How come PF Changs doesn't get the same contempt from some DUers that Olive Garden does?

I mean, if you are going to criticize a mid-level American chain food restaraunt serving supposedly foreign cuisine, shouldn't they all be put up to the same bar of criticism?

Olive Garden is ubiquitous; PF Chang's not as much.

is that they have a gluten free menu, which my boss loves.

I think half the people bashing it don't realize that it all started as a way to bash a particular DUer, not Olive Garden.

But thanks for bringing it up. Now we'll have PF Chang wars.

:)

smoking and talking on the cell phone while breastfeeding.
:rofl:


Oops, sorry. I tried to stop but couldn't. Threads about Olive Garden just seem to bring out the beast in all of us.
:hug:

Kind of an inexplicable move, given that there are hundreds of cool restaurants within a ten minute walk, but, hey, it's not my decision.

Somehow this became a scandal of narwhalian proportions

Classic!

:rofl:

I'm going to start using that in everyday conversation.

to somebody asking about restaurants in New York City.

I thought it was just the oddity of suggesting a chain you can visit anywhere to someone asking for recommenations of places to eat while traveling.

and the suggestion is to go to an Olive Garden? :wtf: I mean, it's not as if they were stuck in Bumfuck, Nebraskohoma or something.

SF has a ton of Restaurants, (many kinds of Asian foods. Korean, Thai, Malaysian, Japanese, Vietnamese, Laotian, Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Indonesian, and the list goes on and on.) You're going to tell me there is no good Chinese Restaurants in San Francisco?


You obviously have never been to many of the better Chinese Restaurants in this city. Wait..
this is a Joke right? I can't believe you made that statement.

:silly:

Tickled. :P

I've been meaning to get back there, actually...

:-)

I intended to post as a new thread to start a flame war. Maybe I should repost.

Which probably tells you more about downtown SJ than it does about PF Chang's. :P

Hint: read the whole subthread, and BTW there is no Clement St at the airport.
:D

:rofl:

I heard so many awesome things about it, and tried it, and was very underwhelmed.

Some of their dishes are good. OG, not so much.

I just got lucky. they opened a Changs 10 min from my work and another 10 from my house.

As a chain, it isn't half bad.

oh, and just for the hell of it, the one close to my house is right next to an Olive Garden.

:shrug:

But that aside, I don't think Olive Garden deserves the hatred it gets here. It's not HORRIBLE. Sure, just about any "real" Italian restaurant is going to be better, but that's not exactly an earth-shattering revelation, either. When is ANY chain superior to ANY locally-owned family-operated restaurant with original recipes?

But, if you don't happen to have a fabulous Italian restaurant in your town and you're craving a pasta dish, Olive Garden won't kill you.

I like Asian food and was anxious to try it, but even the egg roll was soggy. Wegman's Wokery is where I usually get my Chinese.

Too spicy. One bite and the heat creeps up on me and I'm in pain.

I've vaguely heard of PF Changs - never seen one, never eaten at one - before this thread, I'm not sure I knew they were a restaurant, much less what kind of food they serve.

(ignoring for the moment, the origin of the Olive Garden thing on DU)

Their lettuce wraps and ahi tuna are truly awesome.

Of course, now that I have a local source of saku tuna, I can make it at home for a whole lot less.

had to make fun of a poster who, when in New York *dared* to go to a restaurant she was familiar with and liked, instead of some hoity toity food snob, all the rage restaurant...

then people just ran with it...

that's what i remember anyway.

you don't have to be a snob to realize eating at chains on a short trip to NYC is sort of ridiculous. Plenty of great original good eating without having to go all "latest rage, hoity toity"

I never had a problem with her, but I thought recommending the Olive Garden for NYC dining was lame.

and honestly, I have NEVER taken so long to choose my meal.. There were very few entrees even offered, and yet it was impossible to choose.. They were all so OFF THE WALL

Cliff House historical pics
menu

I ended up ordering the caesar salad entree, since none of the dinner items sounded at all appetizing..

