The food comes and most of the utensils can really only be described as 'dirty'. The food is incredibly underwhelming, and the ranch dipping cup I get has a firm yellow crust on the top, like it's been sitting in a walk in cooler uncovered for a few days.

I call the manager over and point out all the problems with the meal (all 4 of us had something wrong, from dirty glasses to dirty utensils to poorly prepared food to crusty ranch dressing) and after a minute of him hemming and hawing and not wanting to do anything about it, he finally offers me a $5 gift certificate good for my next visit to Perkins.

Really? That's so cute that you think there is going to be a next time.

Are you close to Janeskos Hometowne Grill? I Googled it, and that one sounds the most likely.

It was the classiest Thanksgiving ever - turkey and stuffing from an all you can eat buffet, the first time I had ever eaten grits, and a view of a domestic disturbance in the parking lot complete with cops.

Is it just me (really, I'm ok if it is just me) or have most internet-enabled people become passive-aggressive?

Maybe this person wants to be the next Roger Ebert of French Dip? Whatever. It doesn't matter because he reviews food from the service industry. And, he is not a secret shopper.

My point in all this is that once he got the sandwich, he should have pointed out the discrepancy once he received the platter. Instead he blogs about it. If he had asked, maybe the manager could have responded to the issue right then and there instead of trying to damage control ON A GLOBAL SCALE.

However, the Perkins Mgmt staff showed how well they handled the issue and the reviewer comes off as whiny, sheltered kid with a bread fetish.

By the way, when you google keywords like French Dip + Blog + Perkins, the review site is not on the top three pages. Instead, Consumerist comes out on top.

I tell people where I live now about these gems, and I get blank stares all around.

@theblackdog_FeelingRandom: Agreed, but they're cute evil, which makes them loads of fun!

@SybilDisobedience: Uphill! Both ways!!!

I forgot we live in a world where we now have to tip-toe around to make sure we don't offend anyone, even if that wasn't our intention. Apparently, so did he. His bad, move on.

I love French Dip sandwiches, but gosh darn it, NOBODY in my area seems to know how to make a good one. I've seen some nasty abominations called French Dips.

I can understand someone having a blog about them.

Really, really pathetic when someone ignorantly makes claims of racial hatred because their knowledge of vocabulary is lacking.

This came up a few years ago in Washington DC where a politican referred to someone as "niggardly" and, predictably, a million DC citizens went batshit crazy and insisted the politician be removed from office and so forth.

When people bother to learn vocabulary and etymology and learn that the words don't even originate from the same part of the world, maybe we'll have a more informed group of consumers in this country.

@Skankingmike: Look, you are barely literate.

Niggardly well describes the establishment apportionment of their french fries to the diner.

Your failure to grasp the meaning of words, and your poor use of language are not a reason others should not avail themselves of the panoply of remarkably descriptive words we have in the English language.

@Skankingmike: Produces the same 'invocation' ?

Good Lord man, buy a dictionary.

@Skankingmike: You have to be kidding. You can't possibly be that clueless.

Why do you want his story put in some internet black hole?

@CyGuy: Schwabl's in West Seneca, NY has some of the best Beef of Weck in WNY.

Perkins is not the same level as Applebees or Outback and the like, not sure why you thought that. It's more on the level of Denny's or Coco's or something like that.

*BUMP*

I agree, I'd rather have a bread sandwich rather than what is pictured. & My inner schoolgirl also has convulsions and twitches at all erratic moments.

It's like they use the same brand/quality food providers as the local elementary school does. All malarkey, all sub par.

I suppose you're not familiar with the slightly less common definition:
"provided in meanly limited supply" (from www.m-w.com)

@jook: In MY day, we gathered around the dirt-scratched-car-drawing and stared at it for hours! We didn't need any fancy photos of cars, or cars, or hobbies, no sir! Americans today are spoiled, that's what it is.

Also I walked 10 miles both ways to school, barefoot in the snow, with my sister on my back.

I just want to say that I love that there is a blog about french dips. Almost as good actually eating a french dip.

