratification from a world of foodies for perspective provided, our Captain smiles at his sidekick as their waitresses serves them a nice, large wedge of Tuxedo Marscapone Cream Cheesecake. The two heroes dig in knowing that the next food related battle could very well come as early as breakfast the next day.