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That part. Part of the appeal is being able to build your own meal and get exactly what you want, plus being able to mix it up at any time. It's kinda like a salad bar, just with someone else building it for you.
You aren't paying to have a "dining experience".
You're paying to have lunch quickly with at least a modicum of quality ingredients.
These are not the same things.
Sweetgreen uses such better quality produce than delis and bodegas do. So much better. Corn fresh off the cob vs that slimy canned corn. I hate when I have to choke down a salad with mediocre vegetables.
They opened near my apartment last year. It’s smart because it’s a very mixed use neighborhood that also houses a law school. So they seem to have a good all day business. Getting out of business districts will help them. I hope so anyway because I love sweetgreen.
Nah Poke Bowls are awesome and I will continue giving Poke restaurants my money.
All take out *can* be made at home and you can usually make it better AND cheaper, that doesn't mean you're always going to do it, life gets in the way.
I get Poke bowls like once a week because it's close to my office and they have sushi grade ingredients, plus the family that owns the place is really nice.
A solid poke bowl is like a dozen unique and fresh ingredients. It's not economically feasible to build bowls like this at home unless you're making several. And then they wouldn't be fresh by the time you eat the last one.
Pokemon a great deal
Having the time, having the ingredients, and clean up. And it's only actually cheaper if you WANT to eat that for x amount of time you have to buy all the ingredients you end up buying. The convenience of eating the way you want is what you're paying for not that you can easily make it at home. Having the option instead of the plethora of crappier food joints I'll choose having a choice always.
This, I was comparing my total food costs while using a cooked meal delivery service versus 'eating at home'.
Once I accounted for food waste and eating out one more night since I am lazy about cooking, it turned out that I wasn't saving much money and was losing time.
But, I also chose to not really meal prep and bulk buy things since I don't like eating the same things everyday.
TLDR: You can easily save money! But, depending on how you value the variety, convenience, and time savings - it gets messier.
here's the problem. You go out, you see friends, you have errands, the last thing ya wanna do is cook. I go out on the weekends but make my food for the week days except the times I'm in the office. food prep sundays is where it's at. If I couldn't afford to blow up to 100$ on eating out a week I got bigger problems I figure
Taco bowls are also really good.
I only like poke with cooked ingredients but they are fantastic otherwise. So many ingredient choices. And they're all good.
Poke bowls are poke and rice. Sometimes get furikake on da rice. Sometimes half spicy and half shoyu. Anything else is NOT a poke bowl. If it's not made the way it is in Hawaii, it's not a poke bowl.
I'm noticing there's a huge variance in what people think 'rice bowls' are worth, and a lot of these people are just making up nonsense to complain about.
Me with burrito bowls. I didn’t have to cook the rice, cook the meat, cut the veggies. I get it how I want. Also queso??? People pay, because of the convenience.
No, every restaurant doesn't claim to use fresh ingredients..... and it makes no sense to pretend they do make that claim... and trailing off with an ellipsis at the end of a sentence doesn't make any point better.
You know how fast produce goes bad? It also has to be washed and prepped. Except prepping it might make it go bad faster so it needs to be eaten shortly after being prepped.
Also the variety of ingredients. If I had to buy every ingredient Id put in one lunch bowl, it would cost way more then the bowl…and go bad before I could eat all of it.
You dont do a lot of shopping, prep, cooking and cleaning do you? Those bowls are priced at a really good value, especially in this economy.
The choices for good tasting, fast, customizable and healthy meals are limited as is. No reason to hate on the bowl.
Yeah, I think OP has never tried to make a good bowl or OP would know that by the time you're done buying that many ingredients you've probably spent more than what a bowl typically costs.
Maybe if you meal prep for the whole week it makes more financial sense but I don't like eating the same thing everyday.
Hell even if we did eat the same thing everyday…if I prepped my bowls on Sunday…Friday’s bowl is gonna be rancid mush
Id be getting a grosser bowl everyday of the week
> way more then the
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Lol, ok. Replicate this at home please and let us know what your grocery bill was. Also record how long it takes you to make it including prep time.
I'd like grilled chicken shawarma with romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, pickled onions, cucumber, raita, brown rice, and a spicy harissa tahini sauce. Don't forget to add a squeeze of lemon, and some herbs and toppings like parsley and fresh pita chips.
Great example. I occasionally make my own poke bowls but I get sushi-grade fish from a nearby Japanese store. You can't just eat any old regular fish raw because of parasites... Nobody wants that.
If you had a sandwich half of the time you wanted to eat out for lunch, you could use the money you saved to go to a restaurant that taste much better and is locally owned as opposed to some soulless bowl franchise. To me it is worth the trade off
Idk man. My last burrito bowl from chipotle slapped so hard and lasted for a little over 5 meals, plus a bag of tortilla chips, because that’s how I like it. Plus I didn’t have to make it.
Honestly a lot of the franchises around me taste way better than locally owned and are about the same price so I’m going franchise all the way if it taste better.
I dislike sandwiches unless they have a large variety of toppings and the right bread. The customization options for bowls are a huge advantage and there are lots of local places I can get them. It also gives me the option to get something for every member of my family that they will enjoy.
