Pick One, No. 5

Question 1549: TGI Friday’s or Chili’s? (and why…)

Despite the fact that the entertainment industry tried to ruin T.G.I. Friday’s for me by combining it in the movie Cocktail with one of my least favorite Beach Boys songs and someone who hovers near the top of my least favorite actors, I will choose it hands down over Chili’s for a number of reasons.

First, it’s the restaurant that helped put Tom through college (he was employed as a cook) and when he graduated from college and couldn’t find a job, they happily took him back to work as a cook again while we were newlyweds until he began his career in Houston. We moved to Houston, but we still ate at Friday’s, and there was one in the area where we lived in the ‘burbs.

Second, fried mozzarella. The first I ever had, it’s still my favorite version of that appetizer, but kudos to other restaurants and fast food establishments for realizing Friday’s had a winner and stealing the concept.

Third, a dish I think they no longer serve, Mushrooms, Steak, and Mushrooms. The steak, likely a tenderized sirloin, was topped with sautéed mushrooms and onions and then covered in melted mozzarella, and included in the sides were battered and fried button mushrooms. Since I like mushrooms, this was a favorite. On our wedding day, we had to make ourselves scarce after the ceremony so the church/reception area could be returned to order and my family could move the party to our hotel rooms. In the interim, Tom and I went by Friday’s, they treated us to a very late lunch, and MSM was my dish.

The Friday’s matchbook is in a journal I began for all the matchbook covers I’d once planned to put in a collage and never did. Eventually, I plan to write a blurb about each place–my memories of why it was special or who took me there first or which friend made it a regular place or a treat with me. I’m quite surprised I don’t have a matchbook cover for Chili’s, because of course I’ve eaten there, but it fell out of favor with me because they stopped serving the main entree I liked and they are compelled to spice up everything. I understand. This is Texas, and most people don’t think they’ve had a meal unless their tongues are on fire afterward. Unfortunately, I’m not one of those people and don’t enjoy spicy food.

Other chains I went to included Ruby Tuesday’s and Bennigan’s. I do have a matchbook for Bennigan’s. Though there are still some franchised Bennigan’s, the locations I used to go to must have been corporately owned, because those were all closed several years ago. I’d read in 2019 that they were talking about a comeback, but let’s just say these horrific numbers

and figure it didn’t happen.

I loved the Galleria Bennigan’s, but I have no idea if it was the food, location, service, or the company. It’s the place where Denece and I used to meet and talk for hours. I’m not even kidding. She would tell the waitstaff up front, “We will be using your table for three to four hours, but we are not high-maintenance and we will tip you well.” Since we were usually there just after the lunch rush and into the slower afternoon hours, they didn’t mind and always took good care of us. After Bennigan’s closed, Denece and I began having those long conversations by phone every few weeks. You just can’t analyze and find solutions for all the problems in the damn world in less than three or four hours.

President-elect Biden, Denece and I are available by phone if you need us.