Worst meal you ever ate in a restaurant

I did a little searching, but sorry if this has been done before.

I'd have to say it was a tie.

Applebee's circa 1998. I had the fajitas and they were completely awful.

And Chi Chi's around 2000 I had the seafood enchiladas and they were similarly brutal.

I ordered Chiles Rellenos at Chi Chi's once and got diced sweet green peppers and mozzarella cheese in a deep fried won ton wrapper! I was served homemade headcheese as a guest at a restaurant owners family Christmas dinner and I had a devil of a time smiling and swallowing something that just didn't want to go down. My last (out of two visits) meal 15 years ago or so at Red Lobster found me in the center of some cross room ninos' crying contest with me as a judge. But I think the all around worst meal was at a Bonanza or Ponderosa luncheon where maybe 5 medium rare rib eye steak sandwiches proved inedible. Or perhaps the lunch at a historic hotel in downtown West Bend when the waitress took objection to my complaint that my hamburger was ice cold and shortly after whisking it away, she sort of threw it back down in front of meal having nuked the platter containing not only my burger, my french fries but also the pickles, cole slaw and lettuce too! I almost cracked a tooth at a long defunct restaurant on Hwy 41 that found the center of my lasagna frozen as solid as an ice cube.

If it was too bad to eat does it count? Or do I have to have eaten it?

I took one bite and dumped the rest into the trash container by the door. Terrible is being generous.

http://www.bar-b-qjacks.com/home.nxg

Tony Roma's BBQ in Victorville, CA. We used to go at least once a month when we lived in the area. (1990's). Last time we were there we were served bad (spoiled) pork ribs. When I turned them back they brought me another order...also spoiled. Manager refused to acknowledge the bad meat, saying "they all smell like that". He also refused to comp the meal that I did not eat.
We have not stepped into a Tony Roma's anywhere in the country since.

Round Table pizza, in California. I had to throw it out, after paying 11 bucks.

While living in Sheboygan,we tried a small but popular custard stand for dinner.I ordered the fish sandwich, Bob a cheeseburger.We took the food home and at first bite of the fish-two things stood out-ice cold and a rather funky texture.Threw it to my dogs and all they would eat was the bun.Bobs burger was cold, dry and tasteless, despite theketchuo, mustard, lettuce tomatoes and cheese.Didnt bother calling to complain, and certainly did not return.

We went out to eat at a local place called Ramsey's and my mother got bloody chicken livers and I got a hamburger with a huge piece of mold on the tomato.

Andrea

Lambert's in Sikeston, MO. The worst by a mile.

quote:

Originally posted by Pigiron

Lambert's in Sikeston, MO. The worst by a mile.

What was wrong? We visited Lambert's while on a youth group trip to a CIY conference... I think there were about 95 of us, we called ahead of time to let them know we were coming, and they handled us no problem. I don't remember the food being particularly bad or good (I was battling an eating disorder at the time, so food in general and I didn't get along ) but I do remember the "Throwed Rolls" they're famous for. I'm curious - what made your visit so bad?

A Prime Rib meal from Bennigan's.

quote:

Originally posted by angeltearsmc

quote:

Originally posted by Pigiron

Lambert's in Sikeston, MO. The worst by a mile.

What was wrong? We visited Lambert's while on a youth group trip to a CIY conference... I think there were about 95 of us, we called ahead of time to let them know we were coming, and they handled us no problem. I don't remember the food being particularly bad or good (I was battling an eating disorder at the time, so food in general and I didn't get along ) but I do remember the "Throwed Rolls" they're famous for. I'm curious - what made your visit so bad?

I wrote about the dreadful mealt I ate at Lambert's here:

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=13523

Au Pied du Cochon, Georgetown. The place is now closed, was completely gutted and turned into a Five Guys...thank god, that place was a roach motel and the food was terrible.

When my first wife and I moved from Chicago to San Diego, we took the 3 kids out for our first restaurant meal in San Diego. We'd been in town for just a couple days. Went to a high-line Mexican restaurant in Seaport Village (right on San Diego Bay) called Papagayo's. I think it means parrot or something.

