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Little Chef...you know it isn't gonna be a great experience when you see the sign on the door 'Sorry, We're Open' :-D
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[snip] I'm sure it will come as a shock but not only did your humour fail to add much to the thread, it also accused someone of illegal behaviour.
And I just know you didn't think I'd let it stand.
Mark.
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I was waiting to see if their 'alternative' name came up.
Guess it was only a matter of time.
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When criticising the prices at motorway service areas please remember that a large slice of the profits goes to your friend and mine Gordon Brown and in the case of the service areas most is paid upfront as an enormous lease premium.
As for Little Chefs, agree they used to be good value and a biking institution but for some reason prices went through the roof with no discernable change in quality.
Dennys however are great...
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When I used to live in the UK i would avoid Little Chef like the plague. Their "food" is stinking and overpriced. WOuld always prefer to leave the motorway, usually within a couple of miles you can find a nice country pub. Steak and kidney pie and chips for a fiver thank you very much. Washed down with a pint of coke and youre on your way. Much better than baked beans and eggs that have been sitting under heat lamps for the last 8 hrs.
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I know of at least two little chefs that have been shut down and then re-opened as indian restaurants!
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Well, I am not an employee of LC but this is a little misrepresentative uk2usa.
1. Most (if not all) earlier LC are on A roads not motorways, a few more recent (<10 years) are now at motorway services and the like.
2. I have never seen baked beans and eggs kept warm for 8 hours ready to be served up. One of the reasons for the noted delays is that much of this food is cooked to order.
3. Is steak and kidney pie, chips and coke really that much better than say smoked salmon salad, jacket potato and OJ followed by a coffee (Typical family meal for the StarGazer's)?
StarGazer
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>3. Is steak and kidney pie, chips and coke really that much better than say
>smoked salmon salad, jacket potato and OJ followed by a coffee (Typical family
>meal for the StarGazer's)?
Most definitely if you swap the coke for a mug of hot tea!
Kevin...
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Just making the point that Little Chef is not all fryups!
I wish I could still have the Olympic Breakfasts but alas I have to stick to gluten free fare these days.
I wonder how many of the bad experiences come from long waits on weekends and bank holidays when they are short of staff.
StarGazer
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1. Most (if not all) earlier LC are on A roads not motorways, a few more recent ( > motorway services and the like.
Ok, most are not on the motorway. Still doesn't make the food/service/price seem any better.
2. I have never seen baked beans and eggs kept warm for 8 hours ready to be served up. One of the reasons for the noted delays is that much of this food is cooked to order.
I dont remember them cooking stuff to order. But then it has been a LONG time since I went to LC....
3. Is steak and kidney pie, chips and coke really that much better than say smoked salmon salad, jacket potato and OJ followed by a coffee (Typical family meal for the StarGazer's)? StarGazer
Yeah, I find the quality of food at smaller establishments is always much better. Plus, I like helping local businesses rather than some large faceless corporation run by their shareholders.
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yes, food poor and over-priced, but it will be one less curious experience to be had .
the last time I went in one, about 6 months ago there was what seemed to me to be the classic LC ritual.
First , you had to wait to be seated, even though there was no-one else in there ...then the motherly waitress took me to a table as far from the entrance as possible .
Other people started coming in, and the spotty-faced youth behind the counter started cooking... you got the idea the waitress didn't approve of him ..and he took ages .He was cooking Early Starters or whatever , or could have been the American breakfast the like of which I have never encountered in America...eventually I realised one of the reasons he was so slow was that he was trying to ensure every serving matched the colour picture he apparently had behind the counter ..until I sussed he had taken this to the extent that he was counting the number of beans on the plate because in the picture there were 39 ( or whatever)..
I'll kind of miss that
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À propos of nothing, but reading the above am I glad I live where I do.....we had a full Texan breakfast on the road today on the bikes, that's 3 eggs any style, hotcakes, maple syrup, crispy bacon, hash browns, beans, brewed coffee and fresh mango juice, served by a lovely smiling girl on a terrace with palm trees waving and a cool breeze coming off the ocean. I had a beer as well.
Cost for 4 of us approx £12.80. But Herself complained there weren't any blueberry muffins, what to do? Set us up nicely for a day's ride anyhow.
It's OK to hate me, lots of people do..........
