Do you have a "place"?

[Toolulu22]

Sadly? It's Chili's. The only chain we like. We used to go 1-2/week when my kids were small and ate off the kids menu. We could get full meals, beer, and entertainment for under $40 with tip.

Anyway, the waitress we love knows us. We sit in the bar area so my kids can watch sports. She has our drinks in front of us almost immediately, and the chips/salsa follow right there after.

One of my kids orders the same thing each time (southern smokehouse burger, no tomato and a Cherry Fanta) - she just says "your usual? (When he was a kid, it was the grilled chicken platter, side salad with ranch)

She knows I am a vegetarian and lets me modify till my heart is content.

We went to another restaurant recently and there was a waitress there that said "hey, don't you guys go to the Chili's in XX a lot?" She used to work there and remembered us and our order.

We like it - feels homey. I can go there on a bad day and know I am going to be taken care of.

That's not sad! If you are enjoying things and it works, then there is nothing wrong with Chilis! My husband and I enjoy eating out at least once per week, sometimes more- and we look forward to not having to prep and cook a meal, and having an adult beverage. We love nicer places, but within two-three miles of where we live there are an Outback, a Cheesecake Factory, and a Fridays that we go to regularly enough to know the usual staff - also an On the Border that we visit less often (but often enough that the bartender welcomes us). The Fridays in particular is really good- we've been to others and this one has great service and food above and beyond others. We've been going there regularly for about 14 years and watched staff change over that time, but they have been consistently good and stay for a long time. Same with Cheesecake. Both chains offer good benefits to the staff, so they have incentive to stick around.

We know the menus at these places and like to sit at the bar, order quickly, watch TV and eat. We get to know the bartenders/servers at each place. It's nice because they will ask if we want xyz (the usual drinks), will sometimes comp us a drink or appetizer, don't charge for extras, and we tip them well for good service. More so, they share things about their lives, which is nice too. They are our "neighborhood" restaurants, even though we live in a busy suburb. The fancy/expensive places are a great treat, but the usual places are just fine as long as you get a meal that you enjoy.

Its funny that you mentioned that about the server who moved to a different restaurant and recognized your family. That's happened to us as well! lol

 

[Toolulu22]

That was a Sex and the City story. The Chinese Restaurant where they knew Miranda’s order just by her voice...

I think they store phone numbers, because our Chinese restaurant knows our information when we call as well. Same as the dry cleaner.

 

[BrinkofSunshine]

Yep, a little general store/cafe in my neighborhood. It’s only a couple blocks away so I’ll walk or bike there. They all know my usual order and sometimes the owner will throw in little freebies for me. They’re great.

 

[dominiondad]

Yes, we are going there tonight. The manager will come over and hug us when we arrive. Several servers will come over to the table to say hi, even if it isn't our table. The know what our drink order will be and how we like our food (sushi). The crazy part is that the place is packed and they treat almost everybody this way. Amazing food, people, and service.

 

[Magical2017]

Yes. We have a pool membership and we call it our summer family. YDS has had many of his birthday parties there. I am bummed that it closes after Labor Day.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

Me too. I would get annoyed being known as predictable. And I order different things depending on my mood. For example, I’d hate “Sally” rushing toward me with an Absolut Bloody Mary with chipotle Tabasco when I wanted a Grey Goose martini filthy with 3 olives.

I am 100% positive that IF one of us wanted something else other than our usual drink, she would not hesitate to get it for us. This place doesn't sell alcohol, and it's not exactly rocket science for her to remember that our kids like sprite and lemonade.

We've moved around a lot, mostly to places that seem to have the same families living in the same town for generations and we are always the outsiders. We've had our share of being anonymous...I like that at least *someone* out there knows us enough to be predictable!

 

[luvsJack]

I was reared in an area where there were 2 or 3 catfish places which were known as “fish camps”. Most are gone now, replaced by chains such as Red Lobster and Bonefish Grill. But the memories of that delicious fried fish, shrimp and scallops and hush puppies linger on 50 years later...

Yep! We have a very popular local place that has been in business for over 55 years (we have pictures of my family there when I was a baby) and its still called a "fish camp". Big plates of fried catfish and/or shrimp brought out with bowls of homemade cole slaw, beans and hushpuppies for everyone to share. Yummmy!

 

[tcufrog]

When DS12 was a baby there was a great Japanese restaurant near my DH’s office. I sometimes would meet him for lunch, starting when I was pregnant. When our son was born, the ladies there would scoop him up as soon as we arrived and carry him around to say hi to the kitchen staff, sushi chefs. They loved it and we were able eat lunch together without hiring a sitter.

 

[Diznygrl]

No, I don't go to any restaurant nearly often enough to be recognized. I'm ok with that.

 

[Kaleidodad]

I have a little hole-in-the-wall family-run Chinese beef noodle place right across the street from my work, and they always know my order. "Same thing?" "Yep!" One time I had forgotten my wallet, and they just said no problem, make it up next time. Love those guys.

 

[willowsnn3]

The library, lol.

 

[DietCoke18]

This makes me think of my great uncle. His son told us that he went to his favorite bar and as soon as he sat down he had a beer and a hot dog.

 

[Kitty 34]

Yes, I have two.....the surgical unit at the hospital where I get my infusions weekly (great, great people!!) and my local casino. It's like Cheers.....they all know my name.

eta.......and here

 

[cedricandsophie]

We live outside Chicago and frequent a local Mexican place. They know our drinks, and we rarely need menus, we love the owner and servers and have invited the owner to our home for Christmas dinner, I love that feeling of family and community

 

[AustinTink]

Yep, our favorite Mexican restaurant. Hubby and I sit in the bar area on our date nights. The waitress knows to bring me a swirl margarita and a strawberry banana margarita for my husband. She looked perplexed/worried/bummed the other day when I ordered iced tea. It did not compute.

 

[starry_solo]

The local In-N-Out!

 

[low-key]

In My 20,s I frequented a bar called "the bucket shop" everyone knew me, I called them "Jasons people", but now that I am an old guy, this is my place

 

[Nora03]

Not a restaurant, but years ago our local movie rental shop. It wasn’t a chain, but family owned, and we rented movies every weekend. They greeted us by name and always had what we wanted. They gave us gifts at Christmas, coffee mugs filled with candy. It was sad when they closed.

 

[holden]

We have one too...it's a family owned Mexican restaurant not far from our house. It's our "go to" place and the people there are wonderful!

 

[QueenIsabella]

Yes! Ours is a ranch that we go to every summer, and stay for a week. This year was our 23rd year. Many of the staff have been there for as long as we've been going. We usually get the same room every year, and we get some perks along the way. For example, the owners also own a nearby water park--not only did they comp us admission, but they comped us a cabana and all we could eat. This year, we had friends passing through the area, and they let them have lunch and enjoy the facilities with us, free of charge. The facilities director plays poker with us (we use M&M's as chips), and the maitre d' has forbade our DD24 from ever dating. In return, we over-tip (tipping is included, but we leave extra), gave the facilities director a nice bottle of wine, and last year, my DD24 had just returned from a trip to Cuba. We handed out Cuban cigars to a lot of the regulars.