Long Island Deli Sandwiches vs. Chick-fil-A

• 52:41Long Island delis have had better sandwiches than Chick-fil-A for decades, so getting upset about a fast-food sandwich is crazy.
• 53:00Tim catalogs legendary Long Island deli sandwiches: chicken club, meatball parmesan, fried eggplant, bacon egg and cheese on garlic hero.
• 53:50Go to Long Island and live there for the serious sandwiches—rare roast beef with mozzarella, meatloaf with vodka sauce, buffalo chicken with blue cheese.
• 54:42Chick-fil-A is good but mass-produced and not life-changing; Tim knows what life-changing food is from a corporate steakhouse.
• 54:59Tim loves corporate steakhouses for the specific atmosphere: real estate scams, tan couples fresh from unfulfilled vacations, shellfish towers, and bosses impressing new hires.
• 55:38He wants maitre d's grabbing you by the arm, collared shirts, aged ribeyes, Wagyu, and the knowledge that demons from hell are dressed to the nines eating the same thing everywhere.
• 56:42Tim names his favorite chains: Frisco, Smith and Wollensky, Pappas, Ocean Prime, Capital Grille—he wants consistency and menu design in a boardroom by suits.
• 57:17The only argument Tim makes is about an appetizer off his tab that wasn't what he expected, but corporate soulless steakhouses are his favorite type of restaurant.
• 57:36People need to acquire dumb things or they fall into spiritual genocide; Alan Stillman and others knew that corporate steakhouses feed this human need.
• 58:23Tim tells his woman they're going to a corporate steakhouse where he and his almost-dead father have been going for ten years, making memories through petite filet and Chardonnay.
• 59:03Father and son fill themselves with fat, salt, and sugar at a corporate steakhouse, tossing and turning sick that night while their digestion profits the corporation.
• 59:50He will never love any restaurant as much as a corporate steakhouse for its role in serving dying maitre d's, lonely boozing people, and providing accountability through hierarchy.
• 1:00:24The bartender saying thanks for coming Tim keeps him from blowing his brains out because it's a corporate steakhouse where things matter and are done the same way.
• 1:00:48Magic is over in this country; as a brand becomes sustainable, it can't take risks, but it can deliver consistent quality.
• 1:01:38Stop reading reviews about inspiring chef origin stories—go to corporate steakhouses, sit in a dark corner, and eat what you know you'll like.
• 1:02:06High-end dining died in the 90s after 9/11; people stopped going to French restaurants for three-hour tasting menus and now get jelly cubes and sea urchin foam instead.
• 1:02:44Tim will take a corporate steakhouse with a hot loaf of bread that's probably from someone else's table over pretentious high-end dining.
• 1:02:55He has given up on truly exceptional dining, accepting the decline.

corporate steakhouseLong IslandRuth's ChrisChick-fil-AMorton'sMastro'sCapital GrilleOcean PrimeFriday'sAlan StillmanFresco'sSmith & WollenskyFogo de ChãoDallas