In general I agree, capital should not be wasted to prop up zombie companies that can't make the numbers work. But with COVID these places were compelled by force to stop earning.
I have great memories from fuddruckers in the early to mid 2000s. They used to have fantastic bread. At some point this decade or slightly before they changed whatever buns they used to use and I stopped going. Maybe I’ll try it again while they’re still open.
That's funny that people have mentioned the fish at Luby's. That was my go-to back in the day when I would go with my parents/grandparents. Big ol' piece of fried fish with extra tarter sauce, a salad with ranch dressing, some mac & cheese, some green beans, a dinner roll and a piece of lemon meringue pie. I remember liking Wyatt's at Willowbrook Mall better than Luby's, but it went out of business a long time ago. That place used to have a line coming out into the mall every Sunday after church. I agree with @jo mama the cafeteria is ripe for a comeback. Once this COVID stuff is over-with, anyway...
Dude, for me it was always between the Luby's fried fish or the baked fish almondine. So hard to choose, and that tartar sauce on either of those fish was a requirement. Even though they plopped a bunch down on the plate, it was never enough tartar sauce
More memories of "Luby's." They came into the Houston market on Buffalo Speedway as Romana Cafeteria in the late 1960's. The food was terrific and cheap, although it seemed expensive for a cafeteria at the time. I moved to the Montrose/Rice University area at the end of 1969 and eventually discovered the place. Took chicks there on Saturdays for lunch after waking up from a very late Friday night. We'd stumble along the line half asleep pointing at this, pointing at that. You could get a plate for $4.95 with either an entree or half an entree, depending on what it was, two veggies, a roll and iced tea or coffee. Saved my life on more than one occasion. ;-) A large image of the fried fish spoilered below: Spoiler
Fuddruckers was always overpriced to me. If you were within range of my work, and I didn't eat at you, you did something wrong. I have tons of memories of Luby's growing up. Not halcyon, beautiful memories nor bad memories, but we just went there a lot. But I also wondered how the hell it lasted so long. The last time I went there was years ago. The system was so bizarre I just had no desire to deal with it ever again. I always felt some level of anxiety that my food wasn't going to end up how I wanted it at after 6 different people played telephone passing it down the line. I always kept my eye locked on my dish, but there was still such a helpless feeling. If the concept of the "anti-Amazon" exists in terms of efficiency of handling and logistics, that antithesis is named Luby's. Still, R.I.P.
I must be forgetting something, I just remember your food going along with you and you told the people what you wanted. How do you feel helpless about that?
Like, I tell the person at the front of the line that I want a LuAnn platter. That platter has specific things that come with it in specific portion sizes as well. And I never understood how they knew how to get that all right as they passed it 50 ft down the line from one person to the other. And yet they did most of the time. Still was weird.
I see. I just ordered as I went along but I am older so cafeteria dining was nothing new. I am gonna be thinking about that fish for days now.
They added a bunch of foofy stuff to their menu, but I still get my 2 regular Texas and chili cheese tots with no problem.
I still get it when they do their 90ish cent hot dog special during the summer months. At that price, it is still a nostalgic throwback.
The trick with Fuddruckers is joining their e-mails. They'd often give coupons for a 1/3 lb burger with fries and drink for $8. They occasionally even did two 1/3 lb combos for $9 or something like that. I frequented the one near my work.
Holy crap, Tinsley's was amazing. My grandparents lived in Huntsville, and I used to go to baseball camp there nearly every summer at Sam Houston and stay at my grandparents' place. I spent a lot of time there, and Tinsley's was a big part of that. Along with my grandmom's cooking, my grandfather's model train sets and tons of Astros baseball on TV.
If the Luby's system is problematic for you then I don't know what you'll do if you walk into a Fadi's.....
