I registered just so I could post about Denny's. Here in South Texas (Victoria), one's culinary options are severely limited, especially at this hour, so it's Denny's or nothing if you don't want to cook. And I think it's PRETTY GOOD at night, but absolutely abysmal for breakfast. So:

NOT CRAP: lunch/dinner
COMPLETE, DREADFUL CRAP: breakfast

I think I shall visit Denny's shortly.

I registered just so I could post about Denny's.

Now that's Rock n' Roll!

Denny's in my pants - crap.
Denny's on my mind - crap.
Denny's on a date - crap.
Denny's after a one-night stand - crap.
Denny's on the pay stub - crap.
Denny's in the city - crap.
Denny's in the country - not crap.
Denny's in Falluja - crap.

Like MacDonald's, w/o the tres hip lifestyle advertising and Ford Assembly production. I'm gonna pitch'm this as a new slogan.

A friend and I were discussing music here (in Taiwan) with some locals. My friend was like, all you-know, J Lo is MacDonalds - don't eat that shit. And the crushed little Taiwanese woman's friend was all like whoah what about the Cranberries? And dude's like, well, Subway, at best (you must understand we're in Taiwan where the state of popular/known music is so abyssmal the cranberries seem 'real'). Odd fact - Yo La Tengo, the Dirty Three, Mogwai, and Cat Power do well in Taiwan.

So here's my question, who're the Denny's of rock music? How about the TGIFs or the Taco Bells ?

I'm not sure if I completely understand the analogy here, but I am going to say Waffle House and Lifter Puller. That should cover all the bases, right?

I like Denny's. It has my full support.

Upon further thought, Denny's is not complete crap for breakfast. They DO make a pret mean Belgian waffle (though, and I'm not sure why this bothers me, it has a big 'ol DENNY'S stamped right in the middle where all the syrup and butter collects), and their coffee is actually pretty good.

But,

Their breakfast meats are disturbing. The bacon has an aspect of something not belonging in it. It IS animal not vegetable or mineral, which just heightens my dread. Eggs get substituted for me.

a surprisingly good boca burger with a side of grits at 7:00am in the middle of fuckin' nowhere while on tour= Not Crap

Denny's is not crap for late night eats after a night of heavy drinking or getting a ticket from the cops. Otherwise, crap.

I can't believe no one has mentioned what shit service this place has. Every Denny's I've been to seems to have the m.o. of 'we'll get around to it' and has two waitresses serving about 15 tables.

Denny's is crap. If I'm on tour, and I want food, I either go to Taco Bell or eat straight out of cans. (Hey! We're not getting guarantees!) If I'm feeling fancy, we try to find the local greasy spoon: the cost is comparable to Denny's, and the food and atmosphere are infinitely better, or, if the place sucks you'll probably at least get a good story out of it.

Clarence Clemmons demands one whole fried chicken delivered to his dressing room at 9:45 P.M.

When you see what passes for motorway / travelling / stop food in the UK (and a reasonable chunk elsewhere in Northern Europe) you'll realise why there's a big old Moons Over My Hammy sized NOT CRAP vote here.

I once stopped in the Roswell, NM branch of Dennys on a tour in the Southwest last year during the war in Iraq. When sweet-old-lady waitress conversation turned to salad dressings, they had 'everything except French'. I couldn't quite summon up the nerve to ask if that was a political or a stock decision. Am still annoyed I didn't.

mattw wrote:I can't believe no one has mentioned what shit service this place has. Every Denny's I've been to seems to have the m.o. of 'we'll get around to it' and has two waitresses serving about 15 tables.

The one I go to with any regularity typically has very friendly service. Better still, the waitstaff pulls no punches about how shitty Denny's is - just ask them!

I did have memorably bad service there once. I think the waiter's name is Artie(?), a surly fellow who really did not want to be there. I've had jobs like this in the past, so I go out of my way to treat these folks well, and I attempt to be forgiving when they make mistakes. But this guy was just an asshole whose m. o. was, indeed, "I'll get around to it," moreover, "if I feel like it."