quote:

---

>^,,^< Miracle

quote:

---

> This is an American chain, but I'm not sure how far
>east it has spread. www.chilis.com
>
> We had an invite to eat for free tonight at the one that
>is opening here soon. Neither of us has eaten at one of them
>before tonight. And we won't go there again.
>
> We realize that it was during training time, so we expected
>some mishaps and glitches. But the food was so horrid that
>we won't risk it again. Plus, it ain't cheap!
> Two entrees and two non-alcoholic beverages came to over
>$30 before tip!! (You get a receipt with details so you take
>their online survey after you get home- I'll wait until tomorrow
>to fill ours out. Mellow a bit. LOL)
>
> Ross ordered something called a Caribbean Skewer, and
>it was so (pepper) hot that we had to trade meals! The rice
>pilaf had habanero chiles in it! Holy shit it was HOT. The special
>menu said nothing about it being spicy, just that it was "sweet".
> My happy little pink XXX!
>
> I dunno, maybe it's just us, but we aren't happy paying $1.80
>for a soda or $1.90 for iced tea.
>
> Any of you eaten there? What was your experience?

quote:

---

> This is an American chain, but I'm not sure how far
> east it has spread. www.chilis.com
>
> We had an invite to eat for free tonight at the one that
> is opening here soon. Neither of us has eaten at one of them
> before tonight. And we won't go there again.
>
> We realize that it was during training time, so we expected
> some mishaps and glitches. But the food was so horrid that
> we won't risk it again. Plus, it ain't cheap!
> Two entrees and two non-alcoholic beverages came to over
> $30 before tip!! (You get a receipt with details so you take
> their online survey after you get home- I'll wait until tomorrow
> to fill ours out. Mellow a bit. LOL)
>
> Ross ordered something called a Caribbean Skewer, and
> it was so (pepper) hot that we had to trade meals! The rice
> pilaf had habanero chiles in it! Holy shit it was HOT. The special
> menu said nothing about it being spicy, just that it was "sweet".
> My happy little pink XXX!
>
> I dunno, maybe it's just us, but we aren't happy paying $1.80
> for a soda or $1.90 for iced tea.
>
> Any of you eaten there? What was your experience?

quote:

---

> I have not had that bad an experience, but what I did have was not
> really worth going back for, if you know what I mean.

quote:

---

> This is an American chain, but I'm not sure how far
> east it has spread. www.chilis.com
>
> We had an invite to eat for free tonight at the one that
> is opening here soon. Neither of us has eaten at one of them
> before tonight. And we won't go there again.
>
> We realize that it was during training time, so we expected
> some mishaps and glitches. But the food was so horrid that
> we won't risk it again. Plus, it ain't cheap!
> Two entrees and two non-alcoholic beverages came to over
> $30 before tip!! (You get a receipt with details so you take
> their online survey after you get home- I'll wait until tomorrow
> to fill ours out. Mellow a bit. LOL)
>
> Ross ordered something called a Caribbean Skewer, and
> it was so (pepper) hot that we had to trade meals! The rice
> pilaf had habanero chiles in it! Holy shit it was HOT. The special
> menu said nothing about it being spicy, just that it was "sweet".
> My happy little pink XXX!
>
> I dunno, maybe it's just us, but we aren't happy paying $1.80
> for a soda or $1.90 for iced tea.
>
> Any of you eaten there? What was your experience?
>
> --
>

quote:

---

>
> "Miracle Smith" <miracle@spamcop.net> wrote in message
> news:42899ba5_3@galaxy.uncensored-news.com...
>
> I've eaten at Chili's plenty of times. There's one close by to us. Not
> my favorite though. I like On the Border.
>
> When we lived in Minneapolis, it was one of the few places where the
> food had any flavor. My wife and I went to a Mexican restaurant in
> Minneapolis, and my wife was served the blandest, worst enchilada we
> ever tasted, but the chick noodle soup was great. Go figure.
> Minnesotan's don't like spicy.
>
> When I worked downtown I would line up every week at a popular Chinese
> place called Leeann Chin's to get their spicy Peking Chicken.
> Invariably, there would be a Minnesotan in the line, asking in that
> right out of the movie "Fargo" accent: "Ooohhhhhh, is that spicy??"
> with great apprehension. "Get the lemon chicken." I tell them. Man is
> that bland.
>
>
>
>

quote:

---

> This is an American chain, but I'm not sure how far
> east it has spread. www.chilis.com

quote:

---

> We realize that it was during training time, so we expected
> some mishaps and glitches. But the food was so horrid that
> we won't risk it again. Plus, it ain't cheap!
> Two entrees and two non-alcoholic beverages came to over
> $30 before tip!! (You get a receipt with details so you take
> their online survey after you get home- I'll wait until tomorrow
> to fill ours out. Mellow a bit. LOL)

quote:

