For the last three years, the Chicken Chili from the Daily Grill has been a Sunday night tradition. We call at 5:30... order a caesar salad and 2 chicken chilis which are accompanied by a delicious toasted parmesan cheese bread. This Chicken Chili has always been accompanied by our personal stash of Cholula...now, even better with the addition of the Chili-Garlic Cholula added to the reportoire.
Know that delivery will be in about one hour. Everyone in our immediate little circle knows that chicken chili and cheese bread from Daily Grill is a Sunday night staple along with "The Sopranos' (when in season). Tonight I called for our usual, (we were watching US Tennis Open) and were told that (gasp ) Chicken chili was gone, finito, off the menu. Ordered a couple of chicken burgers, but am not happy. Has anyone ever lobbied to get a dish back on the menu? If so, any success?

Once. Does a grocery store count?

About two months ago I had bought several jars of an organic lowfat plain kefir which was extremely sour, no additives, and loved it as a breakfast poured over plain shredded wheat. (There is plenty of that sweetened, flavored stuff, but I don't like that. Has to be unsweetened, nothing added, and very, very thick and sour.)

I was hooked. It was even better than unsweetened European-style yogurt. So when I went back to the store and didn't see it, I cornered the dairy manager. "What happened? Do you have any more?"

Nice man, they try to accommodate customers at Whole Foods, but he didn't know what I was talking about. But then, after about ten minutes of arguing (I wouldn't have stood there arguing usually, but I wanted this sour kefir very much), he suddenly remembered that they had gotten some by mistake a few weeks earlier and had put it out for sale.

Now he orders it and every time I go back, there it is and I load up.

No, but I am not terribly picky and habitual in other ways. But I did find it interesting one time when I was reading an article about four local south jersey diners. One, which had been there for going on 100 years, had a policy of never taking anything off the "menu". It might not be on the written portion to keep it from reading like a book (as it is, they probably use 8 pt font to get it all on) but that if a customer asks for something then it's their policy to serve it. They have a chart in back with all the prices for everything that isn't on the written menu, and if it's not on the chart then the owner makes up a price and adds it to the list. From what it said, most of the very old, very established diners work this way.

...the local kfc's stopped selling chicken twisters, and that screwed me up major time, as that was the only thing I could snarf down in two seconds in the middle of a cramfest, just so that I could make it back to school on time...

but generally, in actual restaurants, I hate it when they stop serving my fave stuff, or when they say that they can't serve it at the moment due to the lack of ingredients. Its usually an excuse for me to either try new things or throw a tantrum

As long as it's not a certain menu item at a restaurant in Venice.

I am very much a creature of habit and tend to order the exact same dishes each time at the restaurants I frequent. One removed my favorite dish there - pumpkin ravioli with brown sugar sauce, crisped sage and sun-dried tomatoes - and when I saw it gone from the menu I did ask for it. They still had the ingredients to make it for me and did, and then about a month later it was back on the menu. I assume many other people also asked for it back. Yes, lobby for it. It can't hurt.

Stoddard's Brew Pub in Sunnyvale had a wonderful spinach salad with all sorts of marvelous things in it, and really unique dressing. It had been on their menu since the restaurant opened. A while back they discontinued it. We lobbied heavily and often for its return - no luck. Instead, a few months later the restaurant went out of business.

I call this poetic justice for discontinuing the best thing on their menu.

Impossible at a chain. Possible at a local place. I lobbied for the return of the fried pickles appetizer at a local restaurant and was successful. I have gotten a local convenience store to stock a certain wine. I begged McDonalds to roll-out the triple-ripple cone it test-marketed in the 60's and they listened to all the people who didn't like it instead.

I thought chicken chili left the Daily Grill menu a long time ago. Maybe it just left the dinner menu? I recall an instance where I noticed it was gone.


The hotel I stay at had a bar menu item that was awesome. A lobster roll. It was the best damn thing on that menu. They took it away. I think ti was still on the dining room lunch menu. But they told me they would still make it for me if I requested it.

That is so yummy. Had it today at a local buffet restaurant. ^

El Cafe de la Plata has discontinued the Pastel de Dulce de Leche.

Things that make me sad.

Which is why we didn't try to lobby when the Cheesecake Factory took off a dish we ordered frequently

My son is a cook at west coast burger chain and says that they'll make stuff that customers order, even if it's no longer on the menu. For example, a burger is introduced as a limited time special, but someone comes in after the promotion is over.

While he occasionally grumbles about it, he said that they won't tell the customers no and will make whatever it is so long as they have the ingredients in the kitchen.

I've not yet tested it myself though My favorite burger is still on the menu.

I do the same thing. ^

I actually decide what I want, then go to a restaurant that serves it, rather than decide on the restaurant, and pick and choose from there.

I was very disappointed when Mimi's cafe discontinued the Monte Cristo Sandwich. I think it's still at Bennigan's.

I'm the opposite, the only exception being the monte christo at Bennigans. Love the raspberry jam.

First Monte Christo I had was at Fitzwilly's in Northhampton, MA - mid 70's. I bet it's still on the menu if the restaurant's still there.

MMMmmmmmmm. Monte Cristo sandwich. Yummmm.

First and only ones I've ever had was at Denny's. Haven't been there in years, so I don't know if it's still on the menu or not.

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]