Two places come to mind at once. The first was a Chinese restaurant in Oklahoma City. I don’t remember the name. They made egg rolls in house, they were the size of a burrito and absolutely delicious. Two of them was a meal for me. I was so disappointed when I drove by there several years later and it was gone. I love good egg rolls, not the frozen ones. The other is Chicken Express. At one time they served very good farm raised catfish. Now it’s still good but it’s Swai fish from Vietnam. There are lots of warnings about Swai and the filth they are raised in. I ignored warnings as a young man, especially the ones about strong drink and redheaded women, but I’m inclined to listen to them now.
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I took my daughter out for lunch a few days ago to thank her for driving me around while my car was in the shop. And it was just...okay. It was the first time I had eaten' out in a couple of years. Seriously.
My wife and I decided years ago that it just isn't worth it anymore. Where we live if you have a good pallet, you are going to be putting up with your food. No WOW moments, let alone "that was tasty. Like so many restaurants today, the food comes from Sysco or US Foods and very little is cooked, the rest is just heated up and served. So you get the same food and same flavor at all of the restaurants and the only thing that is different is the atmosphere and staff.
Speaking of staff. The trend of shaming customers to pay the staff wages through tips, has gotten out of hand (for example your 'minimum' tip is already included in your bill and that is normally 20%). And now they have added on 'fees' that they explicitly state are not used for tips.
This all comes from two people who met working in the restaurant business, so we ALWAYS tip well. It is painful to see where the business is today. I am envious of you folks who have good choices to go out to eat.Comment
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I just scratched two places off the list. We are now down to the Sushi place, the Italian place, the Mexican place, and a few fast food places.
The Mexican restaurant has really good Carne Asada tacos.Comment
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We only have a very small handful of restaurants that we frequent. Honestly, we prefer the food that we cook....Comment
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Here's the deal Michael_in_TX; as I have gotten to my senior/golden years, I have gotten very health conscious. Restaurants, by and large, tend to be unhealthy due to increased fat and calorie content. So, for me, restaurant cuisine is the last choice for sustenance of any kind. Since I live alone and only cook for one, I do occasionally use a local BBQ shop to satisfy my brisket cravings along with some collared greens or a salad.
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Crawdaddys Kitchen in Shreveport. I ate there several years ago and the red beans were so good we didn’t use the rice. Went a couple months ago and it was very disappointingComment
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Besides quality prices have gotten out of control. New place opened up for breakfast and lunch. Eggs, bacon and hash browns 18 plus 4 for coffee. 44 bucks for the two of us before tax and tip puts you about 56. for breakfast, without juice or any extras.Tourists are stuck eating out here, but in the winter that place will die. I won't even give it a try. Our small Chinese place does a nice job, large portions and pretty good.Comment
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No complaints over here. We have some solid offerings in Kernersville and it just keeps getting better. Maybe it's a regional thing or a small town thing, yet the town is growing rapidly. One of my favorite local seafood places is Captain Tom's. I ordered lunch for me and my staff today and man was it good. They recently finished a complete renovation so wasn't sure how it would pan out. It was excellent. I got a combo with fried oysters, fried catfish and chicken tenders. Sides were mashed potatoes and fried okra. Came with hushpuppies. Everything was perfect. The hushpuppies were outstanding. Light and airy, not dense and over-fried. Fish was flaky, oysters had a light crispy batter, chicken tenders were very moist inside. The mashed potatoes were real, not made from flakes. The portion was huge, as always has been. This was $23 plus tax. More than fair given the freshness, quality and quantity. With all that being said, I gave them a 5-star Google review.
Last edited by Hulagn1971; July 31, 2026, 12:06 PM.Comment
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I will say that, to my astonishment, we have two of the best Mexican restaurants I've ever eaten at, within a mile of our house. I grew up in California, lived 8 years in New Mexico, and 20 in Texas, so I know whereof I speak, and this stuff is great. We get delivery from one, called Los Mayas, every other Thursday, after the housekeepers come - we always order in that day so as not to mess up the just-cleaned kitchen. Total hole in the wall place, with great food.
But, sadly, no Vietnamese within less than 90 minutes' drive at least, only one good sushi place (but it's very good), one OK Thai place half an hour away, and supposedly one good Indian place up in Rehoboth Beach that we haven't visited yet. We are seriously missing our Asian food...Comment
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We have lunch once/twice a week at a local tavern with good food. Today, fries were too salty for me (and I like salt). Mentioned it to cook, his response was they had started using a vinegar brine, prolly should change their salt procedure.
When I left, I observed that from my counter seat, I could see that many customers were not eating much of their fries. His response, "good observation". The chef here has been to culinary school (Portland?). I prefer eating at joints where the owner and I are on a first name basis, as well as the cook and wait persons.Comment
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Eating out has gotten so expensive that even the good places aren’t as good anymore.
The Mrs and I went out last night for the first time in quite awhile. Local burger joint about to celebrate their 70th year. A burger, a grilled cheese, fries, onion rings, and a couple of shakes. Total with tip was $46. 😳😭
for certain, the food is not as good as it was years ago, but we know that going in. Wasn’t as big of a deal when the bill was $25 for 2. Now, it’s just nowhere near being worth it.Comment
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