Our 2 boys didn't want to eat because of all the distractions....games, souvenir shops, a magic shop, ice cream, popcorn, etc., so they wandered around while my ex, daughter and I went in to Papagayo's. Don't recall what we each ordered, but with each dish came a complimentary burrito. My daughter didn't want hers, so I also downed hers. BIG, BIG MISTAKE!!

My ex had the runs for a week. I had them for 2 weeks. Went to the E.R., then to some doctors and they couldn't find anything to stop it. Tried everything from charcoal tablets to prescriptions. Don't know if I've ever been so miserable....except maybe when I had my hemis carved off by a crazy Chinese proctologist. Whoops. Too much information.

quote:

Originally posted by Pigiron

Lambert's in Sikeston, MO. The worst by a mile.

Wow, I really like Lambert's -- have been there at least a dozen times over the years. Their chicken fried steak is good, and I enjoy some of the sides (not the macaroni and tomatoes). No, it's not the best country style food in the country, but I've always thought it was good.

I think this post of mine on alt.food.barbecue almost exactly a year ago pretty well sums it up!

The wife and I went to local, so-called "BBQ" restaurant tonight in
Canton, Ohio, called Hog Heaven. Their "claim to fame" is, as they put
it, "authentic BBQ". The wife, who is as pretty as she is sweet
(Sweeter than the crap they tried to pass off as BBQ sauce!), had
gotten me a gift certificate for Christmas to the joint, knowing how
much I'd enjoy real BBQ. OK- enough chit-chat- They had several
specials tonight- 2 of which were a full rack of ribs (12 bones) w/ no
sides for $10, and a skewer of 5 shrimp for $1.50. I ordered the full
rack dry, w/ sauce on the side- I asked for the least sweet sauce they
had, and a skewer of shrimp. My wife got the ribs (6 bones) and
brisket combo.

Geez- where do I start?! My ribs were about as bland as "par-boiled"
mush w/ no butter or syrup- I'm pretty sure their journey to the table
began in boiling water, and then on to an oven, until they were
"falling off the bone" tender, at which point they normally would have
been slathered with sickeningly sweet sauce, and grilled for a few
minutes. I think they would have actually been better with the sweet
sauce- the bones probably had more, and better flavor! On to the
wife's brisket- it was very odd looking, and tasted like "medicine"-
which I contribute to the probable use of liquid smoke. My wife
couldn't stand it, and after tasting it, I couldn't blame her. We said
something to our server, and she replaced the brisket with what they
called "pulled pork". Geez- it just doesn't get any better. While the
pulled pork didn't have a bad taste, it lacked any bold and smoke
flavor whatsoever! It tasted like it had been cooked in an oven
instead of a pit. It reminded me of mom's Sunday dinners years ago,
when she'd make roast pork- except her dinners were much better. Next-
the skewer of shrimp. I chose the spicy garlic sauce, which was
actually not bad. However, the shrimp were grilled for way too long.
They were chewy and rubbery! Damn- can this place get anything right?!
The appetizer we ordered was their nachos w/ roast pork- uh, I mean
pulled pork (Yea- right). The "cheese" on it was of the "processed"
variety, similar to the taste of a rough night of partying coming back
up- not that I'd know anything about that, of course!

When I said something to our server about the food tasting nothing
like real BBQ, she admitted that they DID NOT EVEN HAVE A PIT, and
that everything was "cooked" in the oven, and then grilled for the
last few minutes, with the exception of their brisket, which never
even made it to the grill! Our server said something to the manager,
who took a whopping $3.47 off of our $50.00 bill, due to our
"dissatisfaction"! Gee, thanks!

Both times..Applebee's. Never again...

Another bad one comes to memory-Houlihans.They kept my salad under the WARMER while waiting for the rest of the table's meal.I almost lost it when I took my first bite..

Stopped late at night at a (don't gag) Cracker Barrel in Las Cruces, NM.

It was half way between Dallas and Los Angeles and I was driving.

I ordered the special of the night which was some sort of pork roast.

