Better Wine at Macaroni Grill?

[Craig Camp]

"It used to be people were only very value-oriented," said Patrick Droesch, vice president of beverage for Brinker International Inc., which operates the Chili's and Romano's Macaroni Grill chains, among others. "Now ... they want to have a really good glass of wine and so they are looking for wines by the glass that may be more expensive."

[Brad Ballinger]

"It used to be people were only very value-oriented," said Patrick Droesch, vice president of beverage for Brinker International Inc., which operates the Chili's and Romano's Macaroni Grill chains, among others. "Now ... they want to have a really good glass of wine and so they are looking for wines by the glass that may be more expensive."

This statement bothers me, and there are a couple more like it in the article. Notice that Mr. Droesch doesn't mention anything about better wines or more food friendly wines. Rather, he assumes more expensive means better quality. And he assumes "value-oriented" to be a euphemism for "cheap." If these restaurants really want to train their staffs and educated their customers, they can start with the notion that more expensive doesn't always mean better.

[tommy]

that's a great point, brad. when i first started reading your post, i thought "oh boy, he's upset with the semantics". but you made your point well.

on a related note of trying to do the right thing but doing it all wrong, the Macaroni Grill really *does* send their "chefs" to Italy. when i was in Rome, i went, for some reason, to the Hard Rock Cafe, where i met a bunch of Macaroni Grill chefs. so yeah, they go to Italy alright. and hang out at the Hard Rock Cafe.

[Schneier]

You can't send a chef to Italy, but you can't make him...um...something.

[Carolyn Tillie]

Now if only they had better FOOD at Macaroni Grill....

[tommy]

my one visit to MG led me to believe that it's a step up from other chains. although that's not saying much.

edit: although, after looking at the menu online, i can't imagine what i would have found to order.

Edited February 3, 2004 by tommy (log)

[FlourPower]

I don't think the food's all that bad, especially when you consider the other (largely microwaved) options from other chains. My biggest beef with Macaroni Grill is their inconsistency. When I go there I find myself placing a wish instead of an order. Rarely do they get it right. We've gotten wrong items, cold sauces, wrong ingredients, etc.

[Carolyn Tillie]

My biggest complaint about the restaurant (and I have only eaten there twice) was the preponderance of salt -- to me, to the point of the food being inedible. To the chagrin of my boyfriend (who frequently will just 'grin-and-bear-it,' I sent back a dish, asking it be made with NO salt. It was still too salty (which tells me it comes from pre-made, packaged sauces or something like that).

[dlc]

My biggest complaint about the restaurant (and I have only eaten there twice) was the preponderance of salt -- to me, to the point of the food being inedible. To the chagrin of my boyfriend (who frequently will just 'grin-and-bear-it,' I sent back a dish, asking it be made with NO salt. It was still too salty (which tells me it comes from pre-made, packaged sauces or something like that).

Carolyn,

Don't you think that this is a common occurence in many Italian themed restaurants? Even some of our local small places have become so dependent on these overly salted prepared sauces that I have started to avoid them. I wonder if it is a function of cost, convenience or lack of quality help in the kitchen.