---

> Ross ordered something called a Caribbean Skewer, and
> it was so (pepper) hot that we had to trade meals! The rice
> pilaf had habanero chiles in it! Holy shit it was HOT. The special
> menu said nothing about it being spicy, just that it was "sweet".
> My happy little pink XXX!

quote:

---

> I dunno, maybe it's just us, but we aren't happy paying $1.80
> for a soda or $1.90 for iced tea.

quote:

---

> "MnB.Net" <cutchaguy@gmail.com> wrote in news:242dnVumo_SHbBTfRVn-
> qw@comcast.com:
>
>
> I've eaten at one a couple of times, and it wasn't bad, but the
> closest one is far enough away that I wouldn't eat there unless I
> were right in the neighborhood for something else and fairly hungry
> or someone else wanted to go there. I'd rate it as comparable to
> Appleby's or Outback Steakhouse. Although only one time in 4 have I
> liked an Appleby's, and that's when a customer was taking me there
> for a late dinner after a long on-site service session. The previous
> 3 times (at two different sites, one east coast and two at the local
> west coast one) the food might have been passable but the service was
> glacial. Outback is pretty decent but very expensive. Large portions
> and I'm a small eater so kind of a waste on someone like me.

quote:

---

>^,,^< Miracle

quote:

---

> I have not had that bad an experience, but what I did have was not
> really worth going back for, if you know what I mean.

quote:

---

> There are so many authentic restaurants near where I work that Chili's
> doesn't have any great appeal to me.

quote:

---

>^,,^< Miracle

quote:

---

> where the XXXX were you that you actually heard a fargo accent? ive
> lived here all my life and havent.

quote:

---

>^,,^< Miracle

quote:

---

> Hasn't crossed the ocean yet, but then, neither has Taco Bell. Some
> Dutch folk I know who've been in leftpondia swear by it, and
> apparently it's pretty cheap, so I wonder why it hasn't touched down
> here yet.

quote:

---

> As for places like Chili's, well, we're not much for big chains. We
> get the KFC, the Burger King and McDonalds, but I don't really like
> either. Any asshat with a trailer and a deepfryer offers better
> fries, none of them have the Proper Condiment (sateh sauce), and the
> burgers might contain meat in the same way a politician contains
> integrity.

quote:

---

> Do you folks not complain about bad food? Especially exhorbitantly
> priced food (even if you get it for free)?

quote:

---

> We pay about the same, and the term "free refill" is only available at
> Ikea (which, surprisingly to me, has a decent restaurant for cheap,
> and offers 50 cent hotdogs, 90 cent soft-drinks (refill it whenever
> you like), etc).

quote:

---

>^,,^< Miracle

quote:

---

>ScratchMonkey wrote:
>
> That's exactly what Ross & I decided- that Chilis is a cross between
>Outback and Applebee's. And we've had the worst service at Applebee's,
>although the food is usually passable but overpriced.
> We love the Outback here, but we could split the blooming onion for
>dinner! We had the fried onion at Chili's, and it was far inferior to the
>Outback as the sauce was very bland stuff with some Tobasco sauce thrown
>in. The bloomin' onion sauce at Outback is very tasty.
> I filled out the online survey for Chili's, and I was brutally honest about
>that nasty "Caribbean Skewer" dinner. The bacon cheeseburger that I gave
>up to Ross was very good, and the french fries were very good, but at $7
>a pop, we'll cook them at home.
> Two of those burgers and soft drinks would be about $18 before tax-
>how in *hell* do families afford eating out?!?!?!?

quote:

---

> One day, while skipping through the forest, I heard the voice of "Andy
> Smith" <andyPLZNOSPAMgwen@bellsouth.net> coming from a tree, and thought,
> "Man, this is f*ed up," but carried on the following conversation anyway:
>
>
> where the XXXX were you that you actually heard a fargo accent? ive lived
> here all my life and havent.
>
> --
> Adept

quote:

---

> This is an American chain, but I'm not sure how far
>east it has spread. www.chilis.com
>
> We had an invite to eat for free tonight at the one that
>is opening here soon. Neither of us has eaten at one of them
>before tonight. And we won't go there again.
>
> We realize that it was during training time, so we expected
>some mishaps and glitches. But the food was so horrid that
>we won't risk it again. Plus, it ain't cheap!
> Two entrees and two non-alcoholic beverages came to over
>$30 before tip!! (You get a receipt with details so you take
>their online survey after you get home- I'll wait until tomorrow
>to fill ours out. Mellow a bit. LOL)
>
> Ross ordered something called a Caribbean Skewer, and
>it was so (pepper) hot that we had to trade meals! The rice
>pilaf had habanero chiles in it! Holy shit it was HOT. The special
>menu said nothing about it being spicy, just that it was "sweet".
> My happy little pink XXX!
>
> I dunno, maybe it's just us, but we aren't happy paying $1.80
>for a soda or $1.90 for iced tea.
>
> Any of you eaten there? What was your experience?