@wickdchameleon: Also, what are the odds of something like this happening after his first review? He's only got two reviews up so far and he's made it on the Consumerist.

@Skankingmike: I think your suggestion that thesadtomato would be beaten up for using a word that means 'stingy' just highlights how ridiculous the scandal is.

@thesadtomato: You find them ridiculous all you want please come visit me I'll take you to Irvington or Newark and you can call a cheap person a Niggard in front of some black guys. I'll pay for your funeral.

@NancyCpants: Start a blog reviewing all restaurants you visit..."dotheyrefill.com" and "dotheyfillit.com" are both available!

And also: how come no one gets fired for saying "sniggering?"

On second thought, don't bother, because I'm sure you will continue to be scared of words.

Just because certain people choose to find reasons to be angry and seek problems where they don't exist doesn't mean that we should stop using certain words.

I think it gets my point across better.

Besides he missed used the term anyway Fries can't be Miserly. :P

@theblackdog_FeelingRandom: I was waiting for today's food discussion. I really was. Usually I wait for the Friday open thread in which we all discuss what we had for lunch, and then immediately regret not getting what someone else had, but I like food posts. What can I say, I like talking about food and cats. Cats are not food though.

It has multiple meanings and is often misunderstood to mean the darker word.

It's a hot button issue that has costs many people their jobs. Just do a quick google search for it and then come back to some how justify his usage of it.

@pecan 3.14159265: Free speech does not apply to everybody or everything unfortunately. Things considered obscene are exempt for example.

Also IMHO loads better than IHOP.

I agree with you it is much better to remove it than to educate people.

It's a slang word most would never use. If he meant Salty fries.. say salty fries, if he meant they were in poor portion say that. It's a vague term and is often misunderstood to mean the latter as well as often meant to mean the latter. It would be like using the word gay describe ones happiness.

[en.wikipedia.org]

its' a generally accepted in most publications to not use the word. he should have known this being oh so smart to understand its' "true" meaning.

@LeChiffre: I'm going to stop by a cafe on the way home to see if they offer a French Dip. I hope they do, cause then I know what I'm having tomorrow.

All kidding aside, I eat at Perkins once in a while, and always found it yummy good value and pleasantly problem-free.

@Skankingmike: Freedom of speech and freedom to be an idiot and all that.

I do agree -- the actual sandwich received looks more like something I'd eat.

@wickdchameleon:

Probably Google alerts, - "Perkins and city" - etc.

@GMFish: Wow,,I was that young also. Whenever I would go out with my grandma or mom, I always ordered the French Dip. It's amazing that there is a human on this planet that has not had a French Dip? There should be a law against such atrocities. LOL. Now I am going to have to get one for dinner tonight.

Perkins sucks. They don't refill your drinks unless you pretty much tackle a server, the food is bland to appease the elderly people, and the place is dirtier than the back floor of my car after the kids got a hold of it. But I spent many hours there as a young adult since that was the only place to go after bar time. Blegh. We actually had to serve ourselves a few times since the servers were screwing in the managers office. Not kidding.

How the hell did the regional manager know about the blog in just 1 freaking day????. Was he realtime monitoring the interwebs for Perkins reviews?

I think it's like saying "the hoi polloi" or "pizza pie." It's pretty much accepted as being what you say in English even though we all know it's not correct.

@pecan 3.14159265: The secret is the au jus. It must be made right. Lots of sodium to make it taste good. If I am really hungry, I'll drink the au jus to get the last bites of beef. Yeah I know, that's gross.

And now you know . . . . the rest of the story.

@Brazell: Yeah I'm with you on this blog. It's so cool.

@Hank Scorpio: Mmmmm French Dips are the best. There is a family-owned joint near my house call "The Hometowne Grill" and the owner is European and this guy knows how to cook. For French Dips, you don't get the thinly sliced 3 oz of cat food you get at fast-food joints, this guy puts a fricking cow on your bread. He also serves REAL MASHED RED POTATOES for the hot roast beef sandwiches. This guy rocks! You don't leave hungry.

