NotHardUp1
What? Me? Really?
You are wise, as there is nothing inherently expensive about prime rib in terms of the cost of good food. Whereas it is popular and is a prime cut, one still only eats a nominal amount of beef at a sitting, and a high end menu contains many things more expensive than prime rib (scallops, lobster, crab, prawns, etc.)
Landry's first got on my short list from when they bought Cajun's Wharf in Little Rock's downtown area, and they ruined a good name. That restaurant had been a favorite of many friends before then.
Decades passed and I found them again at the Denver aquarium, serving a decent menu of primarily fish dishes.
Landry's began morphing into a hopeless and soul-less conglomerate, not unlike the Trapper-keeper of Southpark fame. They began buying up this and that chain, and running down the menus, dissolving excellence and quality, and bringing in rank mediocrity and blandness.
A fellow Jubber and I drove up to Denver in October 2012, and were going just for a few days to see some sites and get away. We ate at several fine restaurants. One I chose was a favorite chain, McCormick & Schmick's. I had patronized their chain for several years across the country. They were always excellent and provided extraordinary service and quality.
We arrived with that expectation. But, from the onset, you could tell something had changed. The menu was watered down. The calamari we ordered was pathetically conceived and prepared and we both noticed the drop in quality from the other restaurants we had been visiting. I even made the comment that it was as if Landry's had bought them.
Eventually, a manager came by and chatted, and we commented to her on our disappointment in the evening. My friend worked in a high-end restaurant, so he was keenly aware. We even commented to the manager the remark about Landry's only to find out that indeed, Landry's had bought the chain. I was unexpectedly dead on correct.
Another brick in the wall was in Albuquerque. Landry's was located across the interstate from Papadeaux's. Both chains featured Cajun cuisines. On any given Thursday through Saturday night, a walk-up party at Papadeaux's would be facing a 60 to 80 minute wait. Landry's? No wait at all. The difference in quality was palpable.
They eventually closed the Landry's in 2015, I think, and opened another of their chains, The Clam(sic) Jumper. There was a lot of hype surrounding the reopening, and eventually a friend wanted to try them. I relented and we went one evening. I was again unimpressed but my friend ate his salad and literally got food poisoning before he could finish his entree. He was violently ill that evening at his home. I'm not claiming that was necessarily typical, but it wasn't surprising either.
Finally, here in Huntsville I stayed a hotel on a business trip while still living in Albuquerque. It was adjacent to a Landry's. I again tried it. It was literally disgusting. The place had only a few tables occupied at 7:30 at night. There were staff members making so much commotion in the kitchen that it constantly intruded into the dining room. There were brooms and cleaning implements left out in the dining area. The food was bad. The service was dim if kind. Strike three, or four, or whatever.
I have nothing good to say about the chain. There may be an exception here or there in their vast holdings, but they are low in my book, and those are the reasons why.