quote:

---

> Frank van Schie wrote:
>
>
> Have sodium bicarbonate on hand. :D

quote:

---

>
> What's "sateh" sauce? I like to mix some Louisiana hot sauce
> into mayonaisse and use that to dip my fries in. Ross says I should
> make a deal with the Kraft mayo folks and market it. (I say screw
> all that work!)

quote:

---

>
> No. Well, I would, but Ross won't let me if I'm with him. He's
> so weird about that.

quote:

---

>
> Dang it, we don't have an Ikea here. You do mean the furniture
> store, don't you?

quote:

---

> Aside from the agony of pine pollen allergies, no real tech industry,
> and crushing humidity... the food here is fan-friggin-tastic. I have
> the additional 25 lbs to prove it.
>
> That, and my wife is Italian and knows how to cook...
>
> But one thing I miss from Texas is texmex. No really top-flight
> Mexican restaurants here.

quote:

---

> Clearly, I'm not the only one who noticed that Minnesotans talk
> differently, as an Oscar winning movie pointed out. Where the f*** was
> I....IN MINNESOTA, DUH! You think people talk like that in Atlanta??

quote:

---

> Egads! Sorry things weren't so great there. Chili's is by far one of
> my favorite restaurants. As others in the thread have mentioned,
> there are certainly better places (and I too, now have taken a
> hankerin' to On the Border over Chili's - same company, though). I
> would guess a good 10-15% of the time we go out to eat, it is to
> Chili's. I rate it much better than Applebee's, but not quite Outback
> level. Still, awesome place in my experience. But I've found service
> oriented in the mid-south tend to be much better than I've found them
> in the north-east or faux southern states (i.e. Florida). Might be a
> location issue, more than anything else.

quote:

---

> I see, according to debig, and apparently most Minnesotans: "We don't
> talk like that."

quote:

---

> "Andy Smith" <andyPLZNOSPAMgwen@bellsouth.net> wrote in
> news:9AIie.6064$uG3.1202@bignews3.bellsouth.net:
>
>
> I don't think any of us detect our own accents. I went to school in
> Boston in the early 80's, around the time Valley Girl was popular. A
> couple of girls from southern California (the other end of the state
> from me) sounded "normal" individually, but when they were talking to
> each other, one could clearly detect the sing-song valley accent.
>

quote:

---

> Miracle Smith wrote:
>
> Ha, I don't know the meaning of the word(s). Seriously. Ant-acids?

quote:

---

>
> Check:
> http://www.rugebregt.com/frank/IndonesianCooking.html
> (not me, some other Frank)

quote:

---

>
> Ah well. Go back when he's not looking and give 'em an earful.

quote:

---

>^,,^< Miracle

quote:

---

>
>
> Hey, very interesting!

quote:

---

>"Andy Smith" <andyPLZNOSPAMgwen@bellsouth.net> wrote in
>news:9AIie.6064$uG3.1202@bignews3.bellsouth.net:
>
>
>I don't think any of us detect our own accents. I went to school in Boston
>in the early 80's, around the time Valley Girl was popular. A couple of
>girls from southern California (the other end of the state from me) sounded
>"normal" individually, but when they were talking to each other, one could
>clearly detect the sing-song valley accent.

quote:

---

>Smeghead wrote:
>
>
> Y'all get to Yuma and we'll take you to Phyllis'. She has
>the best Mexican in town. The chimmichangas are to die for.
>I think I could live on her quesadillas.
>
> Dammit, I'm hungry now..........

quote:

---

>Randy Graham wrote:
>
>
> I have to admit that service here sucks mightily in general, no
>matter what type of establishment. That's our Number One Gripe
>about most places.
>

quote:

---

> On Thu, 19 May 2005 15:22:51 -0500, ScratchMonkey
> <scratchmonkey.blacklist@sewingwitch.com> wrote:
>
Boston[vbcol=seagreen]
sounded[vbcol=seagreen]
could[vbcol=seagreen]
>
> My wife is from New Orleans, and when she was in Texas she had a
> fairly neutral accent. When we came down here it was totally
> different. She became full-on "n'awlins". She wasn't even aware of it
> herself.
>
> What you hear around you definitely influences your accent.
>
> --
> --==< S m e g h e a d >==--

quote:

