Chain restaurants

I read in a magazine once, Gourmet, I think, that Mario Batali said that if people come to your restaurant to eat >insert their favorite meal here< prepared in a certain way, and you change it, you are an asshole.

It's funny, but, you know, it's true.

I'm one of those really boring eaters. At certain restaurants, I eat the exact same meal every time I go. When I go somewhere where I "change it up," I'll still be found deferring to a certain type of meal every time I go there. Take Woodfire Grill (woodfiregrill.com) for example. I will always start with the foie gras, as long as it's on the menu. J and I will share the salmon tartare. Then I'll get something meaty and tasty.

If I go to a restaurant expecting >insert their favorite meal here< and they change it, I get really really upset. It's all about expectations. Don't keep trying it perfect something. If I ordered something and I chose to get it again, it was perfect last time. Give it a freaking rest. That's actually the reason we don't go to Rumi's anymore. They keep changing my damn baden joon. It was perfect the first time. Then they kept messing with how they cooked the eggplant and how they served it and then they did the ultimate wrong thing which was they gave me less.

Well, I've been to Outback restaurants all over the country, and I think they are my favorite chain. I always get the same thing:

- Fosters (on tap), 12 oz or maybe 22 oz if I've had a really bad day
- 12 oz prime rib, medium rare
- Caesar salad, dressing on the side (you get more dressing this way)
- Baked potato, butter and sour cream
- And, if I'm hungry enough, Chocolate Thunder from Down Under (a warm pecan chocolate brownie topped with ice cream and chocolate fudge/flakes)

And it's always yum. So anyway, I just wanted to say that.

Now I'm going to eat my individually wrapped to-go Chocolate Thunder From Down Under. Because what else do I love? Individually packaged stuff to keep everything as it should be. Because when you pack lunches, don't you agree a pre-composed sammich gets soggy if you don't put it all together immediately before eating it?

J says I'm OCD. I guess it's possible.