Red Lobster files for bankruptcy

[FromMyColdDeadHand]

Steak? Chain? Mortons usually doesn't screw it up. For a local, Bern's in Tampa. More an experience than a steakhouse. I was amazed when I moved to Denver how you can get a great steak at a strip-mall resturaunt.

Definately see the 'arc' of restaurants. Even Pizza Hut lost its way.

[Slater]

"Nobody out-pizzas the Hut"? Well, actually, quite a few places do.

[Diamondback]

"Nobody out-pizzas the Hut"? Well, actually, quite a few places do.

Pizza Hut is like Suway, rested on their laurels as "first" too long. I get better from Mod Pizza.

[Diamondback]

Man, you gotta go way back to arrive when Sizzler was good. Late 70s?

Mid 1980s when I was a kid. So if my "good" is your "not so much" I can only imagine what I missed out on... then again the PNW is know for seafood not beef, which makes my family seafood allergy all the more ironic.

[Averageman]

One common remark I've heard about restaurants over the decades - "That place used to be good when it first opened".

Well, the reason that is, is because the real money isn't made in running a high end restaurant.
The money is in starting one and then building up an amazing service oriented quality place to eat with returning clientel. Hell you can even run it on the narrowest of margins.
Then you sell that sucker inside the first 18 months, let the new Owner figure out the magic.
And then it goes to Sh*t.

I have two Uncles that did this all over Florida with nightclubs and they did very well, and they blew it on Cocaine.

[rero360]

I love a good steakhouse, thankfully we have a fair number of them in the area, Flemings, Morton’s, Ruth Chris, Houston’s, Arroy Chop House, Andrew’s, and a bunch more if I’m willing to drive an hour or less. About 7 years ago we found a great place in a strip mall, real hole in the wall, after one of my niece’s volleyball games, turned out to be one of the best steaks I’ve ever had, they’ve since grown into a larger building but their quality has stayed the same if not improved even more.

[SteyrAUG]

I love a good steakhouse, thankfully we have a fair number of them in the area, Flemings, Morton’s, Ruth Chris, Houston’s, Arroy Chop House, Andrew’s, and a bunch more if I’m willing to drive an hour or less. About 7 years ago we found a great place in a strip mall, real hole in the wall, after one of my niece’s volleyball games, turned out to be one of the best steaks I’ve ever had, they’ve since grown into a larger building but their quality has stayed the same if not improved even more.

Best steakhouse is my grill. Ruth Chris is kind of a joke, the "secret" to their sizzling steak is plates in the oven and then add a pad of butter and put a steak on it. That's it. They use decent steak but they are amazingly overpriced and easy to beat.

[Waylander]

I’ve always thought Ruth’s Chris is the place yuppies go to make people think they have good taste.

[SteyrAUG]

I’ve always thought Ruth’s Chris is the place yuppies go to make people think they have good taste.

Probably that too. In Ft. Lauderdale it was always the place where you took a girl on a date to try and impress her. Of course anyone who was actually impressed that you took them to Ruth Chris on a date is gonna be the "wrong girl" anyway.

[Diamondback]

Never ate there, but sounds like RC's only bubble of respectability was when they had Rush as spokesman.

Which makes me in retrospect question his taste, other than Snapple and Florida OJ...