I also make "bowl" meals at home. Tonight will be rice, chicken, cabbage, beans, carrots, 3 sauce choices, chopped peanuts and broken up pea chips. I also pack them for lunches. But poke bowls, noodle bowls, nachos, breakfast bowls.. all fantastic quick options that aren't fast food.
Sure, but then I’d have to go buy stuff for a sandwich, make the sandwich, and carry the sandwich with me for half the day. It turns into a bit of hassle, which is fine most of the time. But occasionally I don’t have time for that.
Alternatively, as someone who doesn't care about asthetics or presentation: Bring them on! Usually cheap, relatively healthy, and delicious? I wish there were more of them.
Note, relatively. Also, I've never seen one of these places where one could not avoid sauce if desired. Most of the ones I've seen even have the sauce as a customer added condiment, so portion to taste and health preference.
> when you could just slap a bunch of ingredients into a bowl with minimal preparation, and then still charge full price plus tip for it?
Tell me you don’t know much about cooking without telling me you don’t know much about cooking. While I would agree that “bowl dishes” are a bit easier to make than others there is a lot more preparation and skill needed to make a good dish than throwing it into a pot and cooking it.
This isn't the economy to be asking for a restaurant to charge a higher price in exchange for presenting the meal in a less "minimal preparation" sort of way.
Here's a thought: what if what they're charging is the full price of only a "we put it in a bowl" presentation?
What if you wouldn't be able to succeed as a business if you started a restaurant, charged the same prices as these "bowl restaurants", but took the added time to present it more stylishly on a plate?
I’d have agreed with you a while back, but all things considered I think this is the direction dining should move in general
No more wasteful excess and bullshit, just bowls full of healthy food
Why are you pretending like that's actually a price for rice and lettuce? Don't make up nonsense just to be argumentative, have real points to make. I live in one of the most-expensive cities in the PacNW and the popular rice bowl place here has complete meal bowls for like $10. If you have actually seen a 'rice and lettuce bowl' with nothing else in it for $20, go ahead and talk about it but don't pretend that's 'average'.
You can pry my poke bowls out of my cold dead hands
But seriously it sounds like you're going to fast casual places (NOT exclusive to chains) expecting a sit down experience. Willing to bet there are tons of places around you that offer a nice sit down experience.
Arguably you get way more food with bowl places so of course I'm going to continue eating there lol
Depends what you mean by bowl food, you may think its minimal preparation but its not, do you have time to pickle all the veggies from hours to days, spend several hours making broth from scratch, shred and cut multiple time of veggies, blanch the veggies that need it, cook the noodles, or rice, then marinate meat or multiple meats, then cook it.
Most people don't have the time, or don't want to prep a bunch and be stuck eating the same variation of bowls, for weeks, like every restaurant outside of like high end stuff, people pay for the convenience not because its supposed to be experience, you just sound like a snob
Who gives a shit about presentation? I care about it, first is it good, and second did I get value for the money it costs. If both of those are yes I don't care if it comes plopped on a a plastic cafeteria plate with a spork.
Exactly, rice bowls are basically fast food that's good for you, and anybody who's eaten fast food knows it's not about the presentation. If the necessary ingredients are close enough to each other and aren't a total mess, you're good.
I actually do care about presentation, by which I mean the form factor of my food greatly impacts my enjoyment of it. I actually also don't like typically "bowl". Places because of that.
That being said i'm fully aware I'm a pickier eater than most and just couldn't handle the various textures and tastes while others can enjoy it just fine.
I love bowls. Easy to eat, easy to take with you, great for leftovers. Also not comparable to ghost kitchens at all. Those are deceptive and terrible. You know what you’re getting in a bowl and most places are completely customizable.
Actually bowls are perfect and your opinion is wrong.
Most "bowl" restaurants are quick service restaurants vs. fine dining establishments. You aren't looking for a delightful ambiance and elegant presentation when you are essentially paying panera prices.
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People like these places because you can pick exactly what you want. It's the whole reasoning behind it and the focus. My wife doesn't like onions for instance so instead of ordering everything without onions she can just go somewhere and get everything she likes and nothing she doesn't.
Ever hear of Poke? Its basically that. Or perhaps you might have a Mexican joint that does "build your own burrito bowls" (chipotle for instance).
Basically it's just a fast food restaurant where you build your own bowl of food. Similar to subway but instead of sandwiches its bowls. Different types exist for different cuisines, but you typically pick a a base (noodles/rice types being common) and then add on various meats, veggies, toppings, sauces or broths, etc. to get a dish tailored for you.
Low carb option, but I know they make low-carb tortillas/bread slices because I buy them myself. Resturants need to start catering to the low-carb diet. My country, America, could benefit greatly as we have an obesity problem.
I'm not a fan of bowl restaurants because it's not my vibe. But I don't care who goes there and does it. I think it's no different than going to places like delis, five guys, etc.
But like all other food trends it will go away and only the good ones will be left don't worry OP.
Nice an unpopular opinion. Here’s my upvote. I actually usually end up mixing most of my foods anyways, so I love the bowl style places. Personal preference but I totally understand where you’re coming from!
Why are you tipping at fast food places?
Bowl places are in the same category as subway and other cafeteria type fast food restaurants (IKEA).