It was a BEAUTIFUL Place though and their gift shop was wonderful


Starters

$9.75
Three Endive Caesar Salad

anchovy lemon dressing, croutons, reggiano parmesan
$12.95
House Cured Smoked Salmon

lavender chive cream cheese, crisp lavosh
$11.75
Green Papaya & Shrimp Salad

carrot, mint, cilantro, roasted peanuts, nuoc cham vinaigrette
$11.75
Dungeness Crab & Andouille Sausage Gumbo

dirty rice, scallions
$14.50
Dungeness Crab "Sutro Roll"

chili garlic, unagi, avocado, tempura "crispies"
$15.75
Maine Lobster & Dungeness Crab Cakes

celery root horseradish salad, blood orange aioli, chive infused oil
$11.75
Organic Baby Arugula Salad & Serrano Ham

comice pear, pomegranate vinaigrette

Main Courses

$26.95
Apple Wood Bacon Crusted King Salmon

truffled potatoes, bloomsdale spinach, calvados broth, lemon oil
$28.50
Macadamia Nut Crusted Fluke

coconut broth, organic braising greens, pineapple chutney, chili oil
$29.75
Seared Day Boat Scallops

parsnip puree, uni butter, daikon & radish slaw
$27.75
Snake River Farms Kurobuta "Pork & Beans"

grilled chop, smoked belly, baked beans, baby iceberg, port-apple sauce
$28.75
Grilled Pacific Swordfish

dungeness crab & fingerling potato hash, chive butter, citrus gastrique
$32.75
Black & White Sesame Seared Ahi Tuna

teriyaki lentils, stir fried vegetables, marinated mushrooms
$38.00
Dry Aged Black Angus Prime Grade New York Steak

horseradish mashed potatoes, pt reyes blue cheese & watercress salad, syrah jus
$18.75
Chickpea & Herb Falafel

naan bread, hummus, tabouleh, tsatziki
$28.75
Seafood Bouillabaisse "Thai Style"

king prawns, dungeness crab, clams, scallops, red curry broth
$25.75
Roasted Rosie Organic Chicken Cassoulet

gigande beans, chicken apple sausage, leg confit, tarragon jus

Starters.

Bowl
Cup
$7.95
$5.95
Famous Cliff House Clam Chowder

$12.00
Half Dozen Local Oysters

lemon and cocktail sauce
$11.95
Half Dozen Poached Prawns

house-made cocktail sauce with horseradish
$8.95
Bay Shrimp Cocktail

$11.95
Dungeness Crab Cocktail

$8.75
Traditional French Onion Soup

topped with melted gruyere cheese
$10.95
Cliff House Potstickers

spicy chili-soy dipping sauce, scallions, cilantro
$11.50
Spicy Fried Calamari

house-made cocktail and tartar sauce
$12.45
Steamed Clams

thyme, garlic & white wine broth
$12.95
Dungeness Crab Cakes

roasted red pepper aioli
$8.50
Classic Caesar Salad

anchovy-lemon dressing, reggiano parmesan
$7.95
Sonoma Baby Greens

fresh herb balsamic vinaigrette
$8.95
Belgian Endive Salad

green apples, bleu cheese, pecans, walnut oil vinaigrette
Large Entree Salads

$15.95
Large Caesar Salad

anchovy-lemon dressing, reggiano parmesan, with grilled chicken
$17.95
Large Caesar Salad

anchovy-lemon dressing, reggiano parmesan, with bay shrimp
$25.95
Cliffe House Louis

classic cliff house favorite, dungeness crab or bay shrimp, seasonal fruit, louise dressing with dungeness crab
$18.95
Cliffe House Louis

with bay shrimp

Main Courses

$28.50
Macadamia Nut Crusted Fluke

coconut broth, organic braising greens, pineapple chutney, chili oil

My husband ordered the steak ( it was about the size of a large kiwi fruit), and the veggies served with it, went begging

I know the dinner for the 8 of us, set them back a bunch..but truly, we might have all been just as satisfied with a more downscale dinner, and an after-dinner walk on the beach ..

sheesh, can't just say flounder? Maybe it is common, I live in the desert so seafood is not often on the menu. (I would have ordered prawns or some other fish, myself, although the pork and beans entree sounds interesting.)

Back when I was a kid we spent a few years on and off in CA and used to get Sunset magazine. Besides the kind of cool home decorating crafts the recipes always stuck in my mind as a formula: lets take the two weirdest, unrelated foods and mix them together! Like blueberries and lamb, or cornbread and ice cream...:rofl:

and you're so right about Sunset magazine's recipes.
:rofl:

i don't remember what i ate ...

i was more impressed with the seals out on that huge rock!

:rofl:

my brother is a food snob. i always ask him "why do you give a shit what i eat? i'm paying for it, i'm eating it, so shut up!"

Are we good?

The food is mediocre, though, just like OG. And why people wait an hour for mediocre food is beyond me.

Olive Garden is at least good, though only tangentially "Italian", food so it gets picked on for being tasty, but not what it says it is.

PF Chang is so utterly removed from anything resembling tasty that there's no point railing against it.

It would be like railing against WalMart to someone who watches NASCAR and wears sweatpants in public. They're just not going to understand what the problem is, so why bother?

OG being more wide spread means its a bigger target of disdain.