In praise of Olive Garden and Hampton Inn; praise YOUR lowbrow favorites!

[Anonymous]

I love Chili's. The food hits the spot on occasion, and they have also been a generous donor to St. Jude, where my sister was treated for cancer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have not had them in forever but I used to love the TGI Friday's frozen jalapeno poppers. Now I am craving them.

Oooh, I like these too.

I grew up in a homemade or maybe Annie's white cheddar macaroni and cheese house but as an adult always have a box of the Kraft around. To be extra low brow and unhealthy, I make one box of the pasta and use 2 packets of the "cheese."

lol, I can’t believe I’ve never thought of this. Revolutionary!

[Anonymous]

I love Starbucks -- they are generally clean, their prices aren't offensive, there are always lots of outlets, and they have a reliable and predictable system for ordering. I've tried going to less corporate coffeeshops when I need a place to work or read for a bit and none of them can figure the above out. It's fills an important niche in my life.

I also love Target for similar reasons. Sometimes I need batteries, socks, cat food, canned beans, printer paper, and a mother's day card. Target will have all those things, is reasonably clean and pleasant to be in, and won't gouge me the way CVS will. It's a very useful store! And shopping there is less environmentally offensive than getting all that from Amazon.

I make no apologies for this. I am a very pragmatic person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love Starbucks -- they are generally clean, their prices aren't offensive, there are always lots of outlets, and they have a reliable and predictable system for ordering. I've tried going to less corporate coffeeshops when I need a place to work or read for a bit and none of them can figure the above out. It's fills an important niche in my life.

I also love Target for similar reasons. Sometimes I need batteries, socks, cat food, canned beans, printer paper, and a mother's day card. Target will have all those things, is reasonably clean and pleasant to be in, and won't gouge me the way CVS will. It's a very useful store! And shopping there is less environmentally offensive than getting all that from Amazon.

I make no apologies for this. I am a very pragmatic person.

Starbucks order ahead (no account required) using Apple Pay is very slick & easy. Similar, Target app order ahead with free parking lot pick-up is also very slick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is lowbrow about Ann Taylor clothing?
I am genuinely confused

Ask in the fashion forum.

My hot take is that some women wore too much of it in their early career and now they have more money and it reminds them of being relatively poor. These people are buying pieces that are 100s of dollars per piece now. Less famous brands that are upscale and often foreign.

OP here. I used to work at Ann Taylor in the early 2000s as a side gig. I loved it. The cashmere, the lined pants, the Merino wool, the suits. We used to open boxes in the back and want EVERYTHING.

Now, the materials are cheap, the “fit” is boxy, there are no sleeves are darts, the quality is abhorrent. I forgot myself and bought some things on sale last year online, but when I got them home in my hands, I realized how cheap the fabric was and how poor the quality was. Never again. It’s a shame, but Ann Taylor is terrible quality and far too overpriced for what it is. It’s junk fashion. It’s the junk food of fashion. You know it’s bad, but you consume it anyway. And I say this as a former employee and brand fan!

PP. You are correct that quality has dropped but it's also true that's pretty much true across the board until you start spending $300+ per garment piece. So no reason to single Ann Taylor out if you have to criticize mass mall brands. The people who dump on it seem to prefer indie/European brands.

OK, you’re taking it very personally. I also think Banana Republic and similar mall brands have declined in quality, but not as much—not such a steep drop-off. You can still find pieces at Banana. You cannot find anything at AT, and it’s because both the fabrics AND the fit are so awful now. There is nothing good in there. I still get birthday rewards via email and literally have gone in to get something basically for free or a steep discount, and walked out because nothing was worthwhile, nothing. You can disagree. And I would ask if you were the great-granddaughter of Ann Taylor or something, but I know from working there that there is no Ann Taylor!

PP. Not taking it personally. I'm interested in retail fashion as a business because I worked as a clerk at a Macy's level department store for a summer. I never fit into Ann Taylor clothes. I am petite but was never a slim, delicate petite. So Ann Taylor/Banana Republic/J Crew never worked out for me. I had most luck with Kasper suiting, which barely exists anymore. (The brand's been bankrupt several times in the past decade.) Strangely I've discovered in the past 10 years that Ann Taylor Outlet is much better than the main store. And I can find things there while still not having any luck at the main mall stores. It's become one of my go-to stores.