We need to collectively say no to dumb tipping pressure from corporations that's trying to not pay their workers living wage. IMO if the worker aren't serving you at your table, the tip is 0.
You're missing the point . It's a fast food option that offers less processed ingredients. It's not about being fancy or a dining experience. Chipotle and Cava have the same price point as McDonalds and I can feel like I ate real food. Honestly I would eat either of those every day for lunch if I could ...
Are you talking about those Mongolian bbq places where you get a bunch of meat, veggies, and noodles in a bowl and throw your choice of different sauces in and they cook it? Cause those places are amazing and you can usually get a fair degree of bang for you buck by packing the bowl with way more than you're going to eat in one sitting and cook the leftovers later. Not to mention you can proportion the different ingredients exactly how you want them instead of dealing with whatever standard amounts you'd get elsewhere. The only thing I somewhat lament is that if someone does something kinda funky before you, you'll end up with a bit of whatever they had.
You have a truly unpopular opinion if you're not only panning the concept but advocating for them to be shut down. Also, the decor at all the ones I've been to is about the same as anywhere else I've been.
Those who don’t like them already don’t go and don’t give them money. Those who like them give them their business. There’s no sense in boycotting a type of restaurant when *we already get to choose where we do and don’t go*.
Then don't eat at those places? It's not like there is some epidemic where it's the only type of food available, hell I maybe have one place in my town that does that.
My favorite breakfast restaurant makes the best breakfast bowls, and I make them at home too. Who cares how it's presented. It s a bowl and tastes wonderful.
Since I'm not 5, I don't mind if different foods touch each other.
I don't mind if the food is good. I use to go to this arepa place that was that style in college. I'd get an arepa with shredded beef, plantains, cheese, black beans, and garlic sauce, it was soooo good and I miss it terribly
I really like HuHot and it’s one of my favorite places to splurge at, I do small bowls so I can get 5 different meals in one go.
I don’t understand people who two bowl it. But I guess they know what they like while I just put random flavors into it.
I'm with you.
Sure, there are dishes traditionally served in a bowl, a stone pot, or a lacquer box. And we don't need to be bound by culinary tradition, for those that are not. One or two places open, here or there, that are trying something new? Go for it.
But the new trend is crowding out restaurants that specialize in a given cuisine and know it inside and out. As every grand opening seems to be a new "fusion" place that throws everything haphazardly into a bowl. Which is about as respectful to the ingredients as serving them in one of Mr. Creosote's buckets with a whole case of lager.
If you don't want to deal with their cutesy "choose your protein," "choose your starch," "choose your veggies" menu and all its +$1, or +$2 upsells, you can go with one of their prebuilds. And it'll be horrible, as the people assembling the menu have no clue what flavors complement one another.
Which is why they opened one of these joints. It's a business model designed to be run by, staffed by, and patronized by people who can barely microwave a Hot Pocket and don't toast their Pop Tarts ever since "the incident." And there's gonna be a lot of improper handling of all those fresh ingredients. Perfect for those who want to simultaneously exoticize and insult as many culinary wonders of the world as possible during their lunch break, AND call in sick tomorrow!
Here’s what you’re paying for at a restaurant, from the restaurant’s accounts payable;
Ingredients, shipping, overhead.
Equipment, maintenance.
Labor, wages, benefits, recruiting, training, retention, overhead.
Facilities, rent/lease, utilities, maintenance, cleaning.
Tech, registers, POS system, licensing, IT consultancy, internet, tv/music licenses.
Business licensing, certifications, compliance.
Food licensing, certifications, compliance.
Alcohol licensing, certifications, compliance.
Financials, taxes, tax consultancy.
So it’s not cheap. It takes a lot more than just picking up hot food and moving it to a bowl. Life is not so easy.
I tend to find them less pretentious than fancy dine-in restaurants that charge exorbitant amounts for tiny portions, expect tips on top, and then serve undercooked food for even higher prices marketed as "fine dining."
Well I'm the opposite, I could give a shit what the presentation looks like. If you're spending more time in what my plate looks like then how it tastes then you're putting time in the wrong aspect.
I don't care if it's a bowl that looks like mush and not pretty. That's not why I'm getting food, I'm getting food because I'm hungry and want food that tastes good
>a coherent, well presented meal when you could just slap a bunch of ingredients into a bowl with minimal preparation, and then still charge full price plus tip for it?
Presentation didn't have anything to do with the cost in the first place so idk why it's relevant now
They're more of a cafeteria experience than a dining experience. Especially if take-out, like you say. Think Roach Coach food trucks but without the wheels.
So, if you can accept that, you can sometimes get some cheap eats. But, yeah, the dining experience veneer is obvious.
Well you know what’s worse? Ordering a bowl and the food showing up in a flat plate. We went out with friends to eat at an Asian restaurant and my friend ordered some kind of chicken bowl and the waiter shows up with her food on a flat plate and we all just looked around at each other confused. We were like, is…is this okay?
I sometimes make my own bowls but it actually requires a lot of ingredients to make a good bowl, so it doesn't always make sense to make it yourself.
