Under New Management
 

I thought I'd create a thread where we can cry and moan over good restaurants that have changed hands and gone downhill. Or maybe it's just me.

1. There's a chinese takeout close to my office. It's not great, but decent and reliable. I went in today and they've remodeled (moved the boxes of straws and napkins around) and there are new faces behind the counter. The prices are higher, although the lunch special now comes with soup and eggroll instead of a choice. They've ruined a perfectly good sesame chicken dish - it now tastes mostly of soy. :td: I'll give them one more try. It looks like the new owers are Thai - so we'll order from that side of the menu.

2. In an area where independent restaurants are poorly supported, I try to send my custom their way. The place for steaks in Oxford, AL used to be Zack's Mesquite Grill. Zack was funny and knew how to cook a steak. One of my kids told me he'd died a month ago, and sho 'nuff, the place is dark and shuttered. RIP. It's a good location, but I worry about the next owner. Gawd forbid it should become a Logan's, Longhorn, Outback, etc.

Oh yeah, and now the Egg Foo Yung has been renamed Egg Foo Dung. I'm not touching that.

About 12 years ago, when I lived in Las Vegas, there was a small chain of Mexican take-out joints that were incredible--very reasonably priced, delicious, fresh food. The prep areas were out in the open, so when you were at the counter ordering, you'd see people working on the food--for instance, sitting around a table with a giant box of avocados, with a couple people peeling them, and another pitting them and cutting the flesh up.

For about the first year I went, the entire work staff in the places was Latino. One day, I walked in, and all the food workers were still Latinos, but there was a gringo manager running the register [I'm a gringo myself, so nothing bad meant against all gringos here--just the ones that took over these restaurants!]. Coinciding with the installation of the gringo management, the prices went up, portion sizes went down, and the food quality went way downhill--e.g., formerly tender meat was suddenly full of gristle.

I've never in my life seen food that good turn so bad so quickly. Quite sad overall.