One bite and left the rest. I think the chef spilled the salt shaker in the pot.

quote:

Originally posted by mar52

Stopped late at night at a (don't gag) Cracker Barrel in Las Cruces, NM.

It was half way between Dallas and Los Angeles and I was driving.

I ordered the special of the night which was some sort of pork roast.

One bite and left the rest. I think the chef spilled the salt shaker in the pot.

There seems to be a lot of "dislike" on the these forums for Cracker Barrel, and I really don't understand why. Sure, you're not going to get an "out of this world" meal, and there will never be a review of CB from the Stearns, but they sure do serve some good food! A friend of my wife's used to work at CB, and darn near everything was homemade from scratch. They had an employee whose main job was to come in and peel potatoes- no "boxed spuds"! Of course, with chains, experiences can differ greatly from location to location. However, we've always enjoyed our meals at CB- esp the country fried steak- my favorite meal there!

Never had a meal at CB that was above average-would rather frequent local,small town places.Sorry-IMO, just not good,despite the "efforts"

quote:

Originally posted by annpeeples

Never had a meal at CB that was above average-would rather frequent local,small town places.Sorry-IMO, just not good,despite the "efforts"

Hey- no need to apologize! I agree- on the average, those local, small town places will be better by far! The reason my wife and I prefer CB may be due to the lack of local small town joints in our area! There have been many over the years- I've actually made the desserts for a few of them, but unfortunately, most, if not all of them, have come and gone so fast, that you cannot keep track of them!

Bbqjimbob-I understand-while living in Sheboygan,Wi.there were so few places to frequent that Perkins Restaurant became a regular routine.Sure, there were a few Mom and Pop places, but you can only have so many burgers or brats...

Went to a restaurant in Oxnard,Cal. The Quarterdeck, I'll never forget it, ordered Shrimp coctail app., it came out of the kitchen smelling so rancid, putrid, rotten, I was astonished. I left.

I'm 60 and am happily living with my 4th wife; i.e., I know disappointment.

Within the past year we have had "gaggable" meals at our local outposts of TGI Fridays, Texas Roadhouse, Ruby Tuesday's, and Romano's Macaroni Grill.

The Hell of it is that we enjoyed meals at these chains for the years that we lived in Northern Virginia (D.C.). We moved to McKinney, TX (Dallas) three years ago and the Dallas iterations of these joints stink out loud.

The only thing I can figure - as I know all these chains have "corporate chefs" and "corporate kitchens" - is that the locals augment/ignore the recipes on the theory that more is better. One can add salt to a dish; one cannot remove it. The same can be said for tarragon, garlic, basil, and cream (not to mention using the same fry oil for everything on the menu).

Don't get me wrong. The finest restaurants in Dallas are second only to NYC in the US, but the "casual dining" joints suck.

Remembered another on the way home today.

Benny's BBQ in Marina del Rey.

Ordered the barbecued beef tips.

Couldn't even bite through them.

Felt as if they scraped up what was left in the holding cell and filled my plate.

Yesterday I had one of the worst lunches I ever had,It was supposed to be Country Style Steak.What it was ,A processed Mystery meat patty.A two oz.serving of instant Mashed Potatoes,Green Beans.The Gravy that was served with the meat tasted like some one poured a box of salt in it and the rolls were fresh out of the microwave.Never again.

1 - Pizza at the Charlotte airport. Went right into the trash.

2 - Any non breakfast item I've had at Cracker Barrel (breakfast is mediocre at best, but not terrible).

On June 8, 2006, after a trip to New England I decided to stop for lunch in downtown Newburgh, New York, right off of I-84 between Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The restaurant I decided to try was called Jimmy's (IIRC the street number is 285), and I made the mistake of ordering a reuben sandwich, when I thought I was getting a corned beef on rye, probably since actor Paul Reuben of Pee Wee Herman fame was born somewhere nearby. I had a lot on my mind that day--another item was the fact that al-Zarqawi (or however you spelled the Jordanian's name) had just been killed in the War on Terror (a good thing!). When I got it I was dodging the sauerkraut (I can't stand the taste), and they let me have the $5.25 sandwich for only $4. I eventually found a big grocery store at the first Pennsylvania exit that had a deli.