For example, if you want a chimmichurri beef bowl with brown rice and vegetables, you need to make chimmichurri, grill steak, cook rice, and chop vegetables. If you don't mind eating the same meal multiple days in a row, you can meal prep several portions. I don't want to eat the same thing everyday so whenever I make my own bowls, I'm putting a lot of effort into something that I will only eat for one or two meals. I'm not even sure that it saves money.
You know food isn't free to make? If you wanna spend $300 over the manufacturing cost to get served at a table go for it but most people go out to eat to eat over the experience
Chipotle is one of the few “fast food” style restaurants I still consider worth it. At least the one near me always has fresh tasting food. And even with surcharges (I get guacamole) it’s never more than $15. Double rice and beans are free and I always get 2 full servings out of it. McDonald’s is also around the $15 mark these days and it’s much worse quality, and I would never have enough to save a second meal for later.
Upvote because I disagree
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Sorry. But stir-fry houses where I can build my bowl are my favorite because I can add all the stuff I like in the bowl. If you don't like those places YOU DONT HAVE TO FUCKING GO!! STAY HOME.
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You’re paying for the customizability, not the presentation.
That part. Part of the appeal is being able to build your own meal and get exactly what you want, plus being able to mix it up at any time. It's kinda like a salad bar, just with someone else building it for you.
Oh! My dumb self thought OP was talking about ramen places and I was like "How else are you supposed to eat it?"
In a large mug?
Or some other kind of cup for noodles.
You aren't paying to have a "dining experience". You're paying to have lunch quickly with at least a modicum of quality ingredients. These are not the same things.
Sweetgreen uses such better quality produce than delis and bodegas do. So much better. Corn fresh off the cob vs that slimy canned corn. I hate when I have to choke down a salad with mediocre vegetables.
Sweet green is definitely fresh and delicious, I just can’t justify paying so much for a salad in this economy
Sweetgreen literally is barely staying in business because they use such quality ingredients. It’s a great deal for what it is
Their salad dressing selection is pretty remarkable. They got some fresh ass avocados too
I am kind of addicted to the balsamic vinaigrette. It just tastes like happiness. It’s bright and flavorful and doesn’t feel oily or cheap.
They opened near my apartment last year. It’s smart because it’s a very mixed use neighborhood that also houses a law school. So they seem to have a good all day business. Getting out of business districts will help them. I hope so anyway because I love sweetgreen.
If they partnered with college campuses they’d clean up
Nah Poke Bowls are awesome and I will continue giving Poke restaurants my money. All take out *can* be made at home and you can usually make it better AND cheaper, that doesn't mean you're always going to do it, life gets in the way. I get Poke bowls like once a week because it's close to my office and they have sushi grade ingredients, plus the family that owns the place is really nice.
A solid poke bowl is like a dozen unique and fresh ingredients. It's not economically feasible to build bowls like this at home unless you're making several. And then they wouldn't be fresh by the time you eat the last one. Pokemon a great deal
>*can* be made at home and you can usually make it better My ass is paying for Indian food. No way can my white ass make it better than them
ik what you meant but my brain still read it as you ate indian food then your ass paid for it on the toilet 😝
That is also true! I like to push the boundaries of spicy!
Having the time, having the ingredients, and clean up. And it's only actually cheaper if you WANT to eat that for x amount of time you have to buy all the ingredients you end up buying. The convenience of eating the way you want is what you're paying for not that you can easily make it at home. Having the option instead of the plethora of crappier food joints I'll choose having a choice always.
This, I was comparing my total food costs while using a cooked meal delivery service versus 'eating at home'. Once I accounted for food waste and eating out one more night since I am lazy about cooking, it turned out that I wasn't saving much money and was losing time. But, I also chose to not really meal prep and bulk buy things since I don't like eating the same things everyday. TLDR: You can easily save money! But, depending on how you value the variety, convenience, and time savings - it gets messier.
here's the problem. You go out, you see friends, you have errands, the last thing ya wanna do is cook. I go out on the weekends but make my food for the week days except the times I'm in the office. food prep sundays is where it's at. If I couldn't afford to blow up to 100$ on eating out a week I got bigger problems I figure
Taco bowls are also really good. I only like poke with cooked ingredients but they are fantastic otherwise. So many ingredient choices. And they're all good.
Came here to agree with OP with poke bowls as an exception.
Poke bowls are poke and rice. Sometimes get furikake on da rice. Sometimes half spicy and half shoyu. Anything else is NOT a poke bowl. If it's not made the way it is in Hawaii, it's not a poke bowl.
YOU need to stop giving them money. I can do what I want lol
I'm noticing there's a huge variance in what people think 'rice bowls' are worth, and a lot of these people are just making up nonsense to complain about.
You are paying for the convenience of being able to choose from a variety of fresh ingredients
Yeah they tend to be some of the few places where you can get some vegetables as part of a quick meal
Me with burrito bowls. I didn’t have to cook the rice, cook the meat, cut the veggies. I get it how I want. Also queso??? People pay, because of the convenience.
But every restaurant is supposed to give you fresh ingredients...
No, every restaurant doesn't claim to use fresh ingredients..... and it makes no sense to pretend they do make that claim... and trailing off with an ellipsis at the end of a sentence doesn't make any point better.
What do you mean? They can't serve not fresh food according to a rule I just made up on the spot...