Perhaps a bowl of today's soup du jour would make you feel better? :)

But yeah, what the OP actually received looks more appetizing than the snapshot of the menu here. It must be an old menu.

[2.bp.blogspot.com]

I know there is some controversy over this word however it's meaning is "stingy" or "miserly" and it also means "meanly or ungenerously small or scanty: a niggardly tip to a waiter."

It also means to act like a niggard

It's a racially motivated word to covertly describe another race.

He's a damn idiot and this should be removed as an article.

@thesadtomato: I keep doing that! Usually menus have that too.

Phillipe, who 'invented' the French Dip worked in Buffalo before moving to LA, and obviously brought the idea for the sandwich with him.

@winstonthorne:

ummm the Ruby Tuesdays that I've been may have been more expencive, but they were dirty and the food was ick. They served us a grilled cheese for the kids with large amounts of green mold all over the bread.

@missdona: It's a French baguette sliced and accommodates lovely and generous amounts of roasted beef. And it should always come with wonderful au jus sauce for dipping.

@Radi0logy:

Freedon dip sandwich with freedom fries and coffee expelled from a freedom press.

I didn't even know "French Dip" bread existed. Is it French Bread? Is it a dippable-roll of some sort? I'm confused.

Meat is good. I'm a proud member of P.E.T.A (People Eating Tasty Animals.)

Also that could be a cute nickname for Glenn Beck.

(disclaimer: Chicken Soup hasn't been proven by the FDA, CDA, and the ADA, to cure anything. This is just my opinion and my sarcasm responding to Radi0logy's comment above.)

@Digitizer: How right you are, sir! My, I have just been so spoiled and self-righteous to expect companies to deliver on what they advertise. Never again will I ask for cheese on my pizza, just because the picture shows it. Never again will I expect that the car I buy is blue, just because the picture shows it. Thank you for opening my eyes to my self-centered ways.

I remember my very first french dip sandwich. I was about 8 and my mom and grandma forced me to go to a real "grown up" restaurant, i.e., no kids' menu, heck, it didn't even have burgers, hot dogs, or fries! The closest thing to kid food was the french dip sandwich. It looked gross to me, but god did it taste awesome!

Carnivores...er, omnivores 4 lyfe!!

@Brazell: It's awesome!

i follow a guy's blog out of NYC who only blogs about eggs benedict in the city he eats. It is his weekend task every week. I looooove eggs benedict so I find this valuable.

Now I have a crush on French Dip.

@katstermonster: @yentaleh: French dip sandwiches, above all else, are great if you love meat. You must, must enjoy meat because that is all there is in this sandwich. It's bread and meat. No vegetables or anything else. Meat sandwiches dipped in au jus = lovely.

Big Boy, Shoney's, Bob Evans, etc.

Quite frankly, I assumed the OP was, and did. And it didn't make any difference - the sandwich sucked.

French dip sandwiches are great if you are sick. The bread softens because of the au ju and the meat just melts in your mouth. Very delicious indeed. (Plus I made extra au ju so my son who has a horrible cold could get the nourishment from the broth. It worked and he's feeling alot better.)

@Brazell: Are you kidding? That was the best part!

@Digitizer: You shouldn't complain if you walk to the parking lot today and your car is missing a door. There are families in third world countries who have no transportation except their legs. You're so selfish for having legs and a car.

If I ordered a pepperoni pizza and they gave me a mushroom pizza, because they were out of pepperoni, I would surely complain - this has nothing to do with the third world.

There are certainly problems in the world, people go hungry, individuals lack healthcare. That doesn't mean someone can't register a complaint about a sandwich they received. I mean, I would assume based on your tone that you never eat out, and eat the least expensive possible options and donate the rest to the third world? I would hope you're posting from a public library, as it would simply be unjust to have a cable internet connection when so many in the third world lack basic dial-up access to the internets.

@Brazell: I love French Dip sandwiches as well, though I've yet to have a truly spectacular one. One day.

@Brazell: I agree!!

I hope I'm not.