(Question: Why is this on the chains forum?)

quote:

Originally posted by bbqjimbob

I think this post of mine on alt.food.barbecue almost exactly a year ago pretty well sums it up!

The wife and I went to local, so-called "BBQ" restaurant tonight in
Canton, Ohio, called Hog Heaven. Their "claim to fame" is, as they put
it, "authentic BBQ". The wife, who is as pretty as she is sweet
(Sweeter than the crap they tried to pass off as BBQ sauce!), had
gotten me a gift certificate for Christmas to the joint, knowing how
much I'd enjoy real BBQ. OK- enough chit-chat- They had several
specials tonight- 2 of which were a full rack of ribs (12 bones) w/ no
sides for $10, and a skewer of 5 shrimp for $1.50. I ordered the full
rack dry, w/ sauce on the side- I asked for the least sweet sauce they
had, and a skewer of shrimp. My wife got the ribs (6 bones) and
brisket combo.

Geez- where do I start?! My ribs were about as bland as "par-boiled"
mush w/ no butter or syrup- I'm pretty sure their journey to the table
began in boiling water, and then on to an oven, until they were
"falling off the bone" tender, at which point they normally would have
been slathered with sickeningly sweet sauce, and grilled for a few
minutes. I think they would have actually been better with the sweet
sauce- the bones probably had more, and better flavor! On to the
wife's brisket- it was very odd looking, and tasted like "medicine"-
which I contribute to the probable use of liquid smoke. My wife
couldn't stand it, and after tasting it, I couldn't blame her. We said
something to our server, and she replaced the brisket with what they
called "pulled pork". Geez- it just doesn't get any better. While the
pulled pork didn't have a bad taste, it lacked any bold and smoke
flavor whatsoever! It tasted like it had been cooked in an oven
instead of a pit. It reminded me of mom's Sunday dinners years ago,
when she'd make roast pork- except her dinners were much better. Next-
the skewer of shrimp. I chose the spicy garlic sauce, which was
actually not bad. However, the shrimp were grilled for way too long.
They were chewy and rubbery! Damn- can this place get anything right?!
The appetizer we ordered was their nachos w/ roast pork- uh, I mean
pulled pork (Yea- right). The "cheese" on it was of the "processed"
variety, similar to the taste of a rough night of partying coming back
up- not that I'd know anything about that, of course!

When I said something to our server about the food tasting nothing
like real BBQ, she admitted that they DID NOT EVEN HAVE A PIT, and
that everything was "cooked" in the oven, and then grilled for the
last few minutes, with the exception of their brisket, which never
even made it to the grill! Our server said something to the manager,
who took a whopping $3.47 off of our $50.00 bill, due to our
"dissatisfaction"! Gee, thanks!

Wow! That is hard to top, so I won't even try.

But it did remind me of a dreadful meal I had three years ago in the vicinity of Canton, OH. Growing up in New Wilmington, PA - which is just across the state line from Youngstown-Akron-Canton - it was always a treat to go over to Niles, OH and enjoy a meal at Alberini's (http://www.alberinis.com/). I always knew it to be a wonderful steak and seafood restaurant, so on the occasion of my mother's 80th. birthday we flew up and took her there "for old times sake". It was a disaster!

Like the ersatz "authentic BBQ" above, Alberini's now fancies itself to be a cutting edge Italian fine dining establishment. Yikes! Each of our entrees was lousy, but mine "took the cake": my "pan seared duck" was served pretty much as "canard tartare". Unpleasantness ensued as I returned it for the second time asking it simply to be served warm. The executive cook (I won't grant him his self-arrogated title of "chef") came out and opened up with "You don't know duck". As we maintain an apartment in Paris I assured him that indeed I did know "duck", critiqued the other two excreable entrees, tossed two ben's on the table and left.

As we had hardly eaten we stopped by the Inner Circle on our way home and enjoyed some excellent pizza and hot wings.