I think wool fabrics have been cheaped out across the entire mall store fashion lineup. Also at indie fabric store near me. It has to be a systematic issue.

I do appreciate your perspective as a past retail employee. I am at least glad that "dresses came back" to the industry in recent years.

Can we still shop at Talbots or is that lowbrow too???

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ritz crackers

Chili's Awesome blossom--had not thought of those in years, but now I want one!

Ritz crackers are so good! I have celiac disease and have been gluten free for almost 20 years and this is what I miss.

[Anonymous]

My cheapskate in-laws always stock those $3 or $4 JACK'S pizzas in their freezer and load it up with fresh veggies. I gotta say, it's not half bad!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We stayed in an Embassy Suites last year. The cook brought out Rice Krispie treats for my kids and then chatted for a while about his life, working there, etc. Very nice.

As a family with 3 boys this momma loves Embassy Suites because I can close the interior door to the bedroom to get dressed and the younger kiddo can go to sleep early while the older ones are in the front from watching TV/talking, etc.

So over getting dressed in the bathroom while others are waiting to shower.

Plus hungry boys are $$$ on a road trip. That made to order breakfast fills them up and they aren’t starving by 10am and asking for a pitstop!

[Anonymous]

In DCUM terms we are UMC (~500K gross HHI). All these “lowbrow” things are normal and consistent with our budget. Ritz crackers? Hampton Inn? Target? Is it lowbrow to go on a road trip? I actually think Target is overpriced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone remember back when that Playboy model Kendra Wilkinson said her impoverished family loved going to Olive Garden to celebrate special occasions when she was growing up. And then Olive Garden crapped all over her unsolicited endorsement of their restaurant chain because they claimed she didn't represent their values as a family restaurant?

Lower class families celebrating a special occasion IS Olive Garden's primary customer base. I was so turned off by Olive Garden's snooty attitude toward their customer that I haven't been to an Olive Garden since 2008.

We used to also go to Olive Garden only for special occasions and would always tell them it was someone's birthday (even if it wasn't) because in the 90s in my hometown they used to give you a free mini chocolate cake for the table to share.

Oh, this brings back memories. We lived in a small town and the only 2 "fancy" restaurants were Olive Garden and Red Lobster (right next to each other, of course). We were an Olive Garden family and we only ever ordered soup, salad, and breadsticks, and drank water, because money was very tight. When we would go there for a birthday, that little chocolate cake was heaven! We also loved the free Andes mints they left with the check.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aldi and Lidl are a game to me. Drives my husband crazy, but I love searching for the best price, even if it means going to multiple places.

My kids have stayed at stately homes with amazing meals cooked to order and they still only talk about the Hampton Inn breakfasts and pool.

Dollar Tree has great art supplies.

OMG - same on all!! The Aldi and Lidl “aisles of shame” are so fun.

Also - Denny’s!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have not had them in forever but I used to love the TGI Friday's frozen jalapeno poppers. Now I am craving them.

Oooh, I like these too.

I grew up in a homemade or maybe Annie's white cheddar macaroni and cheese house but as an adult always have a box of the Kraft around. To be extra low brow and unhealthy, I make one box of the pasta and use 2 packets of the "cheese."

lol, I can’t believe I’ve never thought of this. Revolutionary!

It's amazing. It may have even been here I was introduced to it. This exists and I bought it during the pandemic to be a true Kraft aficionado who makes it just perfectly ha.

https://www.amazon.com/Powdered-Cheese-Original-Shaker-Shipped/dp/B0C3S4R95N/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2A2QTQO0BM26L&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.i8jxjFSqykcZXebD9BbWXa-EHJYqi_2XH6OWF8d05ssTzDUom4FUAaJ7JTpmzUqZ2kqrTeoZLAFs-WpoxOFuXetMkO34Gr7GgbgUgzbg3Y99uMqBwtzj-GxFfGsppGx5FmIv2N9Yvq5-jgzrbHno10vVjpYK48rExDHLWRhK0A_4XviO5GU50KVXbrKTEpjEqbHtZWF1sriQ2Qwf27VlUtbmKHgjLAJdxS-_FKoSng7BcxqQTTN3PISJtsCEZQ7rFDqXR60Cnxf9oPA96N1-E2pTSOOWCSAiOa6KnbOeK0M.ChDwl5g5hzHx77kaU88iLRsvwDfyGhUyFmv9-TX2tRg&dib_tag=se&keywords=kraft+dinner+cheese+powder&qid=1733373167&sprefix=kraft+dinner+%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-3

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn still seem fancy to me compared to the places we stayed when I was a kid lol

I was just thinking this. We had to stay at the Travel lodge

Same here, although we children were delighted to stay at the "sleepy bear motel!"

