Perkins restaurant opening soon!

We are getting a Perkins here soon.....wondering from Roadfood readers if they are any good,what is good to order? Also, are they very pricey?

My experience with Perkins is that the service is extremely slow but the food is pretty good.

They did not do well in Knoxville, TN

Paul E. Smith
Knoxville, TN

About the only time I eat at Perkins is when I'm traveling on the interstate and want to exit, eat, and get going again; if I have the time I'll choose it over most FF places. Unremarkable but reliable food; I don't think I've ever had a memorable (good or bad) meal at one. However, when I was in college the hash browns would taste especially good in the wee hours of the morning.

Like others in that class (Denny's, Shoney's, Bakers Square, Village Inn, etc.) they do seem to be extremely popular on weekend mornings.

Brad

The only good thing I can say about Perkin's is that they seem to have the best training program in the food industry when it comes to teaching wait staff not to pay the slightest bit of attention to prospective diners. If you are not able to spend 40 quiet minutes waiting for your first visit from a waitperson then you must not be in a Perkin's.

Love their ham and cheese omelettes with hashbrowns. Gigantic muffins can be subbed for toast. Sandwiches are average, nothing exciting. Good place for kids.

We have one five minutes from my house and I haven't been in it for about 20 years. I always thought there desserts looked good, though.

We used to have Perkins here in Syracuse NY, but they replaced them with Denny's. Used to go there late nights after the bars back in the days. Was very good.

There was a major fire at the Perkins on the east side of Louisville, just off I-64. Apparently a smoker dropped his/her cigarette into the wood mulch that was packed around the plants on the outside of the restaurant. The Mulch burned and took most of the building with it, during the 'dinner rush'. No injuries but major damage to the structure and the TV coverage had some rather spectacular footage of huge flames shooting up from the roof of the place. I thought that it was a chimney-grease fire from the appearance on TV, but they traced the source to the butt of the cigarette. (Maybe a DNA test will place the guilty party in custody??)

Perkins was the first place I remember that had bread bowl soups. Not bad back then.
The last Perkins I went to was in Fredonia, NY. It was late, service was excruciatingly slow and the food was good. Well, it was good for 3am after several drinks at Old Main, Caboose and other places that I barely remember from my early 20's when visiting my girlfriend (now my wife) in college.
I don't think I'd go there sober.

I don't believe I've ever been to Perkins when I wasn't hung over. They're excellent for that, though! I agree with Brad_Olson, they're very much like Denny's, except with a bigger selection. Kinda similar to Big Boy, now that I think about it.

Their sausage gravy is perfectly awful if you've ever had it south of the Mason-Dixon, though.

quote:

Originally posted by felix4067

Kinda similar to Big Boy, now that I think about it.

welp, that does it for me. I can never go to Perkins again.

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader

quote:

Originally posted by felix4067

Kinda similar to Big Boy, now that I think about it.

welp, that does it for me. I can never go to Perkins again.

Where I come from, Big Boy isn't awful. In fact, it's better than a lot of similar choices, including Perkins.

I hate Perkins, but it has nothing to do with the food.

I work in a building right behind the Perkins that is right off the interstate. In the morning when I am going to work, there's always 1-2 cars in front of me who are going to Perkins. They are not on a schedule & are the type of driver my mother refers to as 'sightseers', they honestly do not realize other cars might have somewhere to be.

The food is not something I would write home about, but my mother swears by their potato pancakes.

quote:

Originally posted by felix4067

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader

quote:

Originally posted by felix4067

Kinda similar to Big Boy, now that I think about it.

welp, that does it for me. I can never go to Perkins again.

Where I come from, Big Boy isn't awful. In fact, it's better than a lot of similar choices, including Perkins.

I worked for Big Boy. I've spoken about it in other threads. But that's where my dislike of Big Boy stems from.

breakfasts are acceptable. The muffins are the real standout. Huge and very good. We sometimes just stop by to buy a half dozen for takeout.

We had two of them in Wilmington,They lasted a year.They did have a decent breakfast.

quote:

Originally posted by felix4067

quote:

Originally posted by Scorereader

quote:

Originally posted by felix4067

Kinda similar to Big Boy, now that I think about it.

welp, that does it for me. I can never go to Perkins again.

Where I come from, Big Boy isn't awful. In fact, it's better than a lot of similar choices, including Perkins.

Me too. I can't stand Perkins; one of the few places I've ever gotten ill from the food.

Frisch's Big Boy is another matter. I like it a lot.

There is one that shares the parking lot of the hotel we stay at when visiting the in-laws. I've only had breakfast there a few times and it's been ok. I like their potato pancakes too, not to many places have them on the menu.

We like them, decent omelets and I love their pancakes.

MikeS.

quote:

Originally posted by stricken_detective

I hate Perkins, but it has nothing to do with the food.

I work in a building right behind the Perkins that is right off the interstate. In the morning when I am going to work, there's always 1-2 cars in front of me who are going to Perkins. They are not on a schedule & are the type of driver my mother refers to as 'sightseers', they honestly do not realize other cars might have somewhere to be.

The food is not something I would write home about, but my mother swears by their potato pancakes.

Their potato pancakes are OK, but that's about all I dare to eat from their menu. There's a Perkins about a ten minute drive from my place, and I don't think I've ever been in there when it took less than 20-30 minutes to get a menu from the time I walked in the door. To say the joint is the finest example of inefficiency is a major understatement.

I would recommend the nearest WAFFLE house

Originally posted by lindsey

We are getting a Perkins here soon.....wondering from Roadfood readers if they are any good,what is good to order? Also, are they very pricey?
The Perkins at Cocoa Beach,FL closed a few months ago-not a good sign-I never ate there though.

quote:

Originally posted by V960

I would recommend the nearest WAFFLE house

For me, that's approximately 250 miles. Perkins, on the other hand, is approximately 2 miles. Not really a hard choice.

So basically, their sandwiches, burgers, fries, etc. are no good? The only good things I have heard about them, if any, are the muffins and breakfasts??

I go to perkins at least twice a month. we go at the same time we sit at the same booth and get the same waitress, so we get pretty fast service. Most of their food is good. I like their patty melts, and I usually get the appetizer sampler. I don't like their pie that much. Their prices went up quite a bit.

quote:

Originally posted by felix4067

quote:

Originally posted by V960

I would recommend the nearest WAFFLE house

For me, that's approximately 250 miles. Perkins, on the other hand, is approximately 2 miles. Not really a hard choice.

I'd go the 250 miles.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

quote:

Originally posted by felix4067

quote:

Originally posted by V960

I would recommend the nearest WAFFLE house

For me, that's approximately 250 miles. Perkins, on the other hand, is approximately 2 miles. Not really a hard choice.

I'd go the 250 miles.

For something truly good...yeah. Waffle House? Meh. That's somewhere I eat when I'm where they are, not a Roadfood destination.

Actually, I was thinking that driving 250 miles in order to avoid a Perkins would be a good idea.

to me its a little better than dennys but not as good as cracker barrel

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Hoffman

Actually, I was thinking that driving 250 miles in order to avoid a Perkins would be a good idea.

ROFLMAO!!! Yeah, ok...that works for me.