DAILY DIRT: Anyone else miss the potato salad from Ruby Tuesday, or the fried ice cream at Chi-Chi’s?

Daily Dirt for Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024

I wonder if Heidi Klum and Don Ho ever dated … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,118 of The Daily Dirt.

1. A favorite restaurant is much like a best friend. And when you lose one — a favorite restaurant, that is — the caloric horizon is never quite the same.

Here are the five eateries, in no particular order, that have left us in recent years that I miss most: 

• Ruby Tuesday: I always felt Ruby’s may have had the best overall salad bar of any restaurant. I simply loved the potato salad. 
• Old Country Buffet: First of all, how can you not like any place that has “buffet” in its name? Secondly, the number of choices at Old Country was always second to none, especially when it came to meats and seafood.
• T.G.I. Fridays: To me, Friday’s arguably had the top combination of atmosphere and food of any casual dining site on this list. I’m still puzzled why this brand continues to tumble. About two years ago there were more than 600 TGIFs nationwide, and now there are just over 150, and in October the chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
• Quizno’s: I had never been to a Quizno’s until moving to Quincy, and it soon became one of my favorite lunch stops — and then it was gone. At its peak, there were 5,000 Quizno’s nationwide, but now there are now less than 150 remaining. To this day, I think a Quizno’s sub/sandwich was second to none.
• Chi Chi’s: Children of the ’90s probably remember Chi-Chi’s for its chimichangas and fried ice cream. That fried ice cream was, in a word, amazing. 

2. Did you know (Part 191)

• That if Heidi Klum had married Don Ho, she’d have been Heidi Ho. (You’re welcome … )
• That ABBA, Foreigner, Journey, The Who and Queen have never won a competitive Grammy. Some have “lifetime achievement” awards, but no competitive Grammys.
• That Burger King is now offering a Mexican Street Corn Whopper, Fried Pickle Ranch Whopper and a Maple Bourbon Barbecue Whopper.
• That Taco Bell is breaking out a new crispy chicken strips menu, which will be nationwide in the not-too-distant future. The Bell is also bringing out a Spicy Ranchero Crispy Chicken Burrito and Spicy Ranchero Crispy Chicken Taco.
• That Taco Bell will also be adding spicy chicken nuggets to its menu anytime between now and the end of the year.

3.  Some things that men do that upset their wives:

• Lie
• Be honest
• Not talk
• Talk too much
• Not show emotion
• Be too emotional
• Breathe

Steve Thought O’ The Day — I’m pretty sure that women spend more time wondering what men are thinking than men actually spend thinking.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. Wait? Steve sometimes chooses the salad bar?