Showing posts with label TV food ads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TV food ads. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

An awful meal at Denny's


Although we managed to avoid fast food on our 3,750-mile road trip, we couldn't completely avoid lousy food. Our July 6 lunch at the Denny's on Route 53 in Madison, Fla., was the worst we had on our two-week trip. As we exited the interstate, my 12-year-old son offered from the back seat, "Let's stop at that Wendy's." But recalling Denny's TV ads, which focus on breakfast, I ignored him.

I ordered chicken-noodle soup and a "garden salad," each $1.99. I should have known from the price that the food wouldn't be any good, but the low quality surprised me. The soup was gummy as if it had been prepared a couple of days before. The salad was 98% iceberg lettuce. My wife's "breakfast prime" looked like warmed-up, pre-cooked beef with scrambled eggs. Did the name of this dish suggest this was prime beef, the highest USDA grade? For $8.49? My son had trouble getting his shrimp off the skewers and they were overcooked and hard.

As we ate, other people walked through the door of the half-empty restaurant, but had to wait because of uncleared tables. The bus boy was unshaven and his shirt was wet; was it perspiration or did he get caught in the rain? After we returned home this month, I called Denny's headquarters to complain and ask for a refund. Today, I received a certified letter containing a $35 gift card -- for use at Denny's. I guess we'll go for breakfast. How can they screw up eggs, sunny side up?