Because everyone's a food critic...

My wife and I have been married for 39 years and early in our relationship, while we were dating and living in Boston, we frequented T.G.I. Friday's. It didn't matter which one we went to either, the food was always great and the atmosphere always fun. When our middle son was attending a school in Connecticut many years later, during visits we all went to T.G.I. Friday's, his choice.

Recently my wife and I decided to revisit the restaurant, which has become a very big chain. When we arrived for the first time, on a Saturday night, we were surprised there was no wait. We ordered and both of us were happy with our meals and the service. Several months later, wanting to go out and "catch a bite to eat" we agreed on T.G.I. Friday's. This time my wife made reservations on Open Table.

When we arrived on this Saturday night, the parking lot was not full and the restaurant had seats/tables available, it was not packed nor was there anybody in the waiting area.

I ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger with fries, medium. My wife got the Chicken Quesadillas. We waited 25 minutes for our meals to arrive. Immediately my wife commented on how "skimpy" my plate looked. And it did. The burger looked as though it had been downsized and there weren't many fries to fill in the void in the over-sized plate. I felt her comment, although deserved, could have waited until after dinner...

My wife's plate on the other hand was full, no voids, and once again I believed I had been "out-ordered"- I started with a fry and immediately I realized in a world full of incredibly tasty fries, these were plain and were not unlike the cheap frozen store-bought variety I pounded down as a toddler with 3 fish sticks and a dollop of Heinz Ketchup. Disappointing at a restaurant.

As I watched my wife slide a fork full of her Quesadilla into her open mouth I saw her grimace in discomfort and then spit the food into a napkin. I asked her what was wrong and she said it was horrible, that it tasted like sausage and not chicken. I asked her if it was bad and she said it tasted either raw or spoiled...

We got our waitress and explained the problem. She offered to make another plate of Quesadillas, but by that time my wife had such a bad taste in her mouth she declined the offer and asked to see the menu.

I was nibbling on my burger by now and encouraging her to order whatever she wanted, telling her I'd wait for however long it took. She appreciates eating out more than I do. I'm a homebody, but she likes going out. If I wasn't married I'd probably rarely leave the house except to pickup a pizza locally.

After rereading the menu, which had been changed and made smaller than the last time we were there, she couldn't find much. She settled on the Soup of the Day, which the menu didn't name, only the waitress knew. The waitress said she would have to check to see what was available as the soup is limited. She returned with bad news, only the clam chowder was available and although I like clam chowder, the wife is not a big enough fan to make it a meal. She said she would skip the meal and just order a dessert.

She fancied the Red Velvet cake with a scoop of ice cream, but asked if it contained tree nuts as she has an allergy. Friday's was one of the first restaurants to concern itself with food allergies way back when.

The waitress returned and said that although the Red Velvet Cake did not contain tree nuts, it was made in a bakery that processes food containing tree nuts. My wife said "No thank you-"

Before I took the last bite of my Bacon Cheeseburger, one I rated 6 out of 10, my wife was asking for the bill. We paid roughly $16 for a lousy burger and fries with a root beer and my wife did not eat anything but one bite of a "Spoiled Quesadilla" that ended up back in her plate.

The waitress apologized for the bad Quesadilla, presented us with a coupon for a free dessert, courtesy of the Manager, and then wished us a Happy Thanksgiving, which at that point seemed so untimely...

In the end our night out sucked- We have however added T.G.I.Friday's to the ever-growing list of restaurants we will never go to again. In fact we've changed the name of the restaurant to T.G.W.N.G.T.Friday's! (Thank god we're never going to Friday's).