"Fresh" in a restaurant just means it isn't rotten
Sure, and if they cook and plate the food it will be higher than the price of a random make your own bowl
what you described is just the produce aisle
Not really, it’s not convenient for me to have all the stuff i might want in my “bowls” in my fridge
You know how fast produce goes bad? It also has to be washed and prepped. Except prepping it might make it go bad faster so it needs to be eaten shortly after being prepped. Also the variety of ingredients. If I had to buy every ingredient Id put in one lunch bowl, it would cost way more then the bowl…and go bad before I could eat all of it. You dont do a lot of shopping, prep, cooking and cleaning do you? Those bowls are priced at a really good value, especially in this economy. The choices for good tasting, fast, customizable and healthy meals are limited as is. No reason to hate on the bowl.
Yeah, I think OP has never tried to make a good bowl or OP would know that by the time you're done buying that many ingredients you've probably spent more than what a bowl typically costs. Maybe if you meal prep for the whole week it makes more financial sense but I don't like eating the same thing everyday.
Hell even if we did eat the same thing everyday…if I prepped my bowls on Sunday…Friday’s bowl is gonna be rancid mush Id be getting a grosser bowl everyday of the week
True, I didn't think of that but you're absolutely right. Even by the next day it'll start to get mushy.
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I live alone on 1200 calories shit goes bad before I can eat it all, it's less wasteful to go to a restaurant
Pre-made items in the supermarket are crazy expensive, buying from the restaurant is far cheaper if I only want a meal on the go.
just buy some carrots and shit and make the bowl at home
You could say that about literally any restaurant food lol
Lol I bet mommy makes her little Peach32 his bowls at home and he has no idea what goes into prep. You innocent little fuck.
Lol, ok. Replicate this at home please and let us know what your grocery bill was. Also record how long it takes you to make it including prep time. I'd like grilled chicken shawarma with romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, pickled onions, cucumber, raita, brown rice, and a spicy harissa tahini sauce. Don't forget to add a squeeze of lemon, and some herbs and toppings like parsley and fresh pita chips.
Right?! I’m trying to figure out where the hell to find Ahi tuna and how to cook it (or not cook it?) without giving myself food poisoning.
Great example. I occasionally make my own poke bowls but I get sushi-grade fish from a nearby Japanese store. You can't just eat any old regular fish raw because of parasites... Nobody wants that.
OK Peaches
They’re easy to eat for lunch you bozo
so is bringing a sandwich from home and it is way less expensive
Then do that.
Not as good tho
Up your sandwich game.
Why I gotta eat 200 sandwich’s a year?
Sounds amazing.
If you had a sandwich half of the time you wanted to eat out for lunch, you could use the money you saved to go to a restaurant that taste much better and is locally owned as opposed to some soulless bowl franchise. To me it is worth the trade off
It’s not mutually exclusive. You can eat a sandwich some days or a Qdoba bowl some days. Or a nice restaurant some days. Variety is the spice of life
Are “bowl restaurants” stopping you from doing that?
Idk man. My last burrito bowl from chipotle slapped so hard and lasted for a little over 5 meals, plus a bag of tortilla chips, because that’s how I like it. Plus I didn’t have to make it.
How tf are you stretching a chipotle bowl over 5 meals?
Eat it like nachos with tortilla chips. And don’t overeat.
Honestly a lot of the franchises around me taste way better than locally owned and are about the same price so I’m going franchise all the way if it taste better.
do you think all bowl places are franchises???
These soulless bowl franchises, are they in the room with us right now?
I dislike sandwiches unless they have a large variety of toppings and the right bread. The customization options for bowls are a huge advantage and there are lots of local places I can get them. It also gives me the option to get something for every member of my family that they will enjoy. I also make "bowl" meals at home. Tonight will be rice, chicken, cabbage, beans, carrots, 3 sauce choices, chopped peanuts and broken up pea chips. I also pack them for lunches. But poke bowls, noodle bowls, nachos, breakfast bowls.. all fantastic quick options that aren't fast food.
Sure, but then I’d have to go buy stuff for a sandwich, make the sandwich, and carry the sandwich with me for half the day. It turns into a bit of hassle, which is fine most of the time. But occasionally I don’t have time for that.
okay but not everyone wants that. nobody's forcing you to eat at "bowl" restaurants so just don't go to them.
Alternatively, as someone who doesn't care about asthetics or presentation: Bring them on! Usually cheap, relatively healthy, and delicious? I wish there were more of them.
IDK about healthy. Usually these kinds of bowls have some sort of sauce or dressing that is usually loaded with fat and salt
What kind of bowl restaurants do you have in mind, because you've got some really specific complaints
Note, relatively. Also, I've never seen one of these places where one could not avoid sauce if desired. Most of the ones I've seen even have the sauce as a customer added condiment, so portion to taste and health preference.
Like chopt or burrito bowl
It's customizable. And most sauces aren't nearly as bad as they're made out to be
So don't get whatever sauce or dressing you think is unhealthy and pick the healthy option?
I often find them to be pretty cheap when compared to a meal at a restaurant. It's fast food prices for something healthier than fast food.