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Just think, Growler, you could trade all that in and move to Wolverhampton and live with a woman who looks like Nora Batty!
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Hey, I missed out the sausages!
I have a confession to make and that is when I have travelled around UK by car I have always been very satisfied with Little Chef food and service.
It must be OK to say that because I seem to remember John Major said the same once..........
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>a full Texan breakfast on the road today ..
Growler,
You should experience the Huevos Rancheros at the Gage Hotel, Marathon, Texas.
Kevin...
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Sounds like a "must-do" Kevin. We'll be riding Route 66 next year Chicago to LA and plan a visit to TX as well among other places.
Best I've ever had was in Stateline, Nevada where breakfast was free at Caesar's Palace (assuming you'd lost enough at blackjack the previous night, which we had...)
Nothing like an American breakfast...........
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American breakfast?
Its ok certainly cant be faulted in quantity. A full stack of pancakes is a thing to behold and the OJ is great - however....
American Coffee (while hot) is as weak as dishwater, American bacon (brekafast bacon) is disgusting, and they have not the faintest idea how to make sausages.
The ideal would be a Costa Coffee that does a Tesco fry up.
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>plan a visit to TX as well among other places.
In that case, write to:
Texas Department of Transportation, Travel and Information Division, 1101 East Anderson Lane, Austin, TX 78752
and ask for a copy of the Texas State Travel Guide. It's free, about 300 colour pages and covers just about anything you'd want to do in Texas.
See also www.traveltex.com/
If you're going to be travelling the backroads, a company called Delorme do a road atlas/gazetteer that covers everything down to cattle trail level.
Best time to go is Spring, when the temp is still comfortable and the bluebonnets, mexican hats and indian paintbrush are in bloom (March to May) and the whole state is covered in wild flowers.
>Best I've ever had was in Stateline, Nevada
I've driven past a few times but never stopped.
Kevin...
PS. Don't forget that you can rent a Hog in Austin.
PPS. If you do plan on visiting Austin, let me know. I've got friends living there who you might find helpful and amusing. One owns a bar with over 300 different beers, another is a complete petrolhead (Buick Roadmaster, a '70 Olds Cutlass 442 Convertible, various other forms of 4-wheeled transport plus an Indian with two wheels and a two-stroke Margharita mixer.) And don't miss the Continental Club.
www.continentalclub.com/Austin.html
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Wow, a 442, huh? Now that's a PROPER car. And the Buick would be a Straight 8, of course. We will definitely do the trip on Hogs -- Road Kings with cruise control and sound systems.
Thanks for all the info. My only visits to TX previously were to Houston and DFW on business. I don't suppose you know Willie Nelson's phone number as well, he lives (lived) in Austin ;+)
Yeah, right. Little Chef is a pretty anodyne substitute for an American breakfast, I guess. They don't do Margaritas, either.
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>I don't suppose you know Willie Nelson's phone number
I don't have Willie's number but my barowner friend in Austin will. He's played golf with him a few times at the club that Willie is part owner of.
Willie still lives just outside Austin and is a hog fan too. We saw him with his daughter on the back one Sunday afternoon when we were heading back from Lake Travis.
Kevin...
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We are OT here but yes I know Willie is a Hog fan. He has appeared in the History Channel feature on Harley-Davidsons(DVD of which I have). I have all his records. Plus Waylon's (RIP). I would love to meet him. Let's go to Luckenbach, Texas.......
This is getting better and better.
But the demise of Little Chef (back to topic) is a pity. On my visits to UK in the 37 years I've been away I see standards declining all the time. It's like Wimpy Bars, they weren't much anyway but at least they were dependable. They were awful but that of itself was a kind of reassurance.
It's 0400 here in the Land of Sun & Fun, this thread has given me an appetite and dammit I'm off for a pineapple margarita and the full works breakfast at my local 24hrs joint. Growlette get your hat and knickers on...............
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It's likeWimpy Bars,
You're just one small step away from Lyons Corner Houses there G.
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Lyons Corner Houses? Oh I remember them, with the waitresses in their nice little outfits. Great cream buns. The food I mean, not the waitresses. If that doesn't date me, I don't know what does!
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>We are OT here..
Yup, maybe the mods should start a 'Travel Advice' or 'Tourism' thread? There is a fairly international membership here with valuable local knowledge. It would be a pity to lose it amongst the other threads.
Kevin...
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