Boston Pizza and the Appeal of Mediocrity

[jamesq]

Winter War illustrated a point for me: Every event I've gone to in Small-Town Alberta has included a group of people who skip the feast so they can go to Boston Pizza.

I've never seen the appeal of BP. To me the food is mediocre at best. I've never had a good meal there. Yet it seems to be on the level of an Avacal tradition. Hell, I remember helping a cute Machiavelli girl figure out where the closest BP was to Bowness a couple of years ago. This is in Calgary - a city with a million people in it. That pretty much guarantees that there will be a better restaurant and it's likely to be closer to wherever you are.

All I can think of is it's the only restaurant that someone isn't going to veto. Thus we get the lowest common denominator in food. It's like McDonalds - have you ever had a truly bad meal there (and I mean bad as in badly prepared - I know plenty of people who don't like greasy fast food, but they'd object to a lot of similar restaurants). Like McDonald's, I've never had a bad meal there. But at the same time, I've never had a bad meal at Earls or Moxies, or Joey Tomatoes or any of the other restaurants that serve the same market niche. And they're all better then BP, for roughly the same cost.

Let's take yesterday's event. We'll leave off the probable food poisoning I got at the tea house. Later a bunch of us went to a local pub that had (according to those who ate them) the best burgers they've ever had. And this town was full of little restaurants and cafes. You had to go by all of them to get to the highway where the BP was. You literally had to go out of your way to have worse food at the BP. As I was leaving town, I saw a bunch of SCAdians leaving it.

When we were travelling to and from Estrella, my fellow travellers and I made of point of avoiding chain restaurants. Why would I travel 1000 km to go to the same restaurant I can walk to from my front door?

So I put it to my fellow SCAdians. What's the appeal of Boston Pizza?

Comments

[snooness2]

No clue - there are maybe two dishes I can eat from BP's, since I have issues with gluten.

The only true appeal I can see is that you always know what you'll get from BP's (basically the same quality and quantity). Where as with a random small resturant you might get the best burgers you've ever had or you might get somethiing truely appaling and/or food poisoning.

In many ways BP's is the risk avoidance choice.

It might also be a communal thing - in that they are obvious and folks will always know that if they go there they will run into SCAdians (basically if you are in a stange town and you say to folks "BP's" there is no name mix up, there isn't usually a problem with not finding where you are heading to) and if you miss where everyone else is going because you were busy with the event then you don't need to find out where the party went.

BP's usually also has a pretty quick turn around time, which is important if you are leaving the event and need to get back for the antics of court.

They also can't refuse to serve you because you are wearing funny clothes.

Needless to say, I tend to stay for feasts or try places were I think I will find something on the menu I can eat.

[hislittlekitty.livejournal.com]

1) big enough they can accomodate a large group on short notice
2) big enough chain they can accomodate most food allergies/issues
3) varied enough menu that everyone can find something they like
4) common enough chain that no one gets 'new resturant let-down'
5) very fast or atleast fast-ish.
6) healthy or healthier options than 'Mc-fry-alot' type places
7) tradition

And most importantly,
8- community AKA who you go there with (which ties in with 7 somewhat because you know that you will always find someone there.)

[oblivions.livejournal.com]

Big box easy.

I'm jsut glad I've found some place better at least for that event. Next year, I promised to warn the owner before we decende like locusts again.

BP's

[mommaquilter.livejournal.com]

Well, for myself, the common denominators were:
1. Small children = no pubs
2. Small children = no weird places
3. Small children = no weird food
4. Eating with new family with small children = see above

Basically, we had to plan for a larger group, with small children, some allergies, etc.

I do not have good luck with pot lucks. Feasts, the feastocrat usually has a list of food which I cannot eat, or leaves MSG out of the dishes completely. It's not terrifically EASY to leave MSG out of everything, but is doable, with little to no cost difference. However, for pot lucks, not everyone puts a list of ingredients beside their dish, and it is also pretty much impossible to request that 100+/- people leave it out. I could bring my own food, and forget about eating anything else, but that defeats the purpose of a pot luck.

Mediocrity, perhaps. I would have liked to try one of the little pubs everyone talked about, but what with children ranging in age from 18 months to 10 years old, it had to be something where I could order almost anything, and still allowed children. McDonalds, in my opinion, well I'd rather go hungry.

[conejita-diabla.livejournal.com]

"All I can think of is it's the only restaurant that someone isn't going to veto."

Nope - I veto it, regularly. ;-)

[thekillerb69.livejournal.com]

And that's why you would miss hearing James sing Copacabana ;)