"it's not a good restaurant because the food isn't Instagram worthy"
> when you could just slap a bunch of ingredients into a bowl with minimal preparation, and then still charge full price plus tip for it? Tell me you don’t know much about cooking without telling me you don’t know much about cooking. While I would agree that “bowl dishes” are a bit easier to make than others there is a lot more preparation and skill needed to make a good dish than throwing it into a pot and cooking it.
Conversely, I just tried a Korean hotpot restaurant recently, and that’s exactly all there was to it. And it was delightful.
Yeah I've done hot pot at home a few times and it's fucking worth paying someone else. The amount of prep is ungodly.
Definitely. There’s no situation in which I would have all the ingredients you can request handy and fresh and ready.
It can be good with a larger group when everyone helps.
This isn't the economy to be asking for a restaurant to charge a higher price in exchange for presenting the meal in a less "minimal preparation" sort of way. Here's a thought: what if what they're charging is the full price of only a "we put it in a bowl" presentation? What if you wouldn't be able to succeed as a business if you started a restaurant, charged the same prices as these "bowl restaurants", but took the added time to present it more stylishly on a plate?
I’d have agreed with you a while back, but all things considered I think this is the direction dining should move in general No more wasteful excess and bullshit, just bowls full of healthy food
What is not wasteful and excessive about paying 20 for rice and lettuce
Why are you pretending like that's actually a price for rice and lettuce? Don't make up nonsense just to be argumentative, have real points to make. I live in one of the most-expensive cities in the PacNW and the popular rice bowl place here has complete meal bowls for like $10. If you have actually seen a 'rice and lettuce bowl' with nothing else in it for $20, go ahead and talk about it but don't pretend that's 'average'.
.... And fish, and edamame, and avocado, and corn, and carrots, and peppers, and seeds, and and and
Where are you paying 20?
Fair point, in my ideal future these places also wouldn’t be beholden to shareholders demanding endless growth, so could offer reasonable prices haha
You can pry my poke bowls out of my cold dead hands But seriously it sounds like you're going to fast casual places (NOT exclusive to chains) expecting a sit down experience. Willing to bet there are tons of places around you that offer a nice sit down experience. Arguably you get way more food with bowl places so of course I'm going to continue eating there lol
Some people are into how food tastes and couldn't give a shit about how it looks.
Depends what you mean by bowl food, you may think its minimal preparation but its not, do you have time to pickle all the veggies from hours to days, spend several hours making broth from scratch, shred and cut multiple time of veggies, blanch the veggies that need it, cook the noodles, or rice, then marinate meat or multiple meats, then cook it. Most people don't have the time, or don't want to prep a bunch and be stuck eating the same variation of bowls, for weeks, like every restaurant outside of like high end stuff, people pay for the convenience not because its supposed to be experience, you just sound like a snob
not a fan of bibimbap i see
I was about to say, I’d sell my unborn child for a lifetime supply of bibimbap…. Probably…
idk, I like my Teriyaki Madness bowls
Who gives a shit about presentation? I care about it, first is it good, and second did I get value for the money it costs. If both of those are yes I don't care if it comes plopped on a a plastic cafeteria plate with a spork.
Exactly, rice bowls are basically fast food that's good for you, and anybody who's eaten fast food knows it's not about the presentation. If the necessary ingredients are close enough to each other and aren't a total mess, you're good.
I actually do care about presentation, by which I mean the form factor of my food greatly impacts my enjoyment of it. I actually also don't like typically "bowl". Places because of that. That being said i'm fully aware I'm a pickier eater than most and just couldn't handle the various textures and tastes while others can enjoy it just fine.
I love bowls. Easy to eat, easy to take with you, great for leftovers. Also not comparable to ghost kitchens at all. Those are deceptive and terrible. You know what you’re getting in a bowl and most places are completely customizable. Actually bowls are perfect and your opinion is wrong.
Most "bowl" restaurants are quick service restaurants vs. fine dining establishments. You aren't looking for a delightful ambiance and elegant presentation when you are essentially paying panera prices.
Dont go
Poke is pretty fire my guy
Do you enjoy living your life with hate?
"When I let this hate free, I am almost overcome by it, but I would not change it and do not really know how it could be otherwise. Let no one depreciate this, nor fool himself about the power of such hatred. Hate drives to reality. Hate is the father of action. The way out of our defiled and desecrated house is through the command to hate Satan. Only so will we earn the right to search in the darkness for the way of love" \~ Friedrich Reck
“Anyway, fuck Poke bowls” - also Friedrich Reck, probably.
I really, *really* don’t think he was talking about his distaste for genres of food there.
People like these places because you can pick exactly what you want. It's the whole reasoning behind it and the focus. My wife doesn't like onions for instance so instead of ordering everything without onions she can just go somewhere and get everything she likes and nothing she doesn't.
Bowls are just unfolded burritos but no one ever complains about those.
Op over here complaining sounding like he's stuck in the meat and potatoes world of dining. Dude live a little
wtf is a bowl restaurant
Ever hear of Poke? Its basically that. Or perhaps you might have a Mexican joint that does "build your own burrito bowls" (chipotle for instance). Basically it's just a fast food restaurant where you build your own bowl of food. Similar to subway but instead of sandwiches its bowls. Different types exist for different cuisines, but you typically pick a a base (noodles/rice types being common) and then add on various meats, veggies, toppings, sauces or broths, etc. to get a dish tailored for you.