---

> The sauce, IMO, is an integral part of the dish. Other nations in
> Europe apparently do not have this sauce ANYWHERE. If you go to a
> Chinese Restaurant (or what we *call* a chinese restaurant, usually
> Chinese/Indonesian) and order the sateh (babi, pork, or ajam, chicken)
> it should be drowned in the sauce.
>
> Apparently, in Belgium you just get skewers of meat, no sauce at all.
> A crime to gastronomy.

quote:

---

>^,,^< Miracle

quote:

---

> My wife is from New Orleans, and when she was in Texas she had a
> fairly neutral accent. When we came down here it was totally
> different. She became full-on "n'awlins". She wasn't even aware of it
> herself.
>
> What you hear around you definitely influences your accent.

quote:

---

> I usually judge a mexican restaurant on their chimmis.

quote:

---

>Smeghead wrote:
>
>
> :D You'll be in for a treat if you get here!!

quote:

---

>Smeghead wrote:
>
>
> This is *so* true. When I get around another Southerner I
>flip right into Hillbilly without realizing it. (I'm from north Georgia)
>Our Best Man, Buddy, is from a town about 30 miles from my
>home town, and when we get together Ross is amazed at what
>happens.
> I spent a lot of years deliberately trying to lose my accent,
>because it sounded so 'backwoods', but get me around another
>southerner and I'm right back to square one.

quote:

---

> Smeghead wrote:
>
>
> This is *so* true. When I get around another Southerner I
> flip right into Hillbilly without realizing it. (I'm from north Georgia)
> Our Best Man, Buddy, is from a town about 30 miles from my
> home town, and when we get together Ross is amazed at what
> happens.
> I spent a lot of years deliberately trying to lose my accent,
> because it sounded so 'backwoods', but get me around another
> southerner and I'm right back to square one.
>

quote:

---

> It's the first thing I order when going to a new restaurant. If the
> chimichanga is good, chances are the rest is okay as well.
>
> How hard is it to screw up fajitas? Other than making it bland...
> which I've had.

quote:

---

>^,,^< Miracle

quote:

---

> I tend to start talking like whoever I'm with almost immediately,
> whatever their accent. In London, I spent an hour or so talking with
> some English folks at Speakers Corner in Hyde park. When we split up
> I found myself saying "Cheerio!" and then thinking: Oh jeez, why did
> I say that?

quote:

---

>^,,^< Miracle

quote:

---

>Smeghead wrote:
>
>
> I don't know how hard it is, but I've sure had some
>nasty ones! Usually too tough or too much cilantro in
>the marinade. Yuk.
>
> One of the best fajita meals we've had was in Phoenix,
>in the ground floor restaurant in the Hilton downtown!
>Juicy, tender, and *all* the traditional sides, plus more than
>just the usual number of tortillas.
>
> We tried a newer burger place tonight for supper. It's
>a little hole-in the wall place across from the Marine base.
>Damn that was good! Real char broiled patties and the best
>fries we've had in a long time. Not cheap, but they sell all
>the burgers with fries and a drink. I had the "child's" size
>burger, which was a 4 ounce patty!

quote:

---

> Ross had the medium, which is 7 ounces. I forget what
>the large size is..........

quote:

---

> Andy Smith wrote:
>
>
> I've done that. <red face> Didn't realize I was
> doing it until someone else pointed it out to me. Talk
> about feeling like an idiot.........
>
> Maybe we should have been actors? LOL

quote:

---

>Miracle Smith wrote:
>
>Occasionally getting English-speaking folk on the phone for tech
>support, I can sympathize. I tend to slide just a bit into either
>Scottish, southern Leftpondian, Australian, or whatever else I hear. It
>does help to use common dialect-slang to get a point across. But mostly
>I try to stick to as neutral American-English as I can muster.
>
>I've never had an impolite English-speaker, either.

quote:

---

> Occasionally getting English-speaking folk on the phone for tech
> support, I can sympathize. I tend to slide just a bit into either
> Scottish, southern Leftpondian, Australian, or whatever else I hear.
> It does help to use common dialect-slang to get a point across. But
> mostly I try to stick to as neutral American-English as I can muster.
>
> I've never had an impolite English-speaker, either.

quote:

---

>^,,^< Miracle

quote:

---

> Miracle Smith wrote:
>
> Occasionally getting English-speaking folk on the phone for tech
> support, I can sympathize. I tend to slide just a bit into either
> Scottish, southern Leftpondian, Australian, or whatever else I hear. It
> does help to use common dialect-slang to get a point across. But mostly
> I try to stick to as neutral American-English as I can muster.
>
> I've never had an impolite English-speaker, either.
> --
> Frank

quote:

---

> Course I live in one of the most expeisive cities in the country, so I
> might be a bit skewed.