One of my earliest memories was of wanting to go to that brand of hotel because of the logo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I love Olive Garden. Love it. I think the food is really good.

I'm an expat and have lived in London, Berlin, Vienna, Singapore, and Dubai, and I've eaten at many "good" restaurants around the world. I still love Olive Garden, and I still think the food is good. Whenever I visit family in the US, I always go to Olive Garden with my sister, more than once in a visit, because I love it so much.

I also like that powdered salad dressing mix that you mix in its cruet with oil and vinegar. I can't remember what it's called, but when I go home for Christmas, I'm stocking up on that too.

And Big Red gum. I love that stuff and will take back many packs with me.

My French relatives take back boxes of instant pancake mix when they visit.

My European friend wanted Post's Banana Nut Crunch cereal and Cool Ranch Doritos. I packed a suitcase with 4 boxes of cereal and a soccer team sized Dorito's party bag of single chip packages when my family went to visit. It got separated from our regular suitcases and took a day extra to reach Budapest. I expect it received extra security screening. At least none of it got eaten along the delay path!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What is lowbrow about Ann Taylor clothing?
I am genuinely confused

Ask in the fashion forum.

My hot take is that some women wore too much of it in their early career and now they have more money and it reminds them of being relatively poor. These people are buying pieces that are 100s of dollars per piece now. Less famous brands that are upscale and often foreign.

OP here. I used to work at Ann Taylor in the early 2000s as a side gig. I loved it. The cashmere, the lined pants, the Merino wool, the suits. We used to open boxes in the back and want EVERYTHING.

Now, the materials are cheap, the “fit” is boxy, there are no sleeves are darts, the quality is abhorrent. I forgot myself and bought some things on sale last year online, but when I got them home in my hands, I realized how cheap the fabric was and how poor the quality was. Never again. It’s a shame, but Ann Taylor is terrible quality and far too overpriced for what it is. It’s junk fashion. It’s the junk food of fashion. You know it’s bad, but you consume it anyway. And I say this as a former employee and brand fan!

PP. You are correct that quality has dropped but it's also true that's pretty much true across the board until you start spending $300+ per garment piece. So no reason to single Ann Taylor out if you have to criticize mass mall brands. The people who dump on it seem to prefer indie/European brands.

OK, you’re taking it very personally. I also think Banana Republic and similar mall brands have declined in quality, but not as much—not such a steep drop-off. You can still find pieces at Banana. You cannot find anything at AT, and it’s because both the fabrics AND the fit are so awful now. There is nothing good in there. I still get birthday rewards via email and literally have gone in to get something basically for free or a steep discount, and walked out because nothing was worthwhile, nothing. You can disagree. And I would ask if you were the great-granddaughter of Ann Taylor or something, but I know from working there that there is no Ann Taylor!

PP. Not taking it personally. I'm interested in retail fashion as a business because I worked as a clerk at a Macy's level department store for a summer. I never fit into Ann Taylor clothes. I am petite but was never a slim, delicate petite. So Ann Taylor/Banana Republic/J Crew never worked out for me. I had most luck with Kasper suiting, which barely exists anymore. (The brand's been bankrupt several times in the past decade.) Strangely I've discovered in the past 10 years that Ann Taylor Outlet is much better than the main store. And I can find things there while still not having any luck at the main mall stores. It's become one of my go-to stores.

I think wool fabrics have been cheaped out across the entire mall store fashion lineup. Also at indie fabric store near me. It has to be a systematic issue.

I do appreciate your perspective as a past retail employee. I am at least glad that "dresses came back" to the industry in recent years.

Can we still shop at Talbots or is that lowbrow too???

PP. Sorry, it's even more banned. But I do also shop there and have best luck at the outlet version.

If somebody could please plug Chico's and J Jill we can finish the set.