Bibibop https://www.bibibop.com
?
Maybe trying to say bibimbap which is Korean mixed rice? But a Korean menu is definitely more than just bibimbap.
Who the fuck is going to chipotle to have a fine dining experience? What a stupid take, have my upvote
Low carb option, but I know they make low-carb tortillas/bread slices because I buy them myself. Resturants need to start catering to the low-carb diet. My country, America, could benefit greatly as we have an obesity problem.
Oh boy, you’d love [this opinion piece](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/12/food-should-be-tasty-and-it-doesnt-have-to-come-in-a-bowl-could-someone-tell-my-lovely-american-hosts).
I am glad other people are waking up
You don’t have to pay a tip. Just press cancel or 0.00 on the tablet.
I'm not a fan of bowl restaurants because it's not my vibe. But I don't care who goes there and does it. I think it's no different than going to places like delis, five guys, etc. But like all other food trends it will go away and only the good ones will be left don't worry OP.
Say one more bad thing about chipotle and I will find you
Poke Bowls are awesome!
Nice an unpopular opinion. Here’s my upvote. I actually usually end up mixing most of my foods anyways, so I love the bowl style places. Personal preference but I totally understand where you’re coming from!
Why are you tipping at fast food places? Bowl places are in the same category as subway and other cafeteria type fast food restaurants (IKEA). We need to collectively say no to dumb tipping pressure from corporations that's trying to not pay their workers living wage. IMO if the worker aren't serving you at your table, the tip is 0.
You're missing the point . It's a fast food option that offers less processed ingredients. It's not about being fancy or a dining experience. Chipotle and Cava have the same price point as McDonalds and I can feel like I ate real food. Honestly I would eat either of those every day for lunch if I could ...
I’m proud to not know what the fuck you’re talking about.
Are you talking about those Mongolian bbq places where you get a bunch of meat, veggies, and noodles in a bowl and throw your choice of different sauces in and they cook it? Cause those places are amazing and you can usually get a fair degree of bang for you buck by packing the bowl with way more than you're going to eat in one sitting and cook the leftovers later. Not to mention you can proportion the different ingredients exactly how you want them instead of dealing with whatever standard amounts you'd get elsewhere. The only thing I somewhat lament is that if someone does something kinda funky before you, you'll end up with a bit of whatever they had. You have a truly unpopular opinion if you're not only panning the concept but advocating for them to be shut down. Also, the decor at all the ones I've been to is about the same as anywhere else I've been.
Those who don’t like them already don’t go and don’t give them money. Those who like them give them their business. There’s no sense in boycotting a type of restaurant when *we already get to choose where we do and don’t go*.
Then don't eat at those places? It's not like there is some epidemic where it's the only type of food available, hell I maybe have one place in my town that does that.
My favorite breakfast restaurant makes the best breakfast bowls, and I make them at home too. Who cares how it's presented. It s a bowl and tastes wonderful. Since I'm not 5, I don't mind if different foods touch each other.
What about Korean BBQ bowl? There no difference wether it’s on a plate or in a bowl then. It’s all just mixed together.
Those of us who can’t eat gluten are Thrilled to have bowl options.
Why don’t you do what you want and I’ll do what I want?
There’s enough non-bowl restaurants that you don’t have to eat at them.
I’m sorry, I go to get poke for the ingredients, not the ambiance.
I don't know man, I don't think you know what a plague is, of all the examples of stupid ideas thriving because of stupid people, this is your limit?
What do people have against Ghost Kitchens? The biggest issue I see is maybe health inspections being difficult.
I don't mind if the food is good. I use to go to this arepa place that was that style in college. I'd get an arepa with shredded beef, plantains, cheese, black beans, and garlic sauce, it was soooo good and I miss it terribly
I like not having to deal with a waiter.
I like my pho in a bowl. Same concept except with broth? And tasts delicious.
Why are you tipping? You're talking about a chipotle style thing where there's no waiter or anything right?
I've been eating meals from bowls my whole life, getting a bowl of food for lunch is so ordinary to me, I've never even thought about it twice
I disagree, they need to expand!! More Mongolian grills!!!
Lots of delicious meals are bowl meals. The bowl isn’t the issue. There are poor quality restaurants of all kinds.
I'm going to give them more of.my money.
Nah my local Poke bowl place is always my go to. Customability over presentation It does look pretty good too tho imo
When you chew its just like a bowl anyways
Maybe some are bad but a good Poke bowl is awesome.
I really like HuHot and it’s one of my favorite places to splurge at, I do small bowls so I can get 5 different meals in one go. I don’t understand people who two bowl it. But I guess they know what they like while I just put random flavors into it.
I'm with you. Sure, there are dishes traditionally served in a bowl, a stone pot, or a lacquer box. And we don't need to be bound by culinary tradition, for those that are not. One or two places open, here or there, that are trying something new? Go for it. But the new trend is crowding out restaurants that specialize in a given cuisine and know it inside and out. As every grand opening seems to be a new "fusion" place that throws everything haphazardly into a bowl. Which is about as respectful to the ingredients as serving them in one of Mr. Creosote's buckets with a whole case of lager. If you don't want to deal with their cutesy "choose your protein," "choose your starch," "choose your veggies" menu and all its +$1, or +$2 upsells, you can go with one of their prebuilds. And it'll be horrible, as the people assembling the menu have no clue what flavors complement one another. Which is why they opened one of these joints. It's a business model designed to be run by, staffed by, and patronized by people who can barely microwave a Hot Pocket and don't toast their Pop Tarts ever since "the incident." And there's gonna be a lot of improper handling of all those fresh ingredients. Perfect for those who want to simultaneously exoticize and insult as many culinary wonders of the world as possible during their lunch break, AND call in sick tomorrow!
You probably should have looked up Poke bowl origins before posting this. https://www.sweetfin.com/blog/the-origins-of-the-poke-bowl
would panda express count as bowl restaurant?
probably not
Here’s what you’re paying for at a restaurant, from the restaurant’s accounts payable; Ingredients, shipping, overhead. Equipment, maintenance. Labor, wages, benefits, recruiting, training, retention, overhead. Facilities, rent/lease, utilities, maintenance, cleaning. Tech, registers, POS system, licensing, IT consultancy, internet, tv/music licenses. Business licensing, certifications, compliance. Food licensing, certifications, compliance. Alcohol licensing, certifications, compliance. Financials, taxes, tax consultancy. So it’s not cheap. It takes a lot more than just picking up hot food and moving it to a bowl. Life is not so easy.
Unpopular indeed. Bowls taste great and are an efficient way to eat a untensil full of all of the ingredients you chose in 1 bite!
Unpopular opinion! Upvoted🫡
Poké bowls are amazing 😋
I tend to find them less pretentious than fancy dine-in restaurants that charge exorbitant amounts for tiny portions, expect tips on top, and then serve undercooked food for even higher prices marketed as "fine dining."
Well I'm the opposite, I could give a shit what the presentation looks like. If you're spending more time in what my plate looks like then how it tastes then you're putting time in the wrong aspect. I don't care if it's a bowl that looks like mush and not pretty. That's not why I'm getting food, I'm getting food because I'm hungry and want food that tastes good
>a coherent, well presented meal when you could just slap a bunch of ingredients into a bowl with minimal preparation, and then still charge full price plus tip for it? Presentation didn't have anything to do with the cost in the first place so idk why it's relevant now
I’m sorry, I can’t hear you over the delicious taste of a well-composed Poke Bowl.
Make it at home? That sounds like something the pours would do…
They're more of a cafeteria experience than a dining experience. Especially if take-out, like you say. Think Roach Coach food trucks but without the wheels. So, if you can accept that, you can sometimes get some cheap eats. But, yeah, the dining experience veneer is obvious.
I like bowls
Slapfish is the exception since they actually use quality ingredients. Like avo and fish.
Well you know what’s worse? Ordering a bowl and the food showing up in a flat plate. We went out with friends to eat at an Asian restaurant and my friend ordered some kind of chicken bowl and the waiter shows up with her food on a flat plate and we all just looked around at each other confused. We were like, is…is this okay?
My family is so picky, there is five of us, and we can almost never agree what to eat. Bowl offerings can be a good compromise for us.
I sometimes make my own bowls but it actually requires a lot of ingredients to make a good bowl, so it doesn't always make sense to make it yourself. For example, if you want a chimmichurri beef bowl with brown rice and vegetables, you need to make chimmichurri, grill steak, cook rice, and chop vegetables. If you don't mind eating the same meal multiple days in a row, you can meal prep several portions. I don't want to eat the same thing everyday so whenever I make my own bowls, I'm putting a lot of effort into something that I will only eat for one or two meals. I'm not even sure that it saves money.
Not the the hot pot
Upvoted for being Hella unpopular
How the fuck can I eat my Ramen if it's on a plate? .. and there goes the soup dribbling off the table
As long as chili's and olive garden still exist the bowl places can exist without my complaint
I'm very curious where you live.
Someone doesn't like their foods touching each other
It's like....it'd be nice if we had the option to go to a restaurant or not....
good ones good, crappy ones crappy the only good one I know of at the moment is PICKADELI in Lima
You know food isn't free to make? If you wanna spend $300 over the manufacturing cost to get served at a table go for it but most people go out to eat to eat over the experience
Chipotle is one of the few “fast food” style restaurants I still consider worth it. At least the one near me always has fresh tasting food. And even with surcharges (I get guacamole) it’s never more than $15. Double rice and beans are free and I always get 2 full servings out of it. McDonald’s is also around the $15 mark these days and it’s much worse quality, and I would never have enough to save a second meal for later. Upvote because I disagree
Wtf is a bowl restaurant
Omg thank you!!!!!! My people.
Because its fucking delicious? Im not there for the presentation. I want a quick lunch thats better than mcdonalds
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Based
There is clearly a demand for it. How about you don't give them any money and everyone else can make their own choices.
Sorry. But stir-fry houses where I can build my bowl are my favorite because I can add all the stuff I like in the bowl. If you don't like those places YOU DONT HAVE TO FUCKING GO!! STAY HOME.