What happened to great restaurants like Ponderosa Steak house?

Precious Roy wrote:

Thanks to Foodnetwork, the internet and the whole foodie thing, no one goes to eat garbage at places like Sizzler anymore.

and yet Americans are more unhealthy and fatter than ever before. Thanks, Food Network!

Now the trendy thing to do is go eat and drink at a “brewing company.”

Along with door dash and Uber eats deterring families from going out at all.

Diners still do ok because old people like the cheap food.

I think it’s because Americans like to get drunk when they eat. And now with social media, it’s cool to post getting drunk . The old school diners Don’t really have that option.

But, I used to live near an ihop that sold beer and wine.

I think Tim Hortons up north is pretty popular. Along with steak and shake.

Big Boy used to be a huge sponsor of road races in Detroit. For a while, they sponsored a 10K at the Pontiac Silverdome, and then for years supported a weekly series in the suburbs of 1, 2, 3, and 4 mile races. Those were some fast times and the Thursday night Big Boy races were the place to be during the month of July.

They would give out restaurant gift certificates if you completed all the events, and I still have a gold Big Boy watch somewhere in a drawer that I got for winning my age group one year.

So much competition, limited menus, the quality of the steaks are not great because they have to keep the prices competitive, dated "family" themes.

It's too bad, because I think there could and should be a place for some of those places, the meals IMO are better and healthier than a lot of the fast food places today. Those places were geared more toward a family outing where you were not in a huge "hurry", you sit down and take your time. A lot of places now, the "fast casual", you grab it on the go or maybe take 1/2 hour tops sitting and eating

It's possible some of them make a "comeback", but they'd require a "rethink".

There are many other defunct, "blast from the past" places like that. My personal favorite was "Heap Big Beef", LOL!

It was a fast food place that served hot roast beef sandwiches and fries, and it was actually very good.

No joke, a "Native American" theme with a guy in a real "headdress", and an "A framed" structure that was meant to resemble a "Teepee"! Obviously, a place with a catastrophic name and theme like that would be a non starter today, I think they were only in business from the mid sixties to around the mid seventies. They are definitely not staging a comeback!

Man I miss some of these restaurants. The Sizzler was one of my favorite places a kid in CA. Then I moved to MA and we had Ponderosa.

I agree, in the 90s Applebee's was amazing while I was in high school. Last time I went was in the 2000s and it wasn't great. Ruby Tuesday's was always great, but I haven't been since 2011 or so.

As an aside, Discovery Zone was the best too.

Another one I miss was Old Country Buffet! Everyone says the food wasn't great but I always liked it.

Western Sizzlin' had a great breakfast buffet. When we traveled we would eat a late breakfast there and then skip lunch. Chili's used to be really good, too.

During my sports betting years I would leave Las Vegas every summer for 3 months to escape the 115 degree unvarying furnace heat. Invariably I'd gain 20+ pounds on the trip and much of it was due to Ponderosa and its sister steakhouse called Bonanza.

Great times. In particular I remember eating at Ponderosa in the Capital Region while attending Saratoga. I'd play golf in the morning at either Van Patten or Spa, attend the track in the afternoon, then hit Ponderosa.

Like that car dealership commercial I got Huuuu-ga

investing noob wrote:

Another one I miss was Old Country Buffet! Everyone says the food wasn't great but I always liked it.

I always worried that I was not going to make home before my bowels emptied.

In college used to treat myself to the all you can eat buffet after finals. Catch up on vegetables with a couple big plates of salad with the fixins. Thick warm toast and good enough steak with thick fries. Sometimes the buffet included king crab legs. Plenty of cafeteria style drinks. Dessert. Felt like a human being again.

State Sales taxes ate up the profits and they folded up.

There is most definitely one on University in Provo, Utah still in existence. I know because I just stayed near it on my way through town Saturday night.

Jagic Mohnson wrote:

Big Boy is still going strong in my area.

Unfortunately the Elby's Big Boy Classic in Wheeling is no longer going strong. Tough hilly 20K with winners such as Bill Rodgers. Excellent Memorial Day event. Entirely downhill final mile that was always run as a race on Friday night. Sub-4s were common.

Come to think of it there's one in Flagstaff too!

For us older folks, there was also Bonanza Steakhouse. Eventually Bonanza and Ponderosa merged. Now from what I have researched, only 4 remain.

Perkins is alive and well in the midwest and also in Florida.

But I'll take the Cracker